Question about 1930s collectors & expensive guns
I have a question that might be odd to the people on here but I really need help. I am a struggling scifi/fiction/comic book writer and need some gun information. I have a rich character who would have had a large collection of art and collectables. He also has guns and weapons. In 1932, what would have been some rare and expensive guns that someone with a large bank account might seek out to add to their collection. At least one of these needs to be fairly powerful and/or hold more than your average amount of ammo. I had seen a Mauser that is very rare and expensive now but I am looking for things that would have been rare and very expensive in 1932. Can anyone help? Thanks.
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It is a very sensible question. Percussion Colts and older Winchester rifles have been sought after by collectors since the day one. Our moderator Bert H. is one of the leading experts in a variety of Winchester rifles and I am sure that he'd know what specific models were sought after by well heeled Winchester collectors back in the 1930's. Colt Walkers, Patersons, Dragoons, Pocket Models, Navy's, Roots (the favorites of my old boss at the gun shop) and the 1860 Army were as desirable 80 years ago as they are today. A wealthy man would also have a selection of fine English shotguns; perhaps Boss and Purdey, as well as double rifles in various calibers. For the "powerful", very expensive and unusual gun you might consider having your character use a Borchardt semiautomatic pistol which was easily adaptable for use as a carbine. Those things cost a ton of cash, even when they were introduced back in 1893!
I knew I had a photo of one of these things taken during my trip to the Cody Firearms Museum:
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In the early 30's there were virtually no Federal firearms laws in force in the U.S. He could have owned any number of Thompson Sub Machine Guns or Colt Monitors. As far as handguns were concerned The Mauser Broomhandle Schnellfeuer pistol with 20 round capacity magazine was available. 0 -
A Winchester Model 1876 "One of One Thousand" Fancy Sporting Rifle with gold-plated trim would fit the bill quite nicely. The caliber would be 45-75 W.C.F., and with a 30-inch barrel and full length magazine, it would hold more than a dozen cartridges. My friend and neighbor Dr. Edmund Lewis, just recently published a superb reference book about the Winchester "One of One Thousand" rifles. 0 -
He might have a Safari gun such as a 416 Rigby. Going to Africa was a big deal for wealthy hunters. 0 -
Oh, wow! Thank you so much. You have all been a great help. I wasn`t sure how people would feel about me asking a question like this on a serious gun forum. I will definately use these ideas. This is a comic book and I needed a lot of different ones for background shots and to make the collection large and impressive and I also needed a really powerful, expensive and unique/rare type of handgun that he uses most often (although since he is a paranormal detective the bullets are made of an enchanted metal). Since I live in the south I have grown up around guns and owned and sold/traded a few but I don`t know much about older collectables. Thank you! 0 -
Always happy to help out and when compared to some of the "serious" questions that get asked here, yours was pretty tame! I expect to receive a copy of he first edition of your new comic book [;)]. 0 -
Why not include a BAR? Powerful & holds "more than your usual ammount of ammo". 0 -
quote:Originally posted by rhmc24
Why not include a BAR? Powerful & holds "more than your usual ammount of ammo".
Because all the Browning Automatic Rifles in 1932 (or in previous years) belonged to Uncle Sam. If you had a BAR, super rich or not, it meant that you stole it! The Colt Monitor, which rufe-snow already mentioned, is the commercial option.0 -
Well, he is rich and will stop at nothing to add to his collection so he may have some illegal pieces.LOL I would love to send you guys one for all of your help if I can ever get any of them finished. I am just now getting into this after 20 years of writing stuff down and wanting to do it for a living and now (due to the economy) I find myself with the time to do it. I`m a writer and am currently talking to others to do the artwork. The working title for this one is "Hell On Earth". He was once a rich and powerful but selfish man until he was murdered one night by a thief who broke into his mansion and stabbed him with one of his own treasures (a jeweled dagger). This dagger was actually cursed and captured his soul while transporting his body to Hell (which is actually on Earth located in a bad part of the city and connects to other parts of the world at all of its worst pla ces which allows him to travel anywhere by simply walking down the street and through an alley that might suddenly appear that ends somewhere else). He must work for the devil until he can find a way to release his soul. So he solves crimes relating to the paranormal. The dagger can send escaped souls back to Hell. He carries different magazines with different bullets for different demons. Like Green Arrow does with arrows. He has a demon contact who works for the devil who supplies him with the bullets made from different metals using spells and potions and his ability to change any substance into another as well as being able to melt any solid object into its liquid form. I have set up a Youtube account under the name Mouthycat and hope to use it to share my work and hopefully get noticed by the right people. Thanks again d for helping a newbie. 0 -
Oh, and since everyone thinks he`s dead his fortune was auctioned off. So that kinda stinks for him. LOL Except for the one handgun he carries. He gets it from the auction, which he manages to pay for (now that he is broke) with gold his demon contact makes for him in a prior scene where he mocks his misfortune and teases him by throwing it at him to watch him crawl around the floor for it. They are not friends, he only visits him when he needs new ammo. The demon was once a man who sold his soul long ago for the ability to turn or change any element into a different one which he uses to become very rich. When he dies the devil makes him a demon slave who must perform different duties that require his ability. He can not step foot out of his shop and it has driven him slightly mad over the last few centuries. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by extraplay
Well, he is rich and will stop at nothing to add to his collection...
Must be modeling the character after Bert H.[:o)]. Sounds like a lot of fun and should make for a good read. SOP is to lock all threads at ten replies, but if you have more gun questions just come back and ask us. You are welcome back here any time at all.0
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