Was James Ripley Really Such an Idiot? Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve been hearing collectors heap abuse on James Wolfe Ripley, the Union’s Chief of Ordnance during the initial years of the Civil War. People really don’t like this guy…and he’s been dead since 1870! The reasons why Ripley is so unpopular […]
In Defense of James W. Ripley Read More »
How many memories do you have from your childhood Not ones that can be brought back to mind by photos, but solid chunks of recollection that live with you day in and day out for the rest of your life? I have rich memories that come to me randomly, but if you asked me for
In Next Issue: Childhood Cannon Memories Read More »
A few months ago, we were contacted by the Massachusetts Historical Society and asked to take photographs of a sword that had just been donated…but we were sworn to secrecy about what it was! Well, now we are allowed to spill the beans. It is the previously unknown battle sword of Civil War hero Robert
Robert Gould Shaw Civil War Battle Sword Read More »
Stuart Mowbray, editor-in-chief of Man at Arms for the Gun and Sword Collector, recently took up the issue of fakery and fraud in gun collecting in his editorial column in the magazine, and it is an important topic to consider for both novices and experts alike. The two sections reproduced from the article below give you suggestions
How to Avoid Fakery and Fraud in Gun Collecting Read More »
This excerpt is taken from the famous Holt-Owen Report (the Commission on Ordnance and Ordnance Stores Report) of 1862, one of the most important arms-related documents of the Civil War. Here we have sampled the correspondence and negotiations between the Commission and the Starr Arms Company. A reprint of the entire report (more than 600
On Ordnance and Ordnance Stores: The Starr Arms Company Read More »
Here at the offices of Man at Arms for the Gun and Sword Collector, we often get asked by beginning collectors, “How can I get started as an antique weapons collector?” Antique weapons collecting is a great hobby, but lots of folks just don’t know where to begin. They don’t want to make an expensive mistake
How to Get Started as an Antique Weapons Collector Read More »
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the US Army’s adoption of the M1 Garand Rifle, produced at Springfield Armory, and a major contribution to United States’ victory in World War II. BUY THE BOOK The Armory was the birthplace and major producer of the rifle, delivering over 3.5 million by the end of the
The M1 Garand Rifle’s 80th Anniversary Celebration Read More »