Arms collecting and nostalgia

Jim McDougall · 18th January 2025, 07:29 PM

In collecting arms and armor, while all of us have many different reasons for what we collect, whether by field, category or other variation, there are often cases where we are drawn to an item simply from a fond memory or interest in our lives.

As a young lad in about 1955, like most boys my age, the 'new' phenomenon of television brought the venerable westerns and movies into the home, and the long remembered TV series such as 'Gunsmoke', 'Rawhide' and others created a genre and images that remain in our memories.

In these productions of course, the gun was of course the most prevalent trope present, and the ubiquitous 'six gun' was seemingly used by EVERY man.
While these Colt 'peacemakers' became the standard, there were certain exceptions that took things into another dimension. Examples such as the 'mares leg' cut down Winchester used by McQueen in "Wanted Dead or Alive"; the Winchester with loop ring lever action used by Chuck Conners in "The Rifleman" and the legendary "Buntline Special" allegedly used by Wyatt Earp in various productions.

For me however, always drawn to the odd or unusual, I was intrigued by the flap holstered Army pistols seen worn by the army soldiers in the west, with the case in mind of the series "Rin Tin Tin" (1954-59). These were so unusual as they did not look like the Colts of course, so had a unique charisma, and I found they were REMINGTONS.

In the offers made in cereal box sales gimmicks, in one case there were tiny pewter miniatures of the guns of the wild west. I cut out the coupon from the cereal box (to my dads dismay as the cereal poured out the back of the cut out) mailed my quarter and got one of these sets.

There in these tiny guns was the REMINGTON! It was my very favorite!
Several years ago, one of my brothers presented me with some of these tiny pewter guns apparently found among family stuff stored long ago.

This tiny piece of my childhood compelled me to find a REAL example of one of these Remington pistols. It was a tall order, these apparently somewhat scarce, and commanded prices far out of my budget. But one day, I found one which was not in the condition demanded by most collectors, but it served my purpose....not only historically, but nostagically.

The images are of the Remington, the tiny pewter gun of 70 years ago, and the reference book written on these, a limited run and apparently singular one on this topic.
Please note of course, 'Hollywood historicity' is not always 'reliable', but its fun to look at the 'uniforms'.

What I'd like to see is similar stories by others who might have been compelled by such weapons seen in movies, literature or other events in their past which inspired the desire to find such a weapon to have in possession.

Norman McCormick · 19th January 2025, 07:58 PM

Hi Jim,
I suspect more than a few of us have embarked on the arms collecting trail from childhood books, films and t.v. Mine started with t.v. in the fifties, The Adventures of Robin Hood with Richard Greene as Robin. I used to run home from school in great anticipation of 30 minutes of Robin's latest adventures. Unfortunately I have never found 12thC arms at a price compatible with my ambitions but there is still time, I hope !!!! There was also other 5 p.m. kids slots with William Tell, Lancelot, The Buccaneers etc., etc., all grist to the mill of childhood imagination. I did buy all the dvd issues of these t.v. shows and still delve into them occasionally. Nothing like a bit of nostalgia eh !!!!!
Regards as Always,
Norman.

Norman McCormick · 19th January 2025, 08:41 PM

Hi Jim,
Came across this photograph of American troops during the U.S. Expedition to Korea. Looks like they have rolling block carbines.
My Regards,
Norman.

Jim McDougall · 19th January 2025, 09:04 PM

This is great Norman! I know we are in good company with other guys whose boyhood imaginations fueled by the wonder of TV and old movies and TV series probably sparked interests in the exploits and weapons of these cinema heroes.
As you say, some of the period weapons, especially from those medieval times etc. have always been pretty much out of reach.

However, as I graduated from WWII bayonets often sold for a quarter out of barrels in surplus stores in the 50s, to an old Moro keris I was given off a garage wall for helping sand down model A frame......I later found many swords were to be had for just a few dollars.

With an obsession with Zorro (Disney 50s series) I found an old Spanish sword (with the Spanish motto- I had no idea what it meant) on the blade. It was in a boutique shop window festooned with costume necklaces. I was horrified at this disgraceful use of such a sword.........I went in, and bought it for about 20 bucks. The lifetime obession with Spanish colonial swords began. I am presently working on a project on these, with about 40 years of research at hand.

Good catch on the guns in this Korea? picture! When was this? I dont know much on us in Korea before the 50s.

Yup, the old classics (like us

fun to watch time to time, and especially as we hold the period items. I recall some years ago before cable etc. and we waited for certain movies to come on in the programming. I excitedly told my wife "Gunga Din" was on tonight and we MUST watch it.
She said, OK , but no wearing that pith helmet again! You scare the cats!

Thanks for coming in and sharing !!!

Best
Jim

Norman McCormick · 19th January 2025, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Good catch on the guns in this Korea? picture! When was this? I dont know much on us in Korea before the 50s.
Best
Jim

Hi Jim,
1871, here's a short history https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United...ition_to_Korea

My Regards,
Norman.

Jim McDougall · 20th January 2025, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norman McCormick

Hi Jim,
1871, here's a short history https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United...ition_to_Korea

My Regards,
Norman.

This is fascinating !!! I had not known of these events, and its amazing how much foreign intrigue went on in these times that was apparently overshadowed by larger scope conflicts in China (Peking 1900, Boxer Rebellion) and the Russo-Japanese war 1904-05.

Speaking of Korea, as a young lad, though only 5-6 years old, I was always fascinated by words so was reading in degree the news on the Korean War (1950-53). As my dad was pilot, we were around guys who flew F-86s etc.and we saw "Bridges at Toko-Ri" with William Holden. While obviously a bit out of the realm of arms collecting, the influence factor is much the same. Our 'collecting' in this aspect became model airplanes of course.

Norman McCormick · 19th January 2025, 09:09 PM

Hi Jim,
Some more 1950's childrens t.v. series on British screens that gave me the arms and armour bug. Interestingly in the series William Tell I noticed that some of the 'Swiss' daggers used are actually Axis dress daggers some of which were of course designed on real historical types. In the fifties of course loads of bringbacks from WW2 so no surprise some ended up in wardrobe departments. Some of the actors went on to do bigger things notably Roger Moore and Robert Shaw.
My Regards,
Norman.

Jim McDougall · 20th January 2025, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norman McCormick

Hi Jim,
Some more 1950's childrens t.v. series on British screens that gave me the arms and armour bug. Interestingly in the series William Tell I noticed that some of the 'Swiss' daggers used are actually Axis dress daggers some of which were of course designed on real historical types. In the fifties of course loads of bringbacks from WW2 so no surprise some ended up in wardrobe departments. Some of the actors went on to do bigger things notably Roger Moore and Robert Shaw.
My Regards,
Norman.

Excellent examples Norman!!! It is true many weapons brought back from WWII ended up in wardrobe departments of movie studios. In the 'MISC' forum is the thread on the numbers of actual antique arms used in films.
Those Swiss 'Holbein' daggers (for Hans Holbein who fashioned macabre decoration on the scabbard in 1521) were well known as prestigious dress daggers there until early 17th c. How they ended up as 'German axis' regalia is hard to explain, but it certainly tarnished their character IMO.

The William Tell legend was really popular back in the 50s but the topic seems to have waned later. I doubt if any young people these days would have any idea who William Tell was. However the other films with buccaneers remain known, but collectively as 'pirate' films.

Ed · 20th January 2025, 03:17 PM

Lathe swords and garbage can cover shields

I have nothing else to add.

18th January 2025, 07:29 PM	#1
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,062	Arms collecting and nostalgia In collecting arms and armor, while all of us have many different reasons for what we collect, whether by field, category or other variation, there are often cases where we are drawn to an item simply from a fond memory or interest in our lives. As a young lad in about 1955, like most boys my age, the 'new' phenomenon of television brought the venerable westerns and movies into the home, and the long remembered TV series such as 'Gunsmoke', 'Rawhide' and others created a genre and images that remain in our memories. In these productions of course, the gun was of course the most prevalent trope present, and the ubiquitous 'six gun' was seemingly used by EVERY man. While these Colt 'peacemakers' became the standard, there were certain exceptions that took things into another dimension. Examples such as the 'mares leg' cut down Winchester used by McQueen in "Wanted Dead or Alive"; the Winchester with loop ring lever action used by Chuck Conners in "The Rifleman" and the legendary "Buntline Special" allegedly used by Wyatt Earp in various productions. For me however, always drawn to the odd or unusual, I was intrigued by the flap holstered Army pistols seen worn by the army soldiers in the west, with the case in mind of the series "Rin Tin Tin" (1954-59). These were so unusual as they did not look like the Colts of course, so had a unique charisma, and I found they were REMINGTONS. In the offers made in cereal box sales gimmicks, in one case there were tiny pewter miniatures of the guns of the wild west. I cut out the coupon from the cereal box (to my dads dismay as the cereal poured out the back of the cut out) mailed my quarter and got one of these sets. There in these tiny guns was the REMINGTON! It was my very favorite! Several years ago, one of my brothers presented me with some of these tiny pewter guns apparently found among family stuff stored long ago. This tiny piece of my childhood compelled me to find a REAL example of one of these Remington pistols. It was a tall order, these apparently somewhat scarce, and commanded prices far out of my budget. But one day, I found one which was not in the condition demanded by most collectors, but it served my purpose....not only historically, but nostagically. The images are of the Remington, the tiny pewter gun of 70 years ago, and the reference book written on these, a limited run and apparently singular one on this topic. Please note of course, 'Hollywood historicity' is not always 'reliable', but its fun to look at the 'uniforms'. What I'd like to see is similar stories by others who might have been compelled by such weapons seen in movies, literature or other events in their past which inspired the desire to find such a weapon to have in possession. Attached Images Last edited by Jim McDougall; 19th January 2025 at 12:05 AM.

19th January 2025, 07:58 PM	#2
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,607	Hi Jim, I suspect more than a few of us have embarked on the arms collecting trail from childhood books, films and t.v. Mine started with t.v. in the fifties, The Adventures of Robin Hood with Richard Greene as Robin. I used to run home from school in great anticipation of 30 minutes of Robin's latest adventures. Unfortunately I have never found 12thC arms at a price compatible with my ambitions but there is still time, I hope !!!! There was also other 5 p.m. kids slots with William Tell, Lancelot, The Buccaneers etc., etc., all grist to the mill of childhood imagination. I did buy all the dvd issues of these t.v. shows and still delve into them occasionally. Nothing like a bit of nostalgia eh !!!!! Regards as Always, Norman. Attached Images

19th January 2025, 08:41 PM	#3
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,607	Hi Jim, Came across this photograph of American troops during the U.S. Expedition to Korea. Looks like they have rolling block carbines. My Regards, Norman. Attached Images

19th January 2025, 09:09 PM	#7
Norman McCormick Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,607	Hi Jim, Some more 1950's childrens t.v. series on British screens that gave me the arms and armour bug. Interestingly in the series William Tell I noticed that some of the 'Swiss' daggers used are actually Axis dress daggers some of which were of course designed on real historical types. In the fifties of course loads of bringbacks from WW2 so no surprise some ended up in wardrobe departments. Some of the actors went on to do bigger things notably Roger Moore and Robert Shaw. My Regards, Norman. Attached Images Last edited by Norman McCormick; 19th January 2025 at 11:00 PM.

19th January 2025, 09:04 PM	#4
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,062	This is great Norman! I know we are in good company with other guys whose boyhood imaginations fueled by the wonder of TV and old movies and TV series probably sparked interests in the exploits and weapons of these cinema heroes. As you say, some of the period weapons, especially from those medieval times etc. have always been pretty much out of reach. However, as I graduated from WWII bayonets often sold for a quarter out of barrels in surplus stores in the 50s, to an old Moro keris I was given off a garage wall for helping sand down model A frame......I later found many swords were to be had for just a few dollars. With an obsession with Zorro (Disney 50s series) I found an old Spanish sword (with the Spanish motto- I had no idea what it meant) on the blade. It was in a boutique shop window festooned with costume necklaces. I was horrified at this disgraceful use of such a sword.........I went in, and bought it for about 20 bucks. The lifetime obession with Spanish colonial swords began. I am presently working on a project on these, with about 40 years of research at hand. Good catch on the guns in this Korea? picture! When was this? I dont know much on us in Korea before the 50s. Yup, the old classics (like us fun to watch time to time, and especially as we hold the period items. I recall some years ago before cable etc. and we waited for certain movies to come on in the programming. I excitedly told my wife "Gunga Din" was on tonight and we MUST watch it. She said, OK , but no wearing that pith helmet again! You scare the cats! Thanks for coming in and sharing !!! Best Jim

20th January 2025, 03:17 PM	#9
Ed Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 250	Lathe swords and garbage can cover shields I have nothing else to add.