1920s Claud Fuller’s collection began in a Kansas hardware store
1933 Fuller retired to Chattanooga, Tennessee
Opened July 4, 1954
Over 2,000 firearms(not all on display)
FREE – Open almost every day
Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park (Claud E. Fuller Arms Collection) P.O. Box 2128 Fort Oglethorpe, GA 30742 (706) 866-9241 http://www.nps.gov/chch/index.htm
1849 – Navy’s collection of historic flags added to collection
1939 – construction of Preble Hall
12,000 square feet
four galleries
2007-2009 – complete renovation to turn the building into a modern museum
Rogers Ship Model Collection (108 ship and boat models)
Naval Academy Art Collection (1,200 paintings)
Malcolm Storer Naval Medals Collection (w/ ancient coins)
Beverley R. Robinson Collection (woodcuts, etchings, line engravings, mezzotints, aquatints, and lithographs of naval history).
open seven days a week, from 9 am to 5 pm on Mondays through Saturdays, and 11 am to 5 pm on Sundays; it is only closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day
U.S. Naval Academy Museum 118 Maryland Avenue Annapolis, MD 21402-5034 (410) 293-2108 http://www.usna.edu/Museum
three enormous buildings (using material salvaged from Lucky Baldwin’s old Santa Anita Racetrack and from the Oakwood Hotel)
One of the buildings on the property had 30 rooms
purchased an abandoned, narrow-gauge train from Nevada and constructed a circular track on his property offering short rides to museum visitors
more than one million collectibles: saloon furnishings, a printing office, mining equipment, toys, dolls, musical instruments, along with old signs, bottles, kerosene lamps, guns, saddles, chamber pots, dishes, “wanted” posters, clothing & hats, stamps and currency.
stagecoaches, fire engines and even a jail cell
collection of Native American artifacts was considered one of the nation’s finest
1949 W. Parker Lyon died
His son took over the management of the museum for about 6 years
The collection of more than one million treasures went to Reno
The FBI Reference Firearms Collection is a repository of firearms and related evidence used for forensic analysis and investigative purposes.
The FBI Reference Firearms Collection was established in early 1933 as a means of studying and identifying firearms used in crimes.
The collection initially consisted of firearms seized in the course of FBI investigations, as well as firearms donated by other law enforcement agencies and private citizens.
Over time, the collection grew to include firearms from around the world, as well as ammunition, tool marks, and other forensic evidence.
As of 2021, the collection contains over 7,000 firearms, ranging from antique muskets to modern assault rifles.
The collection includes firearms of all types, including handguns, rifles, shotguns, submachine guns, and machine guns.
Many of the firearms in the collection are rare or unusual, including prototypes, experimental designs, and firearms used in historic crimes.
The collection also includes firearms associated with famous law enforcement cases, such as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and the Lindbergh kidnapping.
In addition to firearms, the collection includes thousands of rounds of ammunition, as well as tools used to manufacture firearms and ammunition.
The collection is housed at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, where it is available for use by FBI agents, other law enforcement agencies, and researchers.
The collection serves as a valuable resource for forensic analysis and investigative work, helping law enforcement officials identify firearms used in crimes and track down their owners.
Began t the Hoover Building
Now at larger facility
an example of every gun made
factory stock and are kept functional, to be checked out, fired and studied by law enforcement departments across the country
“FBI Reference Ammunition Collection” – 17,000 cartridges, selections of ammunition
Bank of spare parts
Scholars can get access to the collection, but the vetting process is stringent
“We keep them functional. We keep them clean. But they are certainly not in museum quality because they do see a lot of use.”
The National Firearms Collection of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) has a long and interesting history, spanning several decades.
1920s-1930s: The predecessor agency of ATF, the Bureau of Prohibition, began seizing firearms from bootleggers and other criminals during the Prohibition era. Some of these firearms were kept as evidence or for training purposes, forming the beginnings of what would eventually become the National Firearms Collection.
1934: The National Firearms Act was passed, which required the registration of certain types of firearms, including machine guns and short-barreled rifles and shotguns. As a result, the Bureau of Prohibition began collecting these firearms for registration purposes, further expanding the collection.
1935-1968: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF’s predecessor) continued to collect firearms from criminals, as well as from individuals who voluntarily surrendered their firearms. During this time, the collection grew in size and diversity, encompassing a wide range of firearms from around the world.
1968: The Gun Control Act was passed, which regulated the sale and transfer of firearms and expanded the types of firearms that were subject to registration. As a result, the National Firearms Collection grew even larger, with ATF continuing to seize firearms from criminals and to accept firearms surrendered by individuals.
1972: The National Firearms Act Branch of ATF was established to oversee the registration of firearms subject to the National Firearms Act. The National Firearms Collection was placed under the jurisdiction of the National Firearms Act Branch, which was responsible for maintaining and cataloging the collection.
1982: The National Firearms Collection was moved from its original location in Washington, D.C. to a new facility in West Virginia, where it remains today. The move allowed for better preservation and storage of the firearms in the collection.
1993: The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was passed, which required background checks for firearms purchases. ATF began collecting firearms surrendered by individuals who were prohibited from owning firearms under the new law.
2004: The Firearms Technology Branch of ATF was established to provide technical support to law enforcement agencies and to regulate the importation of firearms. The Firearms Technology Branch also became responsible for overseeing the National Firearms Collection, which included many firearms that were of historical or technical interest.
Today: The National Firearms Collection remains an important resource for ATF, as well as for researchers, historians, and law enforcement agencies. The collection is regularly used for training and research purposes, and is occasionally displayed to the public at events such as the National Firearms and Ammunition Collectors’ Exhibition.
more than 10,000 serial numbered items
in West Virginia
custodian is ATF’s Firearms Technology Industry Services Branch (FTISB)
1931 first compiled by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (later IRS)
500 firearms (Most on display)(70 on display in museum)
Created in 1930
Williamsburg, Virginia
1930s
firearm history from matchlock technology to the early years of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s state arms manufacturing
“Lock, Stock, and Barrel” exhibit – DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum
1960 designated a National Historic Landmark District
2018 “Lock, Stock And Barrel” exhibit Closed
March 11,2019 “To Arm Against An Enemy: Weapons Of The Revolutionary War,” opens – The exhibition will remain on view until January 2, 2023 – features 70 muskets, carbines and rifles,bayonets, pistols and swords as used by Loyalists, American patriots, Hessians and British “red coats”
To Arm Against An Enemy: Weapons of the Revolutionary War
“Over the last ninety years, Colonial Williamsburg has assembled one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of Revolutionary-era weaponry. That gives us the rare opportunity to explore this subject in an unbiased fashion, from every partisan perspective: American, French, British and Hessian.”
