Annie Oakley's Parker

[M Vollinger]

This may not as newsworthy as other Parkers at auction.

Annie Oakley's 20 gauge GH recently sold at Brian Lebels Old West Auction, lot 153 hammered at $195,500. A lot of lettuce for a GH 20 gauge. Julia's auctioned her BHE 12 for $28K.

Provenance still matters.

[Dean Romig]

Why the disparity in prices I wonder. One would think her B would draw higher bids than a lowly G... I wonder if the available documentation on these guns determined the difference in price.
Gould it be that a 20 bore grade 2 trumps a 12 bore grade 5???





.

[John Davis]

I think the BHE 12 actually lettered to Frank Butler and the barrels were cut. But we may be talking about a different gun. John

[Dean Romig]

I seem to remember the same provenance John.






.

[M Vollinger]

The Autry museum in LA has Annie Oakley 16 gauge, LC Smith? on display. It appears to have been used well. Shows OK in the Wild West collection.

OFF Track - Colt Collection
Here are a few salient facts and background on the collection. Maybe mostly old news....

The Autry in LA now owns the Colt collection. It has a small room with few displays and no context or history. It displays a fraction of the collection A terrible job in historical education. Preservation work, doubtful

Hartford Courant Reported in 1986

In 1986, David White, director of the State Library Museum, traded 290 pieces worth $2Millon for seven guns and a CANE ? to a Theodore Hutcheson of Chattanooga. Must have been a helluva cane. Please give Theodore a hearty salutation when you see him, theif!

In October 1984, the museum traded three guns to Philip R. Phillips of Bartlesville, Okla., for two revolvers. The board's minutes said a $50,000 donation by Mr. Phillips had nothing to do with the deal, but Mr. White ''admitted'' it was ''an obvious enticement to accept the trade,'' Colonel Forst said. "Gee really obvious" I'll pay to steal

In September 1977, the museum traded nine guns valued at a total of $15,500 to R.L. Wilson, of Hadlyme, Conn., a well-known gun collector and expert, for a rifle that Mr. Wilson said was of comparable value. The police called the trade a historical and a financial loss to the state.
Please Give R.l. Wilson the single finger salute when you see him, if he is alive.

Same as folks who stole art in WWII, statue of limitations?






.

[Dean Romig]

I'd like to understand the terms of a gift or endowment to this museum...(?). Do they actually have the legal right to go trading away historical Guns and artifacts endowed to them. What about the obligations of the curators and BOD of the museum. I suspect such a museum's charter must speak to the obligations of these people, especially if it is a 501 C not for profit, educational institution.

Incidentally, what is "the" Colt Collection? Who's Colt collection? Which of the many fabulous Colt collections in private ownership?




.

[Bill Murphy]

Get yourself appointed to the board of any museum or collector organization and you can participate in the deaccessioning of any item in their collections. The safest way to prevent abuse of this system is to make a larger number of people responsible, with voting rights on the liquidation of collections or individual items.

[Bruce Day]

R L Wilson is alive and doing well, no doubt being the expert again and writing another book. He is a preacher's kid from small town Minnesota, went to Carleton College and now lives and writes in San Francisco, last I heard through a mutual acquaintance several months ago.

The NRA has sold off many guns donated to its museum, some to members of this forum. Donate 40 or 50 mil to the NRA , get placed on the board and change policies if you feel strongly enough about it.

Many museums sell off parts of collections when they need money, run out of space , don't like the article or other reasons. Their ability to do so has been upheld by the courts many times.

[M Vollinger]

[QUOTE=Dean Romig;197218]I'd like to understand the terms of a gift or endowment to this museum...(?). Do they actually have the legal right to go trading away historical Guns and artifacts endowed to them. What about the obligations of the curators and BOD of the museum. I suspect such a museum's charter must speak to the obligations of these people, especially if it is a 501 C not for profit, educational institution.

Incidentally, what is "the" Colt Collection? Who's Colt collection? Which of the many fabulous Colt collections in private ownership?


Dean:
Colt Firearms sold the collection circa 1957 to the CT State Library. It was under their curator ship that these unfortunate lapses in ethics for greed resulted in the loss of critical pieces of history.

I spoke to a curator at the Autry four years ago, and at that time his attitude was pretty blase in terms of the collection and any parameters; display, historical education and or preservation.
The teachers for school groups often discourage kids from spending time with all those "bad guns", rather than education on part of history...
It is anyone's guess as to how the collection has been "managed" since to prevent more "disappearance" of items. You just don't see much of the collection on display, all on shelves.

[Dean Romig]

I would think the trustees or BOD would be obligated, when in need of operating funds, (rather than personal gain) to offer such items up for public auction in order to realize the highest revenue...






.