Fun and free of the mainstream stereotyped image of a gun show, the East Coast Fine Arms Show is a fanciful event that expands beyond the normal expectations, preconceived notions and paramilitary phobias. True, there are vast amounts of guns on the floor, but most are long guns, and the vast majority of the examples are antiques that range from Eighteenth Century blunderbusses to sporting shotguns, some priced in the six-figure range. And handguns offered at the show are more than likely six-shooters, some with wild stories befitting their Wild West history.
The show opened to a lively preview party crowd on January 2 and continued throughout the weekend. This is the fourth of the annual events with management touting “Investment Quality Arms from All Eras, The Best of The Best.” The show is managed by Newman Chittenden and Martin Fasack.
The show roster resembles a who’s who list of important fine arms dealers, with the likes of Jay Hanson, Dave Kleiner, Michael Florio and Richard Hartman displaying a variety of rare historical items. Aside from the stellar selection of firearms, edged weapons and sporting accessories, Americana in numerous forms is one of the interesting facets of the show.
Hanson, who has now been dealing in arms from Southport, Conn., for the past 37 years, and is now serving as the president of the Armor and Arms Collectors of New York, had a fine selection of antique long guns. Hanson, who commented that his mentor since age 13 was the late and legendary Bill Guthman, offered a selection that ranged from historically important muskets to a gold inlaid shotgun that had been made for royalty.
Tom Driebe, Scranton, Penn., specializes in photographs of Native Americans by photographer Karl Moon, and the dealer had several examples on hand, including a portrait of Standing Elk that was recorded in Taos, N.M. Other Indian items included a Northern Plains pipe tomahawk, circa 1880; a Missouri River region ball club, circa 1840; and a pair of Sioux beaded leggings from the 1880s.
Kleiner offered an “exceptional silver gilt cased presentation sword,” Mexican War era, that had been presented to Lieutenant Nathan Beakes Rossell for bravery and was accompanied by five Presidential US Army commissions executed by Martin Van Buren, James Polk and Abraham Lincoln. Concerning the last commission, Rossell was killed in action during the Civil War.
An early lap desk that had been retrofitted in the Nineteenth Century and outfitted as a gambler’s box was offered by New York dealers Jay Grunfeld and Richard Kravarik. Chips, cards, dice, a lawman’s badge and pistols were housed in the fitted box.
Reference to Bill Guthman pops up repeatedly at shows these days, and provenance on a rare and early Hudson Valley fowler with a large and unusual tiger maple club butt was posted at Al Vaccaro’s booth.
The most impressive display of materials that had come from Guthman’s extensive collection was displayed at Quester Gallery, a local enterprise known primarily for its stellar selection of marine paintings. The collection of New England halberds was assembled by Guthman over a period of 40 years, according to Michael Florio, and the dealer termed them “masterpieces of utilitarian American folk art.” The small grouping, priced at $120,000, was attracting interest from at least one serious collector, and the dealer commented that he preferred to keep the collection intact.
Other forms of Americana seen in Quester’s booth ranged from a carved and painted “Bellamy” eagle to a whale bone ship model.
Blurring the categorical lines between a collectible gun, sports memorabilia and an excellent “shooter” was a rare and desirable Winchester Model 21 shotgun that was displayed by Richard Hartman, formerly doing business as the Elmira Arms Company, the oldest gun company in New York State, and now operating as Peaco Distributor. The rare shotgun had been presented to “The Yankee Clipper,” Joe DiMaggio, for breaking Major League Baseball’s consecutive game hitting streak in 1941. The previous record of 41 had been set by George Sisler; DiMaggio, however, went on to hit in 56 games, a record that still stands. The gun was engraved on the base and had been presented to the slugger by a member of the Essex County, N.J., prosecutor’s office.
Griffin and Howe always present a selection of interesting sporting guns and this year was no exception; a matched pair of Westley Richards 12 gauge cased shotguns was offered at $65,000.
New Hampshire dealer David Prawdzik offered a varied assortment that ranged from an early cased presentation pistol to a palm pistol that still retained the original box to a rare percussion pistol made by Frederick Beerstretcher. One of the more unusual items in the booth was a gadget cane made around the turn of the Nineteenth Century in Austria that could be taken apart and reassembled as a working violin.
