Famous Airgun Collection Now Being Sold By Airguns Of Arizona
Airguns of Arizona is now selling the famous airgun collection of the noted airgun historian D.T. Fletcher. If you want the chance to buy your own piece of airgun history, this is it!
Examples are shown in our header photograph above. These are Crosman 122 (Lot 148) and Crosman 107 Town And Country (Lot 151).
Mr Fletcher – who passed away in August 2019 – was a notable airgun collector and historian. He is famous for publishing books on the history of vintage American airguns, including “75 Years of Crosman”, “The St. Louis and Benjamin Air Rifle Cos.”, “The Crosman Model 160 Pellgun” and more.
Mr Fletcher is responsible – almost single-handedly – for our knowledge of the vintage American airgun industry. He established strong connections with the Crosman Arms company and was able to acquire and preserve their vast Sales, Marketing and Development department archives.
Below, Lot 150 is a Crosman 101.
The result of this access was his series of books on Crosman and its products. These were self-published, with the major period of his writing being between 1996 and 2016. The “75 Years of Crosman” book – in particular – was a magnum opus of 223 pages, beautifully hard bound and available signed – if required – by the author. It was not cheap to buy, but today it’s a priceless reference work for any airgun historian and one that’s almost impossible to find today.
Apart from company-focussed books, he also authored a range of product-specific monographs – such as those on the 140/1400 and 160 models. These included every known catalog, marketing materials, service manuals and service bulletins for these airguns. They are the “gold standard” for anyone interested in the history and operation of these famous, classic airguns.
Although best known for his knowledge of the Crosman company and products, Mr Fletcher was a great collector with a wide knowledge in other vintage airguns. That interest stretched way back to the first recorded pneumatic airgun of circa 1600 by Martin Bourgeoys. However it was the famous Girandoni – as carried by Lewis and Clark’s transcontinental expedition of 1804 to 1806 – that was his particular interest.
Not content with airguns, he also gathered together the largest metal squirt gun collection in the world – no less than 222 different models!
Robert Buchanan of Airguns of Arizona is also a long-time airgun collector and recognized the importance of Mr Fletcher’s collection. So the vast Fletcher airgun collection was been acquired by Airguns of Arizona. It’s steadily becoming listed on the AoA Pre-Owned Page.
So – if you want to own your own piece of airgun history from a famous airgun collection – now is the time for this “once only” opportunity! These historic guns are listed by individual Lot Number.
Make sure to click on the “DESCRIPTION” tab for confirmation that any particular item is from the D.T.Fletcher collection!
