Show twice at the Pebble Beach Concours d ’ Elegance , also funded the endowment for the Robert M . Lee Gallery of American Arms at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and proceeded to furnish it with several world-class items from his personal collection . Robert E . Petersen , who created Motor Trend and Hot Rod magazines , also collected fine arms in addition to automobiles , and his remarkable arms collection currently resides almost in its entirety at the NRA National Firearms Museum .
Those two institutions are far from alone in their acquisitions . The world ’ s top museums have cataloged fine arms for centuries for all the same reasons any object would be held by museums . The aforementioned Metropolitan Museum of Art has had its collection of Arms & Armor since 1912 , with donations from the likes of J . P . Morgan and William Randolph Hurst . The department ’ s instagram account proves the appeal isn ’ t just for older patrons . The Louvre has a significant grouping of arms and armor , with items that belonged to Charlemagne and Henry II .
If the world ’ s preeminent museums weren ’ t convincing enough , institutions like the Autry Museum of the American West , the National WWII Museum , and the National Museum of Americans in Wartime , also have substantial firearms collections , and others , like the Cody Firearms Museum , focus almost entirely on firearms . Nor is it uncommon to see fine arms offered by the world ’ s top auction houses such as Christies or Sotheby ’ s , another testament to their high value and collectability , but there ’ s another auction house that leads the charge in fine arms collecting : Rock Island Auction Company .
Rock Island Auction ’ s growing sales numbers don ’ t just tell the story of fine arms collecting , they shout it . Established in 1993 , the company focuses specifically on antique and collector firearms and militaria . With humble beginnings in the garage of founder Pat Hogan ’ s other business venture , RIAC has grown into a firearms auction giant – the largest in the world since 2003 and
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