R. L. Wilson is a regular table holder once again at our Maryland Arms Collector's Association (MACA) aka the "Old Baltimore Show" every March.
The NRA has guns in inventory storage they have not even thought about displaying at the museum yet due to space and temporal considerations. Within walking distance of my home, I stop by there at least once every 2 weeks to savor the roar of the Rangoon oil and the smell of the Circassian. Except for Tony Galazan's guns, I had never seen a Fox gun displayed there, ever. When they shipped some of their best guns out to the newly-opened Bass Pro Shop mega store in Springfield MO, they backfilled the display cases with some of the stuff they've had squired away for years. Lo and behold, they now have on display not one but TWO Fox cutaway guns, one 12 and one 20! (Who knew?).
Bruce's comments on the courts upholding the right of museums to sell off all or parts of collections pretty well 'center punch' the situation. (Museums call it "de-accessioning").
The venerable Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington DC did this last year, with robust local and federal support. Operating budgets became the victim of poor planning by the BOD; in the end the museum itself faltered but at least the art was preserved for future generations.
|
Threaded Mode