The National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association’s Rand House Museum will host several interesting collections of firearms, swords, and Native American stone tools for the National Championship Shoot scheduled for September 12th-20th, 2009.
An exhibit of different types of pistols, on loan from the Tippecanoe County Historical Association of Lafayette, Indiana, has several unique pieces, including an extremely rare circa 1860’s air pistol by Schemann and Wirsling of Cincinnati, Ohio, a Remington-Beals 1st model revolver, and a Bacon 2nd model revolver, with an estimated production of 3,000 pieces. The Historical Association is also sending some other firearms, including a full stock/percussion/curly maple, circa 1850, a half stock 410 gauge shotgun with a checkered/carved stock, showing several repairs, a Bixler and Iddings double barrel shotgun with a checkered wrist, and a full stock percussion Kentucky rifle with a four-piece brass patchbox.
There will also be a collection of swords from the Historical Association. Several Civil War and pre-Civil War military swords, including a Confederate “Fort Sabre” by Griswold and Company, New Orleans, several 1840 Heavy Cavalry sabres, otherwise known as “the wrist breakers,” and a probable Nathan Starr cavalry saber, circa 1812.
Native American stone tools are often of great interest to those who study the early history of our country, and the Rand House Museum will host a large collection of these exhibited by an anonymous collector. Many of these pieces and large parts of the collection have won top state and national awards from various archaeological societies, and numerous photos of these pieces have been published in various journals, books and magazines across the country. This collection is considered by many to be one of the best of its kind in the country.
A number of photos from the NMLRA archives that have not previously been exhibited are scheduled to be on display, and a special area will be set up with activities and museum handling materials for children.
The Rand House Museum thanks guest curators Jeff Jaeger and Rick Conwell for their assistance.
Museum hours for the National Championship Shoot will be posted on the NMLRA website at www.nmlra.org. For more information on the Rand House Museum, or if you are interested in exhibiting at the museum in the future, please contact Leslie Martin Conwell, NMLRA American History Events Coordinator, 765.563.6792, nmlraevents@seidata.com.
