Lot 237
(THE GUN REPORT)
An archive of approximately 334 photographs from the annual Gun Report trade show of collectible guns and knives. The formally-composed photographs primarily depict proud exhibitors posing at tables with their "weapon of choice," including the happy family (the husband holding a shotgun while the wife cradles a baby), the endearing couple gripping a long-rifle between them, and solo dealers, both male and female. Also pictured are views of booths and tables with crammed displays ranging from 17th-century Dutch flintlock guns, Colt "six-shooters," and "pistols of the Third Reich" to Derringers, Tommy guns, and American Revolution muskets. Silver (259), Polaroid (67), and chromogenic (8) prints, ranging in size from 3 1/4 inches square (8.3 cm.) to 5 inches square (12.7 cm.), some with the photographer's hand stamp and others with notations, in pencil or in ink, on verso; approximately 41 of them presented in a small plastic-ring album. 1960s-70s
Estimate $1,000 - 1,500
The Gun Report's annual trade show brought antique gun dealers from all over the country with a few specialists traveling from England. A selection of photographs would be published in the issue of The Gun Report that followed the fair. Here, collector and gun cultures collide, and the result is something uniquely American.
