Smith & Wesson New Model No. 3, serial number
1984, was purchased from Jesse James mother, Zerelda Samuel,
with a note describing it as “my son Jesse’s pistol.” Loaned by Jim
Supica of Old Town Station, it is one of many significant Old West
guns in the exhibit.
A three-part temporary exhibit at the National Firearms Museum features
dozens of guns from the likes of John Wesley Hardin, Jesse James
and Buffalo Bill. But it also includes firearms from the Hollywood
West—like John Wayne’s ’92 Winchester from “Stagecoach”—and finally
guns of today’s Cowboy Action shooters.
She had a bit of trouble steadying the small slip
of paper she was trying to fill out as a receipt. A terrible “accident”
years previous had cost her an arm, and now, as she attempted to
write one-handed, her penmanship was often erratic, reflective of
the toll that 75 years of hard living had on her. Yet to the preacher’s
son who stood patiently nearby, his journey of 600 miles to meet
this woman was just about to pay off. He had come to western Missouri
to travel the same roads and see the same sights that had once been
the haunts of his childhood heroes. After a pleasant afternoon spent
conversing and sipping lemonade with the widow, he was now, for the
paltry sum of $39, about to make the purchase of a lifetime. She
had taken a shine to the man who showed such an interest in local
history and, after many veiled comments and pointed questions, she
admitted that since hard times had followed her nearly all her life,
she might be persuaded to part with a family heirloom if the price
was right.
John Wayne used this Winchester Model 1892—now in the National Firearms Museum collection—in his breakthrough role in the 1939 film “Stagecoach.”
Exactly 100 years later, the curatorial staff at the NRA’s National
Firearms Museum opened a box from Old Town Station in Lenexa, Kan.
Wearing white gloves and in an environmentally secure and controlled
room, they carefully unwrapped a few layers of bubble wrap that held
a large-frame revolver. Accompanying the gun was a small yellowed
receipt that read: “Received $39.00 from Mr. C.B. Parsons of Lexington,
Kentucky for my son Jesse’s pistol, Smith & West # 1984 size
.44.” It was signed, “Zerelda Samuel,” and bore the address “James
Farm, Kearney, Missouri.”
In the world of firearms collecting, few guns have the privilege
of having “good” provenance. Provenance being what we would call
a clear and provable chain of custody from the original owner to
present. In the case of famous historical characters, none captures
the imagination more than the most famous outlaw in American history,
Jesse James. There must be over 100 “my son Jesse” guns out there;
half of them were manufactured after Jesse was shot dead by Bob Ford
in 1882. Jesse’s mother, “Zee” Samuel, lived another 30 years after
Jesse’s death, selling his guns and even freshly placed stones off
his grave, right up until nearly the day she died.
No. 1 worn by Harper Creigh, the sport’s founder.
Airtight provenance on a real Jesse James gun is rarer than hens’
teeth. While there is no conclusive proof that this particular Smith & Wesson
New Model No. 3 revolver was an actual James Gang relic, the fact
that it has a receipt from Zee makes it a celebrity gun nonetheless.
In fact, it has better provenance than 99 percent of the guns out
there that make similar claims and lack any form of believable James
provenance.
This gun and a host of others comprise a third of the National Firearms
Museum’s first new exhibit in nearly three years entitled “GUNS WEST
!” The exhibit is a look at the firearms used by the men and women
who shaped our country in the post-Civil War era. Dozens of the finest
and most historic Colts, Winchesters and Smith & Wessons are
on display with photos and biographies of the famous—and infamous—who
used them to write some of the most interesting pages of our history
books. The collections of Kurt House of Texas and Jim Supica of Kansas
are internationally known, and many of the loaned objects are making
their first public appearance.
Dime novelists such as Ned Buntline and showmen such as Buffalo
Bill captured the attention of the country and the world with their tales
of Indian raids and buffalo hunts. But it wasn’t until 1903, when
the Edison Manufacturing Co. of New Jersey produced a 12-minute film
entitled “The Great Train Robbery,” that the public fell in love
with the West (the film was made in New Jersey) and with a new medium
of entertainment: the movies.
Considered one of the first commercial American films, “The
Great Train Robbery” became a wild sensation when “Bronco Billy” Anderson
leveled a Colt at the audience in the last scene and fired a shot
that sent hundreds of film goers scurrying for cover. Since then,
thousands of films and television shows have all used the “old” West
as a backdrop for some of the most beloved and remembered scenes
of all time.
One third of the exhibit looks at these films, their stars
and the guns they used to follow “the code of the cowboy.” John Wayne’s Winchester
from his breakthrough role as the “Ringo Kid” in the John Ford classic
“Stagecoach” as well as guns from Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston,
Tom Selleck, Chuck Connors, Clint Eastwood and even Jerry Lewis are
displayed with stills from the scenes that we all remember so well.
Annie’s Oakley’s Parker DH Grade 12 gauge was a gift from Parker to “Little Miss Sure Shot.” It is on loan from the estate of Robert E. Petersen.
Shows such as “Davy Crockett” and “Daniel Boone”
developed great following among the baby boomers of the post-World
War II generation. Hardly a schoolyard in the 1950s was without an
improvised “Fort Apache” where dozens of coonskin-cap-wearing tykes
relived the roles of their heroes as seen on television the evening
before. As they grew to adulthood, they carried with them their love
of the West and an interest in firearms. Some, including Phil Spangenberger,
never lost the interest in donning a cowboy outfit and strapping
on a sixgun. Re-introducing a Buffalo Bill style “Wild West” show,
Phil has kept the spirit of the old West alive and inspired others
to do the same. In the 1980s a group of competitive shooters took
the spirit of the West to another level by introducing Cowboy Action
shooting to the public, where participants dress up in period-style
clothing and compete with 19th century firearms and their Italian-made
replicas. In 20 short years they have turned the activity into the
fastest growing shooting sport with close to 90,000 members in all
50 states and numerous countries.
A Marine from Texas by the name of Harper Creigh is known throughout
the world by his alias “Judge Roy Bean” and is the co-founder of
the Single Action Shooting Society. Comprising the final third of
the exhibit are his guns, SASS badge No. 1 and his outfit displayed
along with the Colt’s, Rugers and Italian reproductions used by “China
Camp,” “Tequila,” “Evil Roy” and a host of other men and women who
enjoy one of the most family friendly hobbies in the shooting sports
community.
“GUNS WEST!” is a look at the way it was, the way it is and
the way it might have been. It is sure to be a star attraction during the
run of its exhibition. The museum is grateful to numerous lenders
and donors including USFA, Colt, Cimarron, SASS and Ruger for their
assistance in making the exhibit possible.
NRA members,
if you already receive American Hunter or America's
1st Freedom you can add American
Rifleman
to your reading list for just $9.95
by calling 877-672-2000.
GUNS WEST!
will be on exhibit in the
William B. Ruger
Gallery of the
NRA’s National Firearms Museum
in Fairfax, Va., until
January 1, 2009. Call (703) 267-1600 for details, or visit www.nationalfirearmsmuseum.org
