Elmer Keith collection up for auction.

Jim Corbett trumps them all when it comes to hunting. I read his entire collection of books on jungle lore and his hunts for the maneaters years ago. He was a modest fellow who gave all the money earned from his books to help soldiers blinded in WWII. He had an interesting encounter with Princess/Queen Elizabeth... good grief 63 years ago.

I wonder where his .275 Rigby is located.

Update: 01-31-2015 The rifle is owned by Rigby and will be a feature display next week at the SCI convention. Rigby will donate a .275 one of a kind commemerative rifle for auction. Also limited editions of Corbett's books for sale. I have all his books. I'll miss out on goin
 
Last edited:
Some of the doubles went for very reasonable prices. Holy cow on the Corbett rifle! Definitely worth it for the history behind that rifle though. If I had lotto max money it would have been mine.
 
cam1936 said:
Some of the doubles went for very reasonable prices. Holy cow on the Corbett rifle! Definitely worth it for the history behind that rifle though. If I had lotto max money it would have been mine.
Click to expand...

They waited too long before they sold his firearms. History fades quickly and there soon get too many people who would say, "Elmer who?"
Skeeter Skelton was very well known as a revolver expert when he died. They put up his guns for auction so soon after his death that I thought it irreverent, but the guns sure brought in fabulous prices.
 
H4831 said:
They waited too long before they sold his firearms. History fades quickly and there soon get too many people who would say, "Elmer who?"
Skeeter Skelton was very well known as a revolver expert when he died. They put up his guns for auction so soon after his death that I thought it irreverent, but the guns sure brought in fabulous prices.
Click to expand...
IIRC ... when Skeeter died he had some unpaid medical bills..he was well known and well regarded and Shooting Times (I believe) did an excellent article on him ..with frequent followups..I am sure this coupled with the very high regard folks had for him and his family - resulted in the extraordinary - well deserved - generosity.

I didn't know this about Corbett: "He was a modest fellow who gave all the money earned from his books to help soldiers blinded in WWII."
 
AP said:
IIRC ... when Skeeter died he had some unpaid medical bills..he was well known and well regarded and Shooting Times (I believe) did an excellent article on him ..with frequent followups..I am sure this coupled with the very high regard folks had for him and his family - resulted in the extraordinary - well deserved - generosity.

(QUOTE]

Yes, you're likely right on that. However, the write ups and follow ups by the magazine he was the popular pistol editor of, were mostly to try and keep the circulation up, after his departure, as they took a great hit, with him gone.
And (sorry Johnn) but Elmer Keith was a completely different type character. Many of us thought him too opinionated and even arrogant, although I greatly admired the work he did in developing the 357 and 44 magnum calibres.
Click to expand...
 
h4831 said:
ap said:
iirc ... When skeeter died he had some unpaid medical bills..he was well known and well regarded and shooting times (i believe) did an excellent article on him ..with frequent followups..i am sure this coupled with the very high regard folks had for him and his family - resulted in the extraordinary - well deserved - generosity.

(quote]

yes, you're likely right on that. However, the write ups and follow ups by the magazine he was the popular pistol editor of, were mostly to try and keep the circulation up, after his departure, as they took a great hit, with him gone.
And (sorry johnn) but elmer keith was a completely different type character. Many of us thought him too opinionated and even arrogant, although i greatly admired the work he did in developing the 357 and 44 magnum calibres.
Click to expand...

Yes, Elmer may well have been opinionated and to a degree, arrogant. However, taking into consideration the technology and tools of the day, it's hard to argue with with a lot of his findings and resulting opinions. As such, judged on a basis of todays knowledge, it's easy to criticise and second guess. I met him twice in the mid 70's, once at his home in Salmon Idaho where I spent a day chatting with him. That day, I consider a high point in what I've experienced hunting and in the numerous aspects of the three firearms groups and their use. A year or so later, I met him again at a gun show in Kalispel Montana. It would take a win in Lotto 649 for me to have the means to even come close to experiencing what he did.
Nothing shabby about Skeeter either and along with Elmer, he was another of my primary sources of info in my formative years of firearms and their various field and target applications. On more than a couple of occasions, I wrote and consulted them both on a number of related aspects I was easing my way into.





Still have a couple of hard copies of replys from them,;) tucked within the first few pages on "Sixguns by Keith":).
Click to expand...
 
I'll add to this thread for folks interested in the where-about of Corbett's .275 Rigby.

I have collected and read every one of his books... so he is my idea of the ultimate hunter.

FYI - Lord Hailey noted in his introduction to "Tree Top" that beginning with his first book in 1944, the profits from his books were contributed to fund training schools for blinded soldiers.

Here's the latest news and a good read about Corbett's Rigby: http://huntforever.org/?s=corbett+rifles
 
Anyone know who bought the .450/400 double? Wonder if it will be displayed anywhere like it was in Idaho, or if it will be tucked away in a private collection.
 
I was expecting it to go for a lot more. A .577 Westley Richards double owned by Ernest Hemingway sold for $350,000, and Corbett's rifle is much more historically significant in my opinion. I was thinking it should have been up around the half-million mark.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom