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America Remembers®
"A COMMITMENT TO UNCOMPROMISED
QUALITY AND INTEGRITY"
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Located in suburban Richmond, Virginia, in the town of
Ashland, America Remembers was founded by Paul J. Warden in 1993 to acquire
the Antique Arms Division from the United States Historical Society. Prior
to the establishment of America Remembers, Mr. Warden was a partner and
President of the United States Historical Society. Now, with more than 25 years in
the high end collectible firearms business, his expertise is evident in
every project undertaken by his firm.
Our Mission
America Remembers is a non-governmental organization dedicated to the
remembrance of notable Americans and historic American events. With an
unmatched reputation for excellence, America Remembers works closely with
legendary American heroes and personalities, museums, and organizations to
issue unique and handsomely designed commemorative firearms.
Honoring American Icons
Focusing on American heroes, history, and organizations, America Remembers
has issued special, limited edition firearms honoring legendary and fabled
American personalities and icons of times past and present.
Firearms issues generally fall into one of the following
categories: Civil War, Entertainers, Hollywood Cowboys, Hunting/Conservation,
Military Tributes, Old West, Patriotic and Sports. Capturing the highlights
of history on a steel canvas, each edition is produced with the utmost
attention to detail. We make every effort to assure quality control and
customer satisfaction goals are met and exceeded at all times. America
Remembers strives to provide unique and historically important firearms for
the discriminating collector.
Strictly Limited Editions
Each issue is produced in
a strictly limited edition. Our exclusive edition limits ensures your place
in an elite rank of collectors who acquire each issue. Each firearm is
individually numbered and your individual edition number is recorded on a
Certificate of Authenticity.
Convenient Monthly Payments
America Remembers also offers special payment terms for
collectors with credit verification and approval making it possible for
anyone, with an appreciation of firearms and the place they hold in our
history, able to purchase. Issues from America Remembers are in the
collections of people from every walk of life, from well-known movie stars,
athletes, and musicians, to politicians, doctors, and lawyers, mechanics to
truck drivers, from business executives to homemakers.
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Reprinted from January 2003 issue
of American Rifleman.
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Saluting History Through
Arms:
The America Remembers Story
by R.L. Wilson
The celebratory-commemorative
tradition of creating decorative arms continues today in guns, swords and
knives by specialty firms such as America Remembers.
 Celebrating historical personages or events with specially decorated objects
has a long tradition in the world of arms and armor. Magnificent firearms,
swords and suits of armor have been created to commemorate coronations,
meetings of heads of state and even weddings, as evidenced by examples in
museums and private collections around the world. Among the finest
productions of the Colt armory were deluxe percussion and cartridge
revolvers commemorating major exhibitions or fairs such as the Paris
Exposition of 1867 and the Philadelphia Centennial of 1876. Both Smith &
Wesson and Tiffany & Co. created spectacular revolvers in celebration of the
Chicago World's Fair of 1893. Fine guns by Winchester, Sharps and Remington
are among other such superior, 19th century American pieces made long before
the modern series of commemorative arms first appeared in the late 1950s and
early 1960s.
That celebratory-commemorative
tradition continues today in firearms issued by individual gunmakers and in
guns, swords and knives by specialty firms such as America Remembers, of
Ashland, Va. With an eye toward the future and a keen admiration of the
past, America Remembers, and its allied United States Society of Arms and
Armour, is a non-governmental organization dedicated to honoring notable
Americans and events in our history. Its sole endeavor is creating and
marketing "premium three-dimensional collectibles, such as special issue
firearms, edged weapons, sculpture, porcelain and more."
Often these specially designed
and manufactured issues are directly associated with legendary American
heroes and personalities and their descendants, as well as with museums and
other institutions. Each collectable is carefully designed to express the
significance and tradition of the person or theme being honored-and issues
are customarily produced only in strictly limited editions.
Purchasers of these prized
pieces range from individuals who are supportive of the museums, societies,
historic sites, individuals or institutions being honored to collectors from
all levels of dedication and refinement. Collectors of America Remembers
pieces include: singer/songwriter Travis Tritt, automobile and gun
writer/photographer Dennis Adler, actor Bruce Boxleitner, and renowned Colt
specialist Dr. Joseph A. Murphy. Examples of America Remembers issues were
specifically pictured in the author's Fine Colts: The Dr. Joseph A.
Murphy Collection, and an eight-page color section of The Colt
Engraving Book (Volume II) featured some of the more prominent of
America Remembers' Colt revolver issues. Other fine guns and edged weapons
of this genre appear in the pages of Steel Canvas: The Art of American
Arms. That book was dedicated to the NRA and to The NRA Foundation, as
well as to yet another distinguished collector of special issues and other
fine guns, Robert M. Lee.
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 America's
rich tradition of country and Western entertainment is the focus of the
collage at right with (clockwise
from top l.): George Jones Tribute Winchester Model 94, George Jones Tribute
Single Action Army, Elvis and Graceland Tribute Model 94 rifle, Elvis
Presley Tribute Government Model pistol, Travis Tritt Tribute Winchester 94,
Travis Tritt Single Action Army, and Elvis Presley Western Tribute.
Decorative devices are in celebration of each theme. |
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Establishing America
Remembers
 The predecessor to America
Remembers was the U.S. Historical Society, which was created early in the
celebrations planned to honor the U.S. Bicentennial. The society was founded
by Robert H. Kline whose concept was to honor the rich heritage of the
American Revolution with special commemoratives. Soon it recognized the
unique role of firearms in America's past and developed a series of historic
issues. Among the first of those was a pair of flintlock pistols duplicating
the silver-mounted flintlocks of George Washington, displayed in the West
point Museum. That set was soon followed by the cased pair of Hamilton-Burr
dueling pistols, licensed by Chase Manhattan Bank, owners of the original
set of Wogdens used in that historic confrontation.
In 1994, Paul Warden, president
of the U.S. Historical Society for more than 15 years, acquired the Firearms
Division and established America Remembers. He immediately carried over the
society's Antique Arms Committee, a carefully selected panel of experts, to
assist the staff in planning and design. The group had served the society
for many years and was originally headed by the late author and collector
Merrill K. Lindsay. Among previously appointed advisor-members were the late
performing artist Mel Tormé and then Audubon magazine editor and active
conservationist Les Line. Others included writer, editor and collector
Michael V. Korda, and the author.
Licensing
Agreements And Historic Pedigrees
The majority of U.S. Historical
Society and America Remembers pieces are made under licensing agreements
with organizations such as Interpol, the Royal Armouries/H.M. Tower of
London, the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, the National Cowboy and
Western Heritage Museum, Elvis Presley Enterprises, Texas Ranger Hall of
Fame and Museum, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Frederic Remington Art Museum
and others.
Since issues are frequently tied
in to historic dates, careful planning precedes each commemorative. The make
and model of firearm appropriate for an issue is selected, designs for the
embellishments and inscriptions and sometimes even specific ranges of serial
numbers are created and refined, a marketing plan perfected, and final
approval given by the licensor. In some cases plans may require years before
all details have been agreed upon.
Limited
Editions Generate Publicity
Particularly notable issues are
those that honor heroic figures--some of them still well and active, such as
Johnny Cash, Richard Petty, Nolan Ryan, Travis Tritt, Chuck Yeager, George
Jones and James Arness--and others no longer living such as William B. Ruger,
Sr., Elvis Presley, John Wayne, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, Geronimo, Tom
Mix, Roy Rogers, Clayton Moore, Audie Murphy and Babe Ruth. Furthering the
cause of preserving wilderness sites and the conservation of species, issues
have been made in conjunction with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks
Unlimited and the Mule Deer Foundation.
America Remembers is careful to
restrict production of each issue so that numbers rarely exceed 500 and
sometimes are limited to 300. A few issues have been even more restricted,
such as the Interpol hand-engraved Single Action Army based on the original
by R.J. Kornbrath. Only 154 were built. The fact that each issue is in new
or "mint" condition is yet another aspect of their appeal. A common dictum
among aficionados is that the three things to look for in a collectible
firearm are "condition, condition and condition."
Yet another aspect of America
Remembers issues is the desirability of such pieces for special
presentations. That tradition was established early by Chase Manhattan Bank,
since executives began using the Hamilton-Burr duelers for presentations to
visiting VIPs. David Rockefeller, then chairman, began the practice of
gifting cased sets to cement friendships and associations, a practice
continuing to this day. When cartoonist and arms and armor enthusiast
Charles Addams assisted in the issue of the Merrill Lindsay Commemorative
Transition Dragoon, he became the delighted recipient of an inscribed
example of the revolver, now a treasured artifact in the collection of his
heirs.
New Projects
Pieces in the developmental
stages include: The John Wayne Coach Gun, authorized by the family's Wayne
Enterprises and based on the legendary double barrel stagecoach shotgun, a
12-ga. side-by-side with 18 1/2" barrels. The General George S. Patton, Jr.
Tributes are planned on a Colt Cowboy Single Action Army .45 and a
Government Model .45 ACP pistol--the general was a dedicated marksman and
firearm enthusiast. A salute to the late actor and stuntman Richard
Farnsworth will be on a Model 94 Winchester. For the Texas Ranger Hall of
Fame and Museum, a Colt Cowboy Single Action Army joins previous issues of a
Dragoon, a Walker and and Winchester Model 94 rifle. Honoring cowboy hero
Roy Rogers is a Colt Cowboy Single Action, known as the Happy Trails
Tribute. A tribute to the "Lone Ranger" actor Clayton Moore will be a
Winchester Model 94 decorated in nickel-plating, just like his Colt Single
Actions.
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Above (starting at top l.) are
the Sitting Bull Tribute Single Action Army revolver and (from top) three
Model 94 Winchesters: Iron Eyes Cody, C.M. Russell and Cherokee Trail of
Tears. A Model 1866, the American Buffalo Tribute, and the Quanah Parker Red
River War Henry Rifle Tribute are also shown. |
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A Labor of
Caring and Preservation
Reflecting on the care devoted
by America Remembers to each issue, historical adviser Jeffrey Belcher said,
"Over the past 20 years, I have had the opportunity to work with many famous
people, including armed service heroes and renowned actors, and their
families. It has been both exciting and gratifying to play a role in America
Remembers' efforts to forever preserve our country's rich heritage, and to
honor veterans who have given life and limb in defense of freedom.
Increasingly it is evident that
America's educational system has new allies in recognizing and honoring
American history. The world of re-enactments is crucial in that venue with
its frequent live and televised celebrations of "living history." But the
universe of collecting is equally compelling--in the pursuit of antique arms
and relics, and in the creation of new collectibles, creatively designed and
finely produced, to honor, commemorate and perpetuate.
Paul Warden himself looks
forward to each and every day in his position as president: "I cannot put
into words the immense pleasure, pride and gratification we realize not only
from creating our projects, but from working with so many wonderful
collectors, individuals and museums around the country. With the recent
revival, indeed flourishing, of patriotism in America, we find now to be an
especially exciting and challenging period to celebrate the unique role of
our country in the history of the civilized world."
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Government Model automatics (l., clockwise
from 12 o'clock) honor the following themes: VFW-Korean War, Pearl Harbor,
American Eagle, Army Air Corps, West Point World War II, Elvis Presley,
Spirit of America, Leatherneck, West Point, VFW 20th Century salute to the
Military and Berlin Airlift Tribute. At centre is the Special Operations
Ass'n. Note the variety of grips,, finishes, engraved decorations and styles
of embellishment. |
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Reprinted with permission from the National
Rifle Association of America |
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