One of the first businesses J.M. Davis set up was a hotel, which was handily located between the bus station and the train station. The lobby served as the showcase for his growing collection. They've recreated part of that lobby in a room of the museum.
I really tried with one or two shots to give you an idea of the scale of the place, but it won't fit in the little camera box at all. Michael and I had to drag ourselves out and get riding; it's awfully easy (even if you're not much of a gun nut) to spend the whole day there.
Michael spotted this one. Right behind the pretty Belgian pistol are a couple of samples of the world's first cartridge:
This is just one corner:
And I believe I promised you some Revolutionary War rifles:
Those particular old caplocks sure are easy on my eyes. How 'bout yours? It didn't surprise me that they had the one case in the place that allows you to admire from both sides.
As you can see, I took flash pictures (a tricky business with glass cases). I don't know what their normal policy is, but I obtained permission from the extraordinarily helpful curator Wayne before proceeding, and I promised to be very respectful of those things that could be affected by the intense light of the strobe. And I kept that promise, too--sorry about the pictures I
didn't get as a result, but it couldn't be helped.
Enjoy!
