(Jo Mo Davis Gun Museum

CLAREMORE, OKLAHOMA

Open Daily No Admission Charge Mrs. Vernon E. Guffey 1614 Randel Road Oklahoma City, OK 73116 ,)

JOHN MONROE DAVIS was born of Danish and Irish parents on June 27, 1887 on a plantation near Calion, Union County, Arkansas.

At the age of seven his father gave him a dollar and half muzzle loading because he had taken his medicine like a good boy. This was in the year 1894 and was the be­ ginning of this fabulous collection.

Mr. Davis received his civil engineering degree at the Univer­ sity of Arkansas, and attended Draughons Business College in Tyler, Texas for his business education.

Mr. Davis made wise investments in timberland as a young man, and in 1916 he traded two thousand acres of his Arkan­ sas land to Dr. John Rucker for the Mason Hotel. In 1917 he moved into the Hotel Mason and took over the management. At this time, he began displaying his gun collection on the walls in the lobby of the Mason Hotel. Mr. Davis collected guns that were unique and different as opposed to specializ­ ing in any particular manufacturer or type, making this collec­ tion so diversified and educational. He soon became interna­ tionally known as a gun expert and avid collector. People came from near and far to buy, sell, trade, or just to get his expert opinion. Well known authors would seek out Mr. Davis and his collection when writing research books. We find photo­ graphs of many guns in this collection included in research material.

Mr. Davis loved to collect things and began adding knives, swords, horns, steins, saddles, Indian Artifacts, and many other items to his collection of guns.

He was elected Mayor of the City of Claremore and served from 1921 to 1923; then was elected for five consecutive terms from 1933 to 1943. The people of Claremore presented him with an inscribed silver plate in appreciation of his many faithful years of civil service.

Mr. Davis continued to collect, the lobby walls, became full, the Ballroom was filled to capacity! The walls of the long halls upstairs were lined everywhere you could see, and seven pri­ vate rooms in the Hotel became full.

In the Spring of 1965, Mr. Davis transferred ownership of this unbelievable collection to a Trust: "The J. M. DAVIS FOUN­ DATION, INCORPORATED." The trustees are:

Mrs. Genevieve B. Davis, Secretary (His Wife) Dr. William R. Murphy (His Nephew)

At this time the J. M. Davis Foundation entered into an agree­ ment with the State of Oklahoma for the preservation of the collection.

THE J. M. DAVIS MEMORIAL COMMISSION was created in 1965 by the Oklahoma State Legislature. This same Oklahoma State Legislature appropriated $300,000.00 to get the project started. With help and advice from Mr. Davis, the Commission purchased Block 82 in the City of Claremore. Mr. Davis, having an engineering degree, had determined long ago that it would take a building 200 by 200 feet to display his collection. Murray Jones Murray, Architects designed a forty thousand square foot building, to be built in phases as money could be appropriated by the Oklahoma State Legislature.

The first phase was completed in 1968. Approximately 5,000 guns and thousands of other artifacts were displayed in this phase of the J. M. Davis Gun Museum. Opening day was June 27, 1969, Mr. Davis' 82nd birthday.

The second phase, recently completed, will display approxi­ mately 7,000 . This phase includes a library with hun­ dreds of books, all about firearms, open for public use.

The smallest automatic pistol ever to be factory produced is the "KOLIBRI", compared here to a U.S. 250 piece. Fredrich Pfannl of Austria designed and produced this "Mini" shortly after W.W. I. It is complete in every detail. The (shown) holds seven of the tiny centerfire cartridges (shown). The pistol is 2 5/8 inches overall length and weighs only 2 1/2 ounces. This rare "miniest mini" is representative of the hun­ dreds of rare and unique pieces to be seen in the Davis col­ lection. ABOUT THE COLLECTION

Mr. Davis' collection is the greatest gun collection in the world, containing 20,000 guns, and is valued at 6 to 7 million dollars.

All types of guns from all over the world are on display — from hand to the most modern automatics — machine guns, a gatling gun, Kentucky , cannons, famous Colts, Winchesters, Parkers, and outlaw guns, whaling guns and ele­ phant guns.

The Davis Collection also features hundreds of beer steins, saddles, mounted animal heads, steer horns, early Oklahoma cattle brands, musical instruments, World War I poster collec­ tion, thousands of Indian Artifacts, , swords, knives, and John Rogers Statuary.

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Made about 1570, the massive has both a wheel lock and match lock ignition. Its weight, 21 pounds, required a forked rest for aiming. The barrel has a bore that is twist rifled with sixteen grooves and accepts a lead ball three quarters of an inch in diameter. The "Wheellock" ignition system, developed about 1517, worked on the same order as a cigarette lighter. Pressing the trigger released the wheel causing a shower of sparks in the primed pan igniting the main charge. This Wheel- lock in the Davis Collection is one of the largest wheel locks ever designed to be fired from the shoulder. ' 1/ ' 2) j 3j,_ ' 41 s SI j 6| ! 7| ' S\ ! 9\ x \W. . V OKL.A.HOM,.

The dual wheel lock and match lock ignition con­ tains forty-five separate pieces.

On the lock plate are stamped figures of a pine cone, representing the guild of Augsburg, Germany, and a pitcher, indicating the maker as being a mem­ ber of the Krug Family. SwwnSvg- | --'---•-••••- -TfiatT

The most lavishly decorated gun in the J. M. Davis Collection has more than 50,000 pieces of natural and stained ivory in­ tricately cut and inlaid into the wooden stock to form natural­ istic and geometric designs. Thousands upon thousands of tiny pieces of brass form a myriad of six point stars, circles, petals, and many other designs. Hair fine pieces of brass en­ circle thousands of the ivory inlay patterns. A pierced silver band holds the barrel to the stock enhancing the beauty of the inlay. The barrel, made of watered steel, is richly inlaid with gold making floral and scroll designs.

The lock mechanism is a style that originated in Spain about 1600 and is popularly called a Miquelet. It is also richly inlaid with gold.

This fine piece could have been owned by a Sultan of Turkey or Shah of Persia.

It is representative of the many fine and beautiful pieces in the Davis Collection, that only the hands of a skilled and master craftsman could have made.

Another fine piece in the Davis Collection richly decorated with ivory, bone, and mother of pearl. It is a 16th century Ger­ man Jaeger wheellock converted to a . Only a few "Northwest" trade guns, with the traditional cast brass dragon side plate and the Hudson Bay Company's crest stamped in relief, have survived their hard use on the frontier. The "Northwest" in the Davis Collection was made by the London firm of Wilson and Barnett and dated 1858. The barrel and butt have been altered, possibly to make it a handier tool for use in the frontier country.

Many fine sword pistols are displayed in the Davis Museum, however, this one exhibits the near ultimate in handcrafted steel. The double edged blade has two 32 muzzle loading barrels, each complete with pan and frizzen, mounted on each side. When the two top barrels are discharged, a latch is pulled, the blade and barrels swivel a half turn, per­ mitting the remaining two barrels to be at ready. Burl walnut forms the handle and gold decorates the steel. A large portion of the J. M. Davis Collection is dedicated to muzzle loading firearms. The muzzle loading rifles' peak use was in the era between 1725 and 1875. In this period of time these rifles saw in the French and Indian War, Revolu­ tionary War, The War of 1812, The Mexican War, and our long and bitter Civil War. When America moved west it was the muzzle loading firearms that the frontiersmen took with them to secure the land for the people that would follow.

The J. M. Davis Collection has examples of all types of muzzle loading firearms relating their bit of history to the viewer.

The ornate and decorative work on the long Kentucky rifles were not always "show". Made of silver, brass and iron, these decorations serve a dual purpose in many places. The long narrow metal inlay on the stock covers a "patchbox" for hold­ ing patches. The small round inlay covers a "capbox" for hold­ ing caps. Other inlays in the stock are used as "pinholders" that attach the barrel to the stock. WALK A MILE

Mr. J. M. Davis and the State of Oklahoma have joined to­ gether to provide you the pleasure of viewing a mile of gun displays.

Take this stroll rubbing shoulders with centuries of history, seeing the beauty that only hands of a master craftsman could produce, the changes and advancements created through man's quest for better achievements.

The complete evolution of the is exhibited and illus­ trated in a special display to enable the viewer to determine approximately what year major developments occurred.

As you walk this mile you will have the opportunity to see all the famous makes and models of guns from all over the world — the rare — the unusual — the unique.

It is truly an adventure for everyone of all ages. t The Winchester Model '73 made the Winchester name famous throughout the Western frontier. It was a modi­ fication of the model '66 strengthen­ ed to handle the 44-40; first center- fire developed by Winches­ ter. The Model '73 rifle had a capac­ ity of fifteen cartridges.

The Frontier model Colt became the companion piece of the Winchester Model '73 and was used throughout the West, in the conflicts between cattle rustlers and ranchers, outlaws and law abiding citizens.

The use of interchangeable ammuni­ tion was largely, responsible for these two weapons making up the frontiers­ man's standard quota of arms.

IIR Known as the "Cookson Rifle" in America and made about 1680, only a few museums in the world have one. Four are known to be located in the . This one is in the Davis Gun Museum.

Henry Nock, famous gunmaker in London, was called upon to produce 655, seven-barrel, volley guns, exclusively for the . His fired all seven barrels with one pull of the trigger. It required 2 1/2 drams of black powder, causing a recoil too dangerous for in the crows nests and tops of sailing ships. Its use was discontinued by the Royal Navy and Nock turned to the sportsman for the market. The Nock seven barrel in the Davis Collection was built for the goose shooter. It is beautifully stocked with tiger tail strip­ ed English Walnut. RESEARCH - PRESERVATION - EDUCATION

The primary concern of the J. M. Davis Gun Museum is to preserve the Davis Collection for the education and enjoyment of the visitors now, and for generations to come. Each piece is carefully and thoroughly cleaned by experts. Too much clean­ ing is as harmful as too little.

The Museum research department is in the process of re­ searching and cataloging each piece in the Davis Collection. Almost daily a mystery is solved and a new identification mark is recorded by two of the most knowledgeable firearms men in the country. These records are available for fellow scholars and researchers as well as the general public.

The Museum staff is also researching and cataloging steins, knives, swords, and other items in the collection.

One of the finest libraries in the country for research of fire­ arms is the J. M. Davis Gun Museum Library at the Museum.

The library is available for your use on the premises. Books are not "checked out" but you are welcome to spend a day or week browsing in the Museum library.

Friends of the museum have donated many volumes to the library. The donor's name appears in the book and he is al­ lowed a tax credit for the donation. The library contains al­ most a complete set of "The American Rifleman", dating from 1935, due to the thoughtfulness of a donor.

Many visitors bring their unidentified firearms and other ob­ jects to the Museum to be identified. Our research depart­ ment is always available to answer your questions. It is a pub­ lic service provided by the J. M. Davis Gun Museum. The Research Department of the J. M. Davis Gun Museum compares marked and unmarked guns to determine their origin.

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The unique and unusual marks and manufacturers names are photographed and researched. A portion of the machine guns displayed at the J. M. Davis Gun Museum. One section of the museum houses Mr. Davis' saddle collec­ tion. The North American Indian woman's saddle, covered with rawhide, decorated with hundreds of brass tacks, is rep­ resentative of the unusual saddles. However, many fine work­ ing and riding western and Mexican saddles are also on dis­ play.

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A rare Smith and Wesson revolving rifle made in the 1880's. Other revolving rifles in the museum by famous makers in­ clude, LeMat, Warner, Billinghurst and E. Lefaucheux. STEINS Over 1,000 drinking vessels are on display. All manufacturers and types are represented, dating from 1703 to present. One ounce is the smallest — nine gallons is the largest. The second commemorative medal struck in 1972 depicts the first gun collected by J. M. Davis. Limited edition - 300 Sterling - 2500 Bronze

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The first commemorative medal struck in 1971 to honor J. M. Davis, collector of the world's largest gun collection. Limited edition - 100 Sterling - 2500 Bronze