ANTIQUE GUN COLLECTING is a hobby and that, in turn, is defined as "Something in which one takes an absorbing interest"—a hobby is divorced from a man's main vocation. It will repay you as a sanctuary safe from the stress and strain of a distraught world. It will develop your traits of observation, increase your historical knowledge, increase your scientific information and offer a good monetary return.
Typical of the letters received by the writer is the following:
"I was on the verge of selling a gun I had bought at an auction for eight dollars until I was told about your book, `American Antique Guns and Their Current Prices.' After looking it up I was able to get $250.00 from a dealer. I do not ordinarily handle guns because I am afraid of them and also because I do not know anything about them. Can you re- fer me to some elementary text that would help me?"
The answer to this letter is this series of articles. They will attempt to explain step by step, in plain English the mysteries of guns, the fundamentals of gun collecting, and how to make guns an interesting and profitable addition to your antique business. Once you have mastered these lessons you will find the knowledge is a passport to a world of gun collectors that intensely ride their hobby.
The gun to us is a symbol of the battles we Americans fought for our freedom and its maintenance. Firearms influenced our destiny and are related to our development. Firearm manufacture with the introduc- tion of interchangeable parts and the use of machinery supplied the key- stone of America's industrial development.
Each gun opens a window upon a historic vista. Biography, Science, History are conjured up by fact while the magic of fancy unveils the romance and mystery of the past. Storied guns! Ghosts of the past! That "Kentucky pistol" beaten into shape and created into form by the Pennsylvania village blacksmith and gunsmith was the sidearm of the fur trader as he guided the horse pack caravan laden with merchandise to trade for pelts.
That derringer reposed in the vest pocket of the cotton planter as he faced the professional gambler in a game of cards on the packet as it sailed the Mississippi.
That colt came from the Sheriff's carved holster as he headed the vigilantes for law and order. The oak of those grips came from the famous Connecticut "Charter Oak" that played such an important role in colonial history.
That pair of "dueling pistols" ornate and encased in the velvet-lined box with the accouterments pacified some ruffled pride.
That "Smith & Wesson" suggests an officer's sidearm in the War Between the States.
These old pieces have witnessed life and death, love and hate, sorrow and sacrifice, triumph and disaster, and with a kaleidoscope turn the pat- tern is new. They are the mirror of a vanished era and we interpret the reflection terms of our knowledge.
America gave to the world the rifle, the derringer, and the revolver. These old and revered weapons were invented for peace and are a noble reminder of the pageant of people that braved unknown dangers, "went West," blazed trails, formed territories, established law and order, pushed back the frontier and created a nation. The revolver was one of the greatest civilizing factors. The march of civilization and its survival is dependent upon firearms though it,be a far cry from the Scripture's record of the use of ingenious machines with power from twisted ropes or of David's sling.
Firearms influenced our destiny and are related to our development. We are a peace-loving people, yet no American has lived to the age of thirty-five without seeing his country at war. The saga of weapons can sustain "an absorbing interest" because it is a brilliant and neglected story of American historic importance with many long and remarkable chapters between the days of the obscure and primitive-tool equipped gunsmith who forged the world's most accurate rifle and our modern huge plants with the finest equipment. ,The United States is the story of the invention of mechanical miracles and astonishing progress. The gun was the genesis of mass production. Mass production gave us industrial su-premacy and now though we have only 7 percent' of the population of the world, we produce 65 percent of the manufactured goods.
Eli Whitney, whom we know for his invention of the cotton gin, also accomplished another feat fully as important. He received a government contract in 1798 to build fifteen thousand flintlock muskets. Each gun until then was an individual forged weapon, made by a single workman. The weapons resembled each other but the parts were not interchange- able. Whitney separated the gun into uniform, standard and interchange- able parts and manufactured the component parts by machinery. That is how mass production was born.
The Remington gun factory, founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington, farmer and blacksmith, produced the first breech-loading rifle that gained worldwide acceptance.
Samuel Colt, Connecticut Yankee whose career was fantastic, invented the first practical repeating revolver in 1835.
Oliver Winchester backed the first practical repeating rifle, and also helped finance Horace Smith and Daniel Baird Wesson. They became Smith & Wesson, a synonym for the cartridge revolver.
John M. Browning, a Mormon gunsmith of Ogden, Utah, was one of the greatest and most prolific inventors of firearms.
Behind the names of Eli Whitney, Simeon North, Henry Deringer, Alfred Mordecai, Ethan Allen, Eliphalet Remington, Samuel Colt, Hor- ace Smith, Daniel Baird Wesson and John M. Browning are important and dramatic stories as well as the unsung craftsman.who supplies many fascinating details. Vital to the story of American technical ingenuity, skill and progress is the American method of belt assembly lines and interchangeable parts, contributions by gunsmiths.
Antique Gun Collecting demands knowledge, research and study. The background of a weapon is dependent upon five w's which are: Who made it? Where? When? Why? Worth?
A Paterson Colt was picked up at a junk store for $10.00. Treasures lurk in trash and that old, rusty, junky gun may be a gem. How else could one recognize its worth if not through diligent study? Follow carefully on iGuide our series of articles and you will soon discover that an adventure may be grasped by one who "takes an absorbing interest."
Antique guns are a sound investment—financial probably—but certainly in appreciation of fine craftsmanship with the dividend in pride of possession.
Gun collecting is an educational and profitable hobby. To be a successful collector you must, of course, study your subject. Observation will teach you much. One of the intriguing features of gun 'collecting is the knowledge it brings of the past. Guns are records fog interpreting, visualizing and vitalizing history. The knowledge, of the past helps us to see it as a reality in relation to the present.
Gun collecting is an unusual hobby because it is a source of profit rather than an expense. It also furnishes abundant pleasure and fascinating study. We hope to trace a brief outline of gun collecting in this book. Acquiring a collection of interest and value is a long-term operation. There are many branches to explore with study and experience to master them, but be not deterred, therein is the secret of its interest.