Product Recall for Mr. Bond

I just saw an article on Forbes that describes a recall from Smith & Wesson.

This recall affects their Walther PPK and PPK/S models. As an FYI, Smith & Wesson does not manufacture the Walthers, but they do import them into the US.

If you have a PPK or PPK/S manufactured between March 21, 2002, and February 3, 2009, you will want to check the recall notice.

Cheers,

Dave

Disaster Planning

Yesterday, the staff of the Cody Firearms Museum went through a mental exercise to determine what would be on the top of a list of what should be removed from the building if we found ourselves with the need to relocate. This was made at the request of our conservator, Beverly Perkins. As part of her position, Beverly looks at possible emergency situations and tries to plan how best to respond to them in order to best protect the objects.

As part of her request, Warren and Bob (the two Curatorial Assistants for the CFM) and I did a walk-through of the gallery in order to identify what we thought of as objects that we felt must be removed from the building if there was cause to do so. We didn’t have a price tag in mind – we just wanted to look at guns and other objects that we felt, individually and as a group, should be saved. This decision was made as a result of rarity in some cases (Walter Hunt’s prototype which preceded the Winchester lever actions) and price tag/historical association (a blunderbuss given to Louis XV by Catherine the Great).

Our first list (we haven’t pared it down yet) took up two legal-size pages. Looks like we have some work to do to cull it a bit.

Cheers,

Dave

Some Bad Guns Out There…

One of the most time-consuming, but interesting, aspects of life at the Cody Firearms Museum is responding to the literally thousands of inquiries we receive each year – not counting the more than 5,000 requests that reach the Cody Firearms Museum Records Office. One of the two Cody Firearms Museum Curatorial Assistants, Warren Newman, is responsible for replying to the vast majority of these inquiries. Whether by phone, email, or good old fashioned postal mail, your inquiries will get to us and we will get back to you.

Unfortunately, several recent inquiries point to an influx of guns onto the collector market that, while having a great story, appear to be in the Bad Gun category. We did not think too much of some photos sent to us by a gentleman hoping to get more information on a couple of his recent purchases. However, over the last few weeks, several other individuals asked us about similar guns. This prompted us to get some scans of a couple of pictures in order to show others what to look for if a gun appears to be too-good-to-be-true. Sorry about the images. We did not take them. We are also not disclosing the name of the individual who owns the guns and took the pictures or the individual makes and models of the guns on which the embellishments appear.

“Lillian Smith” gun, right side of stock

“Lillian Smith” gun, left side of stock

“Annie Oakley” gun, right side of stock

“Annie Oakley” gun, left side of stock

Gun Number 1 – Annie Oakley – 1st – Trick Shot World Champion

Where to begin?

Factually, I will agree with the idea that Annie Oakley was a great shot and, likely, the best shot of her day – male or female. However, there were few opportunities for shooters of the day to be crowned as a “Champion”, much less “World Champion” in anything other than target shooting (rifle or pistol) or shotgun competitions. Occasional matches between two renowned trick-shots would take place, but these were few and far between.

After a bad train wreck in 1901, Oakley left the Wild West and did not tour with the show again. As for Buffalo Bill and his show, they were not in St. Louis for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. During the years 1903-1906, the Wild West was touring in Europe.

With that resolved, we move on to the markings and metal plates on the gun. The stampings on the left side of the stock are uneven (both in line, depth, and application) and likely of a style not available at the time (If someone knows more about the last 150 years of stencil/stamp design, please let us know!).

The metal plates on the gun’s right side are unevenly cut and, again, unevenly marked. On true prize guns from the era – especially to individuals of the stature of Annie Oakley – the name would have been nicely engraved on the frame of the gun or on a metal (brass) plate (also called an escutcheon) inlet into the stock.

There are simply too many things wrong with this gun to look at it as a legitimate prize gun owned by Annie Oakley. In order to legitimate it, there would have to be a proven chain of custody, identifying the gun by description and by serial number, from the initial owner to the current owner. This chain of custody does not include notarized letters by someone two or three generations removed. It does include diaries and journals, entries in wills, probate records, arrest records, other court documents, newspaper articles from the period in question, etc.

It is hard to do, but when everything falls into place, there is a real sense that there are no questions. If you have to “feel that it is right”, it is likely not a good thing.

Gun Number 2 – Lillian Smith – World Champion – 1888

Given the above look at the “Annie Oakley” gun, I will let the reader try to pick out some of the issues with this one but I do want to point out the military-style stamp used on the left side of the stock. Take a look at this one and then look at the “Annie Oakley” gun, above.

Lillian Smith was a real person. She was a known trick shot artist, toured with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West for a couple of seasons (1887-1889), and was a rival of Annie Oakley. With the dates of her employment with Cody’s outfit, you would think that there would be something on the gun tying Smith to Cody.

Take a look at a PBS page or the Wikipedia Entry for more information on Smith.

Firearms and Wilderness Conservation

One of the more popular exhibits at the Cody Firearms Museum is our Adirondack Cabin. Built to resemble a cabin of the type used by wealthy hunters from New York, it currently houses the Boone and Crockett Heads & Horns Collection. Additionally, a visitor can take a VERY close look at the Winchester Model 1895 Rifle carried by President Theodore Roosevelt on his African Safari in 1909. The exhibit (and the purpose of the original collection) is here to remind us of what we could lose were it not for hunters and anglers who chose to set limits and laws to govern their sports. At a time (the late 1800s) when many game populations were greatly declining, the Boone and Crockett Club began its life by lobbying for the necessary legislative changes in order to save the game animals they appreciated so much.

The reason I mention this is an article that was forwarded to my by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (of which, we are a non-profit member). This article, posted originally here, discusses a government tax that shows a direct benefit to us. When people talk about the affect of firearms on the American West, take a look at the Pittman-Robertson Act. Over seventy years, the 10-11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition has provided more than $4 billion dollars to restore our wilderness areas. As with most federal monies, the states of the west have received a larger share, per capita, as a result of their smaller population. Not that we would complain.

Cheers,

Dave K.

Gun Reference Books

The staff of the Cody Firearms Museum is often asked about old guns that people have. Whether just for identification sake, trying to find values (something we cannot provide), or just wanting to know more about a gun they may have just bought or had been passed down through generations.

Although we are proud to say that we have a bit of information right at the top of our collective head, our ability to answer is, more often than not, based on knowing which book to reference.

A short list of our favorites would include The Blue Book of Gun Values, Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms, and the Standard Catalog of Firearms. We also go to Cartridges of the World.

One thing to keep in mind is that these are each reprinted on a semi-regular basis – The Blue Book is an annual and the others range from 2-5 years between editions.

You may be wondering why this is important. There are two reasons:

1. Information about gun history is not static. There are some great and exciting things that have been uncovered over the last few decades that have shown up in various editions of these. For one example, take a look at different editions of Flayderman’s Guide to find out which gun was issued to the members of Lewis & Clark’s Corps of Discovery. As another example, try looking for some of the more recent short magnum cartridges in older copies of Cartridges of the World.
2. Since a number of these books list approximate collector values, some enterprising individuals, for want of a better term, will show you a value from one edition when buying and another when selling. If you want to know why, take a look at different editions of Flayderman’s Guide or The Blue Book and compare values for the same model across a five or ten year period. You will be surprised.

I actually like to have access to several different editions as some of these books, similar to the Annuals published by Gun Digest and others often have articles that may never again see the light of day. That, and as a historian, it is helpful to take a look at the thoughts of our predecessors in order to build a better understanding of the past.

I hope this has been helpful!

Cheers,
Dave