Happy Thanksgiving!

The Winchester Wingo - in the original crates

I want to make this one a short one given that we are in a short week, if for no other reason.

Today I took a ride to a warehouse used by the Buffalo Bill Historical Center to store some of our oversized objects that need different housing. In the midst of the objects there are a Model T Ford, several wagons (horse-drawn), storage/shipping crates for past traveling exhibits, old office furniture, and (from the Cody Firearms Museum collection) a crated-up Winchester Wingo machine. This machine is one of two known to exist. It was designed to throw hollow balls of ice for use in an indoor target shooting game. The one that came to Cody from a private individual was, as far as I know, never unpacked.I know that some donors would be concerned to see something like this, but when we are dealing with something like the Wingo machine, it is better to have left it in the original packaging.

Also – on a separate note, I wanted to mention a new blog by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the shooting, hunting and firearms industry. I should also mention at this time that the Cody Firearms Museum is a non-profit member of the NSSF.

Time for me to go home for the day. Have a safe week and don’t eat too much!

Cheers,

Dave

Donating to a Museum

As I was cleaning some correspondence from my desk, I came across a question from a gentleman asking how to donate firearms to the Cody Firearms Museum.

This is one of the more common questions we receive. For the fast answer, a possible donor would contact the Curator of the relevant museum of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center (in this case, me) and the Curator would determine if the object or objects would be appropriate to the collection.  If the Curator agrees to accept the gift, the donor would deliver the object(s) to the museum. The Curator or other staff member would produce a receipt and initiate all of the internal support processes.

If a tax deduction is desired, the donor must have an appraisal performed (preferably before the object arrives). This appraisal cannot be paid for by the museum and the museum cannot arrange the appraisal.If the donor is giving us the object to be sold to support the institution and the object is sold within a two year period, then the auction value becomes the value for tax purposes.

Once an object comes in, that is when the work starts. Besides processing the paperwork for the gift process (necessary for the signing of a deed of gift), the staff needs to accession the object into the collection. This process can take 6-8 hours and helps to create a record for the object, record the condition of the object, perform any necessary conservation or cleaning, and store the object.

If the object is to be exhibited, then there is an entirely different raft of issues and activities – but we can cover those later. In the meantime, you can see what happens on the large scale by looking at the re-installation of our Whitney Gallery of Western Art.

Cheers,

Dave K.

Fixing old guns…

We regularly receive inquiries from people looking for parts for old guns. These guns range from old Winchester lever actions to relatively recent guns from a variety of makers. An email I received today had the following from a guy named Craig:

I’m interested in help with restoration of an old rifle that’s been in my family for a long time.  It’s a Remington Model 12, 22 cal. pump action.  At present the rifle is in a gun shop back in Virginia, but the smith has been unable to locate a serviceable breech block assembly.  I don’t know if the repairs and restorations for the Firearms Museum are done onsite, but I’m hoping for a lead on this part.

My response to Craig:

Thanks for your question, but we actually do not perform repairs and restorations onsite. In other words, if something comes in broken, it stays broken. This is not because we do not respect the object, but because we have great respect for the object. Correcting “issues” eliminates the historic authenticity of the object in question.

If there was a problem that endangered the long term well-being of the object (active rust or corrosion, for example), we would correct these issues as needed.

If your gunsmith has not already looked there, I would have him check with Numrich Gun Parts. If they do not have it, you may be stuck buying another Model 12 for the parts. Also, you may want to contact the Remington Society of America to see if they know someone specifically who might have the parts you need.

It is unfortunate that this is the case, but when you consider that most of the classic American guns were last produced during the Vietnam War, it is easy to understand how the scarcity of these parts has become an issue.

Let me know if there is a question on this matter. I am now off to our Veteran’s Day Celebration.

Cheers,

Dave

Firearms Conservation Post

My brain strayed to some of my previous posts and I recalled referencing conservation and care of antique firearms. I thought I would post this link on Firearms Conservation. The document was written by David Arnold, former Conservator at the Springfield Armory, National Historic Site. I won’t go into the details, but the position was eliminated earlier this year. I have a number of issues with the decision, but I am not the Superintendent of the Site.

Have a great weekend!

Dave K.

OK, now that the election is over…

These last few weeks have been interesting. The rancor and invective associated with the 2000 and 2004 elections were missing and the tone seemed almost jovial with the participation of some politicos on Saturday Night Live and other shows.

However, something that comes up for Gun Guys in every election cycle is concern for their right to keep and bear arms. As an employee of a 501(c)3 non-profit, this is something I can’t really push. However, I can respond to a comment that came up in each 2004, 2006, and 2008. There is a belief (sometimes related to me accusingly) that if private citizens lost their 2nd amendment rights under the constitution, the Cody Firearms Museum would not have a concern (inferring that we don’t care) as we would still have our guns.

As a private institution and not a division of any governmental entity, there are no extra protections we would receive as a museum. This is a misunderstanding that developed somewhere within the gun culture. There are no special provisions in any law that I am aware of that confer special privelege to museums that are not part of a a government. That said, I am not jealous of our government-sponsored museums, whether a local City-funded historical museum or the Smithsonian Institution. Not that we wouldn’t mind having some exemptions…

Cheers,

Dave K.