When I first started collecting airguns back in the '80s, there was practically no info available that was specific to collecting air guns and what was available was pretty pathetic. My only real air gun collecting fix came in the form of a couple English air gun mag subscriptions. But I didn't let that stop me. So, instead I picked up some books on the subject of collecting.

One of the things that I learned was that there was a special quality to a collection, any collection, that is the largest in the world of that type. I took this to heart and it heavily influenced me in making collecting choices. One example is my Crosman model 150 collection. I have just about every known model variation, the only reason I don't say all variations is that it's hard to really determine if any more exist. Some 150s, such as the model made in Mexico, are extremely hard to get. I am certain it is the largest in the world.

Sometime I dropped collections since I knew it would be impossible to obtain the largest collection: BB tubes for one. Visited an advance BB tube collector in Iowa and left knowing I would never in several lifetimes equal what this guy had. So the BB tube collection was sold.

Another tip that I took to heart was that the difference between an accumulator and a real collector is that a collector also collects the paperwork associated with their collection. That advice directly influenced me to start collecting air gun paper; which I'm certain is the largest in the world, at least with American paper. I have a large collection of European models, too, but since I'm not familiar with the air gun collectors in Europe there could easily be somebody hiding away with more. I had very little European paper until obtaining the paper portion of the Myron Kasok collection. Myron made many trips to Europe and believed just as strongly as I that the paper was critical to any serious collection. And it is so hard to get European air gun paper over here, I can be somewhat assured that this is the largest European airgun paper collection in the US.

Have I ever mentioned that I have books based on my paper collection? ;-)

What ended up really driving me in the field of Crosman collecting was the wonderful vintage Crosman airgun literature. (The leading character, and I mean character, at Crosman was PY Hahn. PY was an Art graduate from Georgetown University and was very talented. He personally produced all of the early Crosman paperwork up until sometime in the '50s.) Every new piece I found was safely stored in a top load archival folder and placed chronological order in binders. It literally took years to get all of the chronology correct. As this grew, I would find myself just slowly browsing through the binder in awe. Which is why I produced The Literature of Crosman. This book has all of the Crosman paper produced from 1923 to 1952. It doesn't have all of the owner's manuals but it has all of the catalogs, flyers, postcards, etc. It is expensive. I opted for full color, since that is the only way to fully appreciate this collection. I will never produce a B/W version; even though I'll never come close to getting back in book sales what went into producing it. I consider it my most important book on the subject. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Literature-...1687144&sr=1-2