A one-day-only exhibit of the Tallman gun collection will be open on Father’s Day, June 18th, 2017, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Rock County Historical Society’s Lincoln-Tallman House, 426 N. Jackson St. in Janesville. This is a free event but does require pre-registration.
Roughly 50 guns, donated by George Kemp Tallman, grandson of William M. Tallman, will be on display. Weapons from the United States, Belgium, China, England, France, Ireland, Mexico, Persia, Russia, Scotland, and Spain will be represented. The oldest gun is from 14th-century China. The smallest gun is a 5½-inch derringer.
The weapon collection includes a catalog that was published in 1968 titled “Arms Collection of George K. Tallman, Lincoln-Tallman Museum, Janesville, Wisconsin.” Each gun displayed will be accompanied by catalog descriptions, including the type of gun, manufacturer, caliber, materials used, decoration, engraving marks, date, and country.
On June 22, 1951, The Janesville Gazette newspaper wrote of these weapons, “The collection includes the finest specimens that George Kemp Tallman was able to find in years of traveling about the world. To be selected for the group, a gun had to be in perfect working order, capable of being fired and in mint condition. They were chosen to represent certain phases in the development of firearms.”
The weapon collection was removed from exhibit in the Lincoln-Tallman House in 1992, when a major fundraising project allowed RCHS to add a heating/cooling system, among other improvements. Several weapons have been on display throughout the years in a special exhibit, but not to the extent planned for Father’s Day.
Pre-registration is required. To reserve a time, call 608-756-4509, ext. 300.
