Smithsonian Collection

[Chris Treichel]

The Smithsonian has incredible collections of stuff (litterally more than they could ever display). That scene in Indiana Jones where they are in the wharehouse putting the Arc away Hollywood got about right.  You might think that the American History wing would have a good number on display but there are only a handful.  But if you go over to the Native American Museum on the top floor is an exhibit of weapons swords guns etc including some really nice pistols (Kuechenreuter and two really fancy wheelocks) even an eskimo converted percussion fowler.

The National Firearms Collection of the Smithsonian mentions that they have over 6,000...
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/video/Smithsonian-Channel-The-Smithsonians-Gun-Room.html

I wonder what all there might be tucked away in there.

[smylee grouch]

Good point Chris, and if anyone goes to visit, be prepared to spend more than a day if you intend to see it all.   Smylee

[mbriggs]

When I first visited the American History Museum in 1980 they had a very large collection of antique weapons on display on the ground floor. If my memory is correct, they had about 500 rifles and carbines in cases on one long row. One of those was a Tarpley Carbine from my home town.  They had a number of different displays from different wars on several floors in the building.

When I returned in the 1990s, the large display on the ground floor was gone, but they still had several smaller displays on other floors that included antique guns.

I was last there in 2009. After walking the entire building I found only one small display on Military History titled "Conflicts".  It took up about 1/6 of one floor and had a very few weapons on display.

I have had several conversations with a Smithsonian employee over the years and he told me that when Bill and Hillary were in office in the 90's there was a large push to look at American history from other view points and to de-emphasize Military History in all forms.  It looks to me as if they were successful.


Michael

[Fullstock longrifle]

About 8 years ago, myself and Wayne Heckert helped inventory the Kentucky Rifle collection for the Smithsonian.  If memory serves me right, there are about 60 longrifles in the collection and some of them are terrific.  It's a shame that they have been pretty much banished to a back storeroom, the public is really missing out.  The room that they (as well as hundreds of other guns) are stored in is a large open warehouse and at some point the roof has leaked on part of the collection.  Such a shame.

Frank

[mr. no gold]

A considerable number of years ago, I took a F & I carved horn to the Smithsonian for some comparative study. Harry Hunter helped me on this. He brought out several similar horns for comparison which were very interesting and quite nice. He mentioned that they had many drawers full of early carved horns and when I asked to see them, the request was turned down. Interesting that the 'Nations Attic' is off limits to the house holders. The 'rights of kings,' I suppose.
I left, having learned much, so the trip was fruitful. Still, it is too bad that these things are not accessible.
Dick

[Fullstock longrifle]

Harry Hunter was still there when Wayne and I visited, along with his then assistant, Sarah Ritgers.  While I was in the storeroom, I was allowed to see the horns in the collection, it was fantastic, unfortunately they are kept locked up in a large storage cabinet.  Apparently it was a big deal for them to let someone see them, and I was asked to wear gloves when I handled them.  I'm sorry you didn't get to have that experience Dick, you would have enjoyed it and they do have some super 18th century horns.  By the way, Harry passed away a couple of years ago, he was a nice guy.

Frank

[mr. no gold]

Glad that you were able to see them, Frank. The 'white glove thing' is part of the National Park Service Standards of Curation that were formulated by NPS and the EPA, as I recall. They were applied to all curation of Federally owned collections of historic and prehistoric materials. States and municipalities followed suit by adopting the Standards, or even 'improving' on them.
HVAC is a major part of the curation process and ironically, you will find stone artifacts in very expensive temperature and humidity controlled environments in the repositories, even though they are not affected by either. I could go on about this, but to me it is just another way for the 'kings' to preserve their privileges. Too many of the commoners handling the precious things of history might degrade the item in some way.
That is not to say that there are no such things that deserve care and curation, and there are, but objects that are 'hard' do not require the broad brush used to paint everything.
Dick

[oakridge]

Political correctness has overtaken most national, state and some local museums. Their claims of quality over quantity sounds good until it is carried to the extremes. Some great collections have been relegated to the dungeons, and replaced by "educational displays" that look like they were designed for a 5th grade classroom. I know of some fabulous guns that were donated to a particular museum between 1890 and 1930. Many were on display for years, but were gradually displaced by other things. I saw some firearms in a cataloged exhibition in 1980 that have never been seen since. I inquired into the possibility of viewing some items by appointment, and was told that was impossible due to financial constraints.