Collection Spotlight: Arms and Armor at the Autry National Center

Introduction

Julia Bourbois is the curator for Pistols: Dazzling Firearms, opening in May 2007.

The collection of arms and armor at the Autry National Center (encompassing the collections at the Museum of the American West and the Southwest Museum of the American Indian) is among the largest in the western United States. Within the collection are three broad areas: arms and armor from Native American cultures, objects from Spain's colonial possessions, and items of European and American manufacture. The collection focuses on both outstanding craftsmanship and utilitarian function—that is, items intended for actual use rather than solely for display, from ancient Native American armaments to the widely recognized Colt .45s associated with the American gunslinger. Expertly crafted arms and armor express broader cultural and historic forces. Hence, highlights from the collection of arms and armor presented herein are organized first by culture of origin and, within origin, chronologically.

In 1985 the Autry National Center acquired the arms collection of John E. Bianchi, Jr. This was further expanded with the accessioning of the firearms from the Colt Industries Museum in 1987 and the George Strichman Colt Collection in 1990. With the merger of the Museum of the American West and the Southwest Museum of the American Indian in 2004, the collection grew to provide a balanced representation of the arms and armor of cultures of the American West. The collection continues to benefit greatly from on-going private donations from collectors and the public.

Always among the Museum's most popular attractions, the Colt Gallery at the Museum of the American West offers a complete array of Colt models beginning with the rare Colt-Pearson Prototype pistol to the M16.

The arms and armor collection of the Autry National Center is curated by Julia Logan Bourbois, M.A., all photography by Terry Moore unless otherwise noted.