The Galleries
- Robert E. Petersen Collection
- Ancient Firearms
- The Road to American Liberty
- Seeds of Greatness
- The Prospering New Republic
- A Nation Asunder
- The American West
- Innovation, Oddities and Competition
- Theodore Roosevelt, Elegant Arms
- World War I and Firearms Innovation
- WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Beyond
- For the Fun of It
- Firearms Traditions for Today
- William B. Ruger Special Exhibits
- Freedom's Doorway
The Devil's Shotgun
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.