Francis Bannerman is really the father of the modern military surplus industry, and in many ways a father of gun collecting as we know it today. Before Bannerman, “gun collecting” was generally something for the wealthy and revolved around fancy and bespoke guns. It was not about have representative pieces of normal arms, it was about having the fancy and exclusive things. Bannerman changed that by offering all manner of ordinary surplus at affordable prices to anyone who was interested. In addition to complete guns and other equipment, Bannerman also dealt in huge numbers of bits and pieces, and sometimes assembled them into various odd hybrid guns for sale, which we still see occasionally today…
Sample Bannerman catalog (1903):
https://archive.org/details/francis-bannerman-military-goods-catalogue-1903/
Ian- You absolutely have to go to Bannerman’s Island. Pick a nice day, and take the tour. You have to get reservations for the boat, which leaves from the dock in Newburgh. Great trip, loaded with history going back to the Revolution. And standing on the island, they will point out the spot where the door to the magazine landed after the explosion. The bottom of the Hudson is probably loaded with unexploded ordnance, and dropping anchor is not advised. The top dummy rifle is called a “Quaker Musket”, because it can’t hurt anyone. A friend was renovating an old house, and asked me to find a musket to hang over the fireplace. I found one of those- exactly- for $100. 1863 Springfield lock on it. I did not know of the Bannerman source.