Stein Collectors International

~ The J. M. Davis Gun Museum ~

Claremore, OK
(from Prosit, September 1980)


John Monroe Davis was born of Danish and Irish parents in 1887 on a plantation in Union County, Arkansas. At the age of seven his father gave him a dollar-and-half muzzle loading shotgun because he had taken his medicine like a good boy. This was in the year 1894 and was the beginning of this fabulous collection.

Mr. Davis made wise investments in timberland and in 1916 he traded 2000 acres of his Arkansas land for the Mason Hotel. In 1917 he moved into the Hotel Mason and took over the management. At this time, he began displaying his gun collection on the walls in the hotel's lobby. Mr. Davis collected guns that were unique and different as opposed to specializing in any particular manufacturer or type, making this collection so diversified and educational. Mr. Davis loved to collect things and began adding knives, swords, horns, steins, saddles, Indian artifacts and many other items to his gun collection.

Mr. Davis continued to collect, the lobby walls became full, the ballroom was filled to capacity, the walls of the long halls upstairs were lined everywhere you could see, and sever private rooms in the Hotel became full, In the Spring of 1965, Mr. Davis transferred ownership of this unbelievable collection to a Trust: "The J. M. Davis Foundation, Inc." At this time the Foundation entered into an agreement with the State of Oklahoma for the preservation of the collection.

A new 200 by 200 foot building was constructed to house this collection and the first phase was dedicated on June 17, 1969, Mr. Davis' 82nd birthday. The Museum is located in Claremore, Oklahoma, just north-east of Tulsa on U.S. Route 44, Lynn Riggs Blvd. The museum features over 1200 steins and drinking vessels, all beautifully displayed in illuminated glass cases. All manufacturers and types are represented. The steins date from 1703 to the present, one ounce is the smallest - 9 gallons is the largest! Materials include porcelain, pewter, faience and other ceramics. Mr. Davis did not leave a lot of information as to how and when he collected his German beer steins, but it is understood that most of the collection was accumulated after World War II, many being purchased from returning GIs and others being sent to him from GIs in the European Theatre. Unfortunately there is no catalog of the stein collection.

The Museum is open from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Saturday, and from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Sunday and Holidays. [At the time this was written} admission is free. Cameras are permissible in the museum, but it is quite difficult to photograph items in the display cases due to the fluorescent tubes and the reflection of so much glass. There is a parking area large enough to accommodate groups.

Mr. Davis died in 1973. The J. M. Davis Gun Museum perpetuates his memory.

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