As history's largest global conflict, the Second World War ignited the ultimate arms race. From tanks and artillery to machine guns, rifles, and pistols, WW2 weapons saw immense innovation in every arena as the Axis and Allies vied for battlefield superiority. The sheer number of distinct models produced and fielded during the conflict has resulted in one of the most diverse arms collecting classes today. Rock Island Auction Company is proud to present a small, curated grouping of pieces from one of the largest privately held collections of military vehicles in the world. Such extraordinary pi ..read more

Russia, defeated by France and the Ottomans in the Crimean War in 1856, was a broken and weakened military. Its officials knew modernization was necessary. The Imperial Russian Army needed a new handgun. It looked to the United States. In World War 1, when Russia sent troops into battle unarmed it again looked to the United States. Both times the United States and its gunmakers responded, pleased to enjoy the money of a foreign government contract. In the 19th century, fledgling gun companies sought government contracts that could potentially make them financially stable. Samuel Colt did that ..read more

Over the decades, competition between Winchester and Marlin has produced some of the best lever action rifles on the market. For 19th century arms collectors, both platforms are iconic, with rare Winchesters like the relief game scene engraved, gold inlaid and plated Winchester Deluxe Model 1873 pictured below representing the pinnacle of the fine arms field. A factory engraved Winchester Model 1873, one of the best Winchester lever action rifle offerings available this May. Despite Winchester’s market dominance, Marlin also made a respectable name for themselves in the twilight years of the A ..read more

Originating from French words like "carabin" and "carabinier," the term carbine came to refer to lightweight muskets and rifles with shortened barrels and stocks. These weapons provided mounted troops and other units who required greater mobility with an easier-to-carry and more maneuverable option on the battlefield. Early carbines tended to be smoothbore, but rifled carbines gained traction in the 19th century, and the American Civil War saw a renaissance of innovation in the platform. An excellent U.S. inspected American Machine Works Smith Patent percussion carbine (top) and an outstanding ..read more

Rock Island Auction Company will be aglow with Smith & Wesson handguns  ̶  rarities and classics  ̶  dedicating its entire May 1 Collectors Spotlight auction slate to only firearms from the legendary American company. More than half of the Smith & Wesson handguns in the 300-lot auction are from the collection of long-time collector Jon M. Maxwell. Maxwell was a 40-year member of the Smith & Wesson Collector Association and devoted himself to the pursuit of assembling a group of experimental, early production, one-off and rare collectable Smith & Wesson handg ..read more

Theodore Roosevelt remains one of the most popular men in American history and certainly one of our best and most beloved presidents. His face is chiseled into Mount Rushmore, and his legacy is represented far wider in the national landscape thanks to his immense contributions to conservation and national parks. Theodore Roosevelt passed his love for outdoor adventure on to his son Kermit, who accompanied his father on numerous hunts. This Hawken rifle and Parker Brothers shotgun offered by RIAC this May belonged to father and son, and together tell a story of an intimate period in the Rooseve ..read more

The USA Shooting Team is preparing to build on its Olympic medal-winning legacy as it aims for the Paris Games this summer, but it needs help from the wider firearms community before it gets there. USA Shooting has displayed decades of dominance on the Olympic stage, including three gold medals in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and 58 gold medals since shooting competitions were part of the first Olympics in 1896. Unlike other countries, the federal government doesn’t fund the U.S. Olympic Team, and programs like USA Basketball draw sponsors like Nike and AT&T. USA Shooting relies on donations an ..read more

George Armstrong Custer and Wild Bill Hickok were dead when John H. Burns arrived in Deadwood, Dakota Territory in 1877 with a letter of recommendation in his pocket from a well-known Chicago Circuit Court judge. Custer’s expedition into the Black Hills in 1874 sparked the gold rush. A year later in the fall of 1875, gold was discovered in “Deadwood Gulch” and a mining camp sprang up the following spring. Hickok arrived in the summer of 1876 as part of a wagon train to the gold rush but was only in town for a few weeks before he was shot dead at a card table holding aces and eights. Into this ..read more

In 'The Pilgrim's Progress: 1620-1875,' a humorous chronology of U.S. history widely published in 1875 newspapers, historian James Hammond Trumbull declared that in 1835 America "Invents the revolver, and sets about supplying the world with it, as a peace-maker." From the Paterson onward, the concept of the wheelgun as an equalizer was touted by gun dealers around the globe, with no model representing that idea more prominently than the Colt Single Action Army, the favorite peacemaker of the Wild West. This high condition U.S. contract Colt Cavalry Model Single Action Army was manufactured in ..read more

For over two centuries, James Purdey & Sons has ranked among the finest names in gunmaking. From shooting champions to English royalty, Purdey sporting arms have been treasured far and wide, and owning a shotgun or rifle from the famed London gunmaker is a dream come true for countless sportsmen, shooters, and collectors today. A consecutive trio of engraved 28 gauge Purdey Best Quality sidelock over/under shotguns. All three scenes were executed in exceptional detail by the hand of highly renowned master engraver Simon Coggan, who has signed each of the guns on the triggerplate. Available ..read more