By Orme Dumas | Published on November 27, 2025
In frontier Oregon, Thanksgiving wasn’t store-bought turkey and trimmings but venison, wild fowl, and salmon hunted with the firearms of the day. From Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation to frontier feasts, discover how gratitude and grit shaped the holiday ...
Read MoreBy Orme Dumas | Published on November 18, 2025
A deep dive into Smith & Wesson’s Model No. 3 revolvers and the curious .38-44 Gallery cartridge. Orme reflects on their role in American marksmanship and the pursuit of elegance in controlled recoil. Includes notes on examples in the collection and ...
Read MoreBy Orme Dumas | Published on November 11, 2025
Discover how revolvers served as collateral and trade goods in early Oregon pawnshops and general stores. A glimpse into frontier economics, survival, and the understated value of a trusted sidearm.
Read MoreBy Orme Dumas | Published on November 04, 2025
Explore the printed world of firearms advertising in early catalogs and handbills. See how period marketing framed revolvers as practical tools, gifts, and symbols of personal taste in the American West.
Read MoreBy Orme Dumas | Published on October 28, 2025
In this reflective piece, Orme Dumas explores the quiet role of the shopkeeper's revolver — a utilitarian tool of the early 20th-century general store. Far from ornamental, these worn sidearms offered reassurance in uncertain moments, embodying a cul...
Read MoreBy Orme Dumas | Published on October 21, 2025
From folding triggers to pepperboxes, curious compact revolvers reveal a world of ingenuity, discretion, and mechanical creativity in the frontier. Explore the clever and unusual firearms that reflected personality and practicality alike.
Read MoreBy Orme Dumas | Published on October 20, 2025
Oregon loggers carried more than axes and saws: pocket revolvers like the Smith & Wesson .32 Safety Hammerless provided discreet security in the timberlands, blending practicality with a quiet readiness for frontier life.
Read MoreBy Orme Dumas | Published on October 08, 2025
After war left many women alone, small revolvers became quiet symbols of independence for widows across Oregon and the West. These discreet firearms weren’t for show — they offered protection, agency, and a reminder that strength often comes in silen...
Read MoreBy Orme Dumas | Published on September 30, 2025
Oregon surveyors and prospectors relied on precision tools—and discreet revolvers like the Smith & Wesson .32 Safety Hammerless—to navigate the frontier safely. These pocket pistols were as much companions as instruments of protection.
Read MoreBy Orme Dumas | Published on September 23, 2025
Before trains and cars, stagecoaches carried people, parcels, and gold across Oregon. With them came dust, danger, and daring hold-ups—where shotguns, Colts, and Winchesters kept travelers safe on the frontier’s rugged roads.
Read More