Subject: mafioso gangster/mobster
Culture: Italian-American
Setting: Prohibition, Chicago/urban America 1920-1933
Object: guns
* National Museum of Crime and Punishment > A Notorious History of American Crime
"THOMPSON SUB-MACHINE GUN Model 1921-A Thompson S/N 2065, manufactured by Colt Firearms in 1921
This is the infamous 'Tommy Gun,' as we know it, which has been made famous by the movies of the past. This model was the weapon of choice, by law enforcement and gangster alike.
"The 'Tommy Gun' represents the era in American history sometimes referred to as, the 'gangster era', 1920's and 30's. The American gangster and the motorized bandits of the time became most famous and newsworthy between 1924 & 1936."* National Museum of Crime and Punishment > A Notorious History of American Crime
"COLT MODEL 1908 HAMMERLESS .25 CALIBER POCKET PISTOL
Designed by John Browning, this Colt Model 1908 was manufactured in 1917 and was the smallest autoloader produced by Colt. According to information passed on to the Goddard Crime Lab in 1929, Al Capone voluntarily surrendered his Colt to the Chicago police department when they met him at the Indiana state line after lamming it following the death of State's Attorney William McSwiggin in 1926. Capone was advised there were no outstanding warrants and he was released."
* National Museum of Crime and Punishment > A Notorious History of American Crime
"DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUBMACHINE GUN
Presented here is a model of the original 1921 Thompson submachine gun with a 20-round magazine clip manufactured by Colt.
"On display with the model is one of the original prototype drawings of the Tommy gun called the 'Persuader', an original sales/advertisment poster to the public and a period photo of General John Taliaferro Thompson developer of the Tommy - 'the gun that made the twenties roar'.
"Thompson was inspired by the trench warfare of World War I and wanted a 'one-man, hand-held machine gun,' that could fire a rifle-caliber round. He utilized a patent issued to John B. Blish and found a financial backer in Thomas Fortune Ryan, then started the Auto-Ordnance Corporation in 1916 for the purpose of developing his weapon.
"By late 1917, it had been found that the only cartridge currently in U.S. service suitable for use with the lock was the .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol). The project was then titled 'Annihilator I', and by 1918, most of the design issues had been resolved.
"At an Auto-Ordnance board meeting in 1919 to discuss the marketing of the 'Annihilator', with the war over, the weapon was officially renamed the 'Thompson Submachine Gun'. The Thompson was the first weapon to be labeled and marketed as a 'submachine gun'.
"The Thompson first entered production as the Model of 1921. It was available to civilians, though its high price resulted in few sales. The model of 1921 were [SIC] first sold in small quantities to the U.S. Post Office (to protect the mail from a spate of robberies), followed by several police departments in the United States."
* Denix
* National Museum of Crime and Punishment > A Notorious History of American Crime
"COLT MODEL 1911 .45 AUTOMATIC (COMMERCIAL)
A favored and typical model handgun used by the criminals of the Depression Era.
"The M1911 is a single-action, semiautomatic handgun chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. It was designed by John M. Browning, and was the standard-issue side arm for the United States armed forces from 1911 to 1985. It was widely used in World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War."
* Denix
> event photos
*
