Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Herb Houze
City were unique. Early dealers in antique and government surplus firearms along with other weapons and equipment from the Civil War, Indian Wars, Spanish-American War and other eras, their business, founded in 1865 continued to the mid-twentieth century. The remarkable selection of material in their catalogs said to be “the greatest and best show of Military Goods, War Relics and Curios” was no idle boast; the quantity and broad range of arms and militaria available was unrivaled. Quite a few American arms collectors (including myself!) were introduced and inducted into collecting by those arresting, large, profusely photo and drawing-illustrated Bannerman catalogs, issued sporadically circa 1902-1960. Highly collectible in their own right, yet containing significant information on the background of many American arms, they are often mentioned in arms literature and continue to hold relevance for arms collecting to the present day. Bannermans played a major role in the development and history of antique arms collecting in America; its significance cannot be underrated and is deserving of long-awaited, intensive scholarly study.
THE BROOKS COLLECTION; PROGENITOR OF THE U.S. CARTRIDGE COMPANY COLLECTION
Vaguely remembered (if known at all) the 1899 catalog of the A. E. Brooks’s [sic] Collection of Antique Guns, Pistols, etc., Hartford, Connecticut (Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., Hartford Press) is said to be the first extensive illustrated listing of antique firearms assembled by an American collector. It classified and identified over 3,000 artifacts and relics, predominately those of the Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War, Indian Wars and Spanish-American War. Almost 600 of those entries were antique firearms (mostly American) as emphasized by the subtitle: Guns and Pistols from the Earliest Periods and a Complete Collection of all the Different Guns that were Used in Both Armies During the Civil War 1861 to 1865. Privately published by the collector A. E. Brooks who stated in his “Prefatory” that he had been collecting, studying and researching the items for thirty years and that he solicited opinions of others “who may be interested in a collection of this character, with the view of correcting whatever errors may exist [and that the collection was] the most complete one in this country.” On closing, he pointedly remarked “that the collection is now on exhibition at the [prestigious] Wadsworth Athenaeum [in] Hartford,” apparently indicating the catalog was intended to accompany that display. Significant for the collector is Mr. Brooks’ explicit statement that he had included with his catalog descriptions “the history of each piece so far as it is known to me. At the time of each purchase I invariably copied all the historic memoranda obtainable, or recorded the tradition as related by the former owner.” Although such oral or other histories and provenances, unaccompanied by valid documentation, are subject to abuses and the occasional derisive comment about their reliability, it would be reasonable to assume that the preponderance of those ascribed histories in the Brooks captions (if not all) are genuine. Given the era the collection was assembled circa 1850s to 1890s, and the fact that many, if not most of such arms were acquired direct from the men that may have actually carried (or captured) them and their minimal monetary value, there ostensibly would have been little cause for owners who had disposed of their personal or family relics to fabricate spurious stories or, by Brooks likewise. At that time Civil War and Indian Wars weapons (including many of those captured from Indians), were merely secondhand items, some not yet considered obsolete. The mere fact that the sources of many of those arms and relics were still imbued with life would tend to preclude any inclination to fabricate specious origins and openly relate them in a catalog printed for local consumption.
THE BACKGROUND OF THE A. E. BROOKS COLLECTION
As so little has ever been written about the Brooks collection and its successor, the U.S. Cartridge Company, and as it has special significance for the American arms collector, a résumé of its background and a short chronicle of its history is relevant. The collection and A. E. Brooks, both received substantial recognition in the news media. Headlined: “Valuable Collection of Firearms / Unique Specimens Owned by Mr. A. E. Brooks of Hartford,” the New York Times article of May, 1894 offered interesting background on the formation of that vast assemblage of weaponry, including a portrait of the bearded A. E. Brooks, “who has spent his life [assembling the] collection which embraces not less than one thousand stands of arms, revolvers and pistols [and is] the most complete private collection in the country [of its kind].” The article continued at length with details of the gun collection “he began in 1859 and has done great and valuable work as a collector…the history of firearms will be materially benefited by his researches.” The lengthy Hartford Courant article of February, 1897 is also worthy of special note. Captioned “THE A. E. BROOKS MUSEUM TO BE DEPOSITED IN WADSWORTH ATHENAEUM’S SPLENDID COLLECTION OF FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION,” it described much of that material then on display: “the collection [considered] largest of its class in the country and not excelled by any exhibit of its class in the country also [containing] cases of swords, bowie knives and daggers [etc.].” The Courant noted that the collection was being moved “from his place of business to the Wadsworth Athenaeum [as] Mr. Brooks is obliged to vacate the premises he now occupies at 387 Main Street [and] has offered to deposit the collection with the Athenaeum for exhibition and the trustees have accepted [and] will provide room for the 40 or more cases in which the collection has been numbered and cataloged by Mr. Brooks.” The story mentioned the firearms and relics had been displayed at his “restaurant.”
Further summarizing those articles along with some basic data from the U.S. Census returns of 1860, 1880 and 1910, finds that Abel E. Brooks was born 1834 in Massachusetts to parents who were hotel keepers. By 1854 Brooks relocated to Willimantic, Connecticut where he managed a restaurant for a few years, eventually erecting a larger building in 1860 named the “European House” (believed a restaurant, possibly a hotel) which he maintained until 1872 and relocation to Hartford. “Geers Hartford Directory” listed him as a “Saloon Keeper” or as a Liquor dealer or merchant and having two locations on Main Street, Hartford. Newspaper biographical sketches indicate that one of those was a restaurant in which the interior walls were decorated with thirty large cases of his antique firearms, while another eight cases of military relics were displayed in his den upstairs. Brooks collecting activities began in earnest in the mid-1850s and were relentlessly pursued to the late 1890s.
The initial change of ownership of the Brooks Collection was reported in the Courant of Jan. 24, 1902. It related that [his] “collection of war and other relics and curios” was to be transferred from the Wadsworth Athenaeum to Boston [for] exhibit at the show of the Massachusetts Sportsmens Association from mid-February to mid-March that year and “at the conclusion of [show] the guns, pistols and cannons will be taken by Paul Butler of Lowell, Mass., president of the U.S. Cartridge Company of that city. For many years this collection gave a distinction to Mr. Brooks’s café on Main Street. After he went out of business most of the relics were deposited with the Athenaeum and there they have been ever since Mr. Butler, who has purchased the firearms, is a son of the late General Benjamin Butler. He is also president of the Massachusetts Sportsmens Association.” Five years later, the Courant (May, 1907) reported that the Brooks collection of Indian relics had been sold at auction, the largest purchaser being the American Museum of Natural History. As for all the Civil War relics and other accessories, ordnance equipment and edged weapons, their whereabouts yet remains a mystery.
Following their acquisition and display of the gun collection (c. 1902) the U.S. Cartridge Company issued a 104-page photographically illustrated catalog, intended to accompany the exhibit at the Sportsmans’ Show. (That first printing of the catalog is apparently quite rare.) The company later (c. 1910-20) revised and enlarged the catalog to 140 pages; copies of that undated edition are occasionally available on the collectors’ market.
The widely known U.S. Cartridge Co., a major manufacturer of ammunition, was established in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1869 by the notable Civil War, Union Army General Benjamin F. Butler (later governor of Massachusetts, 1883). By 1870 he had secured complete control of the company, continuing to direct operations until his death in 1893, whereupon his son Paul Butler and other direct descendants assumed his controlling interest and management of the company. The Brooks collection, acquired in 1902, served to promote the company name. In 1904, following initial display at the Boston show, the company shipped it to Missouri for exhibit at the St. Louis Exposition. It was there that it was