The Galleries
- Robert E. Petersen Collection
- Ancient Firearms - 1350 to 1700
- Road to American Liberty - 1700 to 1780
- A Prospering New Republic - 1780 to 1860
- A Nation Asunder - 1861 to 1865
- The American West - 1850 to 1900
- Innovation, Oddities and Competition
- Theodore Roosevelt and Elegant Arms - 1880s to 1920s
- World War I and Firearms Innovation
- WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Beyond - 1940 to Present
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- Modern Firearms - 1950 to Present
- Hollywood Guns
The Devil's Shotgun
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Nicknamed "The Devil's Shotgun," this regally crafted and cased 16 ga. percussion shotgun won a medal at the 1849 Paris Exposition.
It is ebony-stocked and elaborately embellished with numerous
multi-color gold inlaid renderings of demons and other bizarre
creatures, along with their human victims. French humor of the
period sometimes involved private health issues in open
discussion; in this case the use of a clyster syringe in several
scenes.
Of equally ornate and rococo construction are the cased
accessories, including an elegantly curved horn powder flask and a
ramrod made of baleen. Brun's craftsmanship exemplifies the
pinnacle of the Parisian Empire movement that blended engraving,
sculpture and precious metal work to transform sporting arms into
works of art.