Does anyone know what became of Michael’s shotgun research? He loved the early custom shotguns as much as he loved bolt rifles. I recently was watching an auction for a gun I’m sure would have been included in his “Shotgun Book” if he would have written one.

Just wondering if anyone here might know where to turn to inquire if copies of his shotgun research could be had. You know he wrote it all down...

Bryndon

I have asked the same question about some of his rifle research, Really a shame it isn't publically accessible in some way.

Joe Dobrzynski took care of helping with Michaels estate sales after he passed away. If anyone knows, I'd say Joe would be the best source.

I got an email from a member letting me know the papers are with the single shot association. I plan to call next week to determine what access we have.

Thanks to all!

I have heard that was well. My previous email inquiries got no response from them. please report back if you hear from them!

Send inquiries about ASSRA archives to:

archives@assra.com

My email to that address last year got no reply. I hope the research can be accessed somehow, look forward to hearing how others fair.

I can't think of any donation of gun research to any organization turned out well. It's amazing how free research that turns into $100 for a letter on one gun is something some people seem to think is OK. It is not OK. Michael was as confused as anyone on what to do with paper.

Do you remember why he didn't send it to Cody? Seems like a logical place, but I think he had a reason that he did not.

If I was made keeper of some old notes, it wouldn't bother me to occasionally look something up. If people started assuming it was a free reseach service, I don't see how that adds up to a reliable long term solution? It's not the worst place for potentially interesting records to be kept. Maybe, the organization can come up with a way to dedicate specific donations for digitizing the records, with corresponding access assurances in return for the funding.

Good afternoon Guys ...

Yes, all of Michael Petrov's research was sent to the ASSRA Archives. With the help of a common friend, we tried the Cody museum first but they were hesitant because there was little original material (notes, catalogs, etc). I asked if they would reimburse for shipping the materials we had and they became completely unresponsive to emails and phone calls.

They did send an email long afterwards but when I told them the material had been sent to the ASSRA Archives, I (we) never heard back from them.

Michael had some original German and English shotgun catalogs that were all sold on eBay over a two year period. There wasn't any proprietary shotgun material that I remember. The majority o the gunmaker files were all photocopies of previously published articles. There were also several envelopes of unmarked photos of firearms ... the majority were custom bolt-action rifles.

Michael had two rooms jammed with books and old magazines ... but his filing system only made sense to him. He had some original letters to/from Col. Whelen which were shipped off as well as letters between Gerald and Niedner. There were no notebooks.

I hope this helps ...
Joe Dobrzynski

As generous as Michael was with his fund of historical data, it would seem incumbent on ASSRA to make his stuff available for cost. After all, this is not a for profit entity.

Cody nor other institutions don't just accept donations. I dated a gal that worked in the Paper Collection and she explained that any reference collection needed to be accompanied by a cash donation to pay to catalog, organize, shelve and file the papers. Petrov simply did not have the time nor funds when he was diagnosed.

The ASSRA Archives are maintained by a volunteer or two, well into geezerhood and all the aches and pains that go with it. The Archives have been functioning for 70 years or more, growing steadily, and that's a minor miracle, a testimony to the work of a series of elderly archivists. As the name implies, the interest is mainly in American-made single shot rifles. The portion of MP's stuff pertaining to Niedner or Franklin Mann & associates gets a lot of attention. Research into the makers of bolt action hunting rifles gets less attention.

The Archives are set up to assist the ASSRA membership, an all-volunteer organization. If you want help, join the ASSRA and put something in the pot. I'm an ASSRA member and a minor cash contributor. I write for the ASSRA Journal and I'm working on a biography of a maker of single shots. I have not had any problems with access. Instead, I've had a lot of help.

I am the Archivist because I believe that books and information need to be saved and preserved. The ASSRA Archives and Library is primarily for members. I have had a few people come in to look for specific information but it is not any easier for them than for me to find things. I also look up information, but we have no set fees for doing so. Therefore, it is doing research mostly for free.

The Petrov papers are in a large bunch of files with little order to them. Many files have the same title or there are several titles per file. It is very difficult to find any particular bit of information. I did look up some information on Niedner scope mounts but it was more work than it was worth. If someone was paying for it at $10.00/ hour they would not have been happy with the little I could find. There are lots of photos of firearms with little to no information. The Niedner photo albums have had photos removed and mixed in with other photos.

Some emails do not get to me. I have no idea why. I am a volunteer and have one other person who helps out sometimes, but he has a day job so his time is limited.

Cheers,
Laurie

Pdf files can be compiled and made searchable with OCR. I would very interested in compiling these files and improving accessibility for current and future researchers. Will I be able to access the entirety of the collection?

Boy oh boy, wouldn't that be a huge improvement??

Thank you fallingblock for your service!

I've not found this myself. I've often had research done by Cody Museum and gotten great results. I've also used the Marlin Firearms Collectors Assn. and gotten great results.
And I've contacted various historical societies based on where a particular gun maker's business was located, or where a owner was located, and gotten great results.
In particular the Bay City Historical Society, and Michigan Historical Society, when I was researching my 1881 Marlin-Flues rifle. Also got directed to Flues' nephew and the Double Gun Journal via the Bay City Historical Society, so they were instrumental in assisting me.
And on another old rifle the original owner was from Oregon City, Or., and I contacted the Oregon City Historical Society, who offered up 2500 pages of provenance on the owner. And invited me to come out and copy whatever I wanted, since they are local to me.
In all these document searches, the cost was nothing, but I sent or gave donations regardless, because they were so helpful in my searches. So I've also not found any issue with any group helping me that did not accept donations? Can't ever recall ever hearing this before either?

Not for shotguns, but I would wonder if Petrov ever mentioned Farr? Maybe in one of his books?

Vall ...

I thinks it's great you got that response from the NorthWest. I had a very different experience here in Illinois.

Last year I bought a large composite photo of the Joliet Sharpshooters dated 1866. I contacted the Joliet Historical Society who had no idea such an organization existed. They didn't have a single document in their archives.

When I researched the Chicago Schuetzen Verein, Palos Historical Society was very polite but I had to pay them to scan their photos for articles, even though I gave them copies of photos they did not have.

Chicago Historical Society ignored any gun club related requests ... it's a shame.

Joe,
I wasn't asked for any compensation from either NW historical societies, or our own PNW Oregon City Historical society. But I was treated so well by all of them, and appreciated the info that was so extremely helpful documenting provenance, that I just felt compensation should given without a request.
I've been extremely fortunate in my lifetime of gun collecting to stumble across a number of firearms that could be traced to excellent provenance. I've also hit my share of dead ends too. So whenever I can get some help, I appreciate it.
And ASSRA having Michael's records will someday help people if they know the records are there, and available.