Vintage Gun Photos

[Jeb48]

I have some more pictures of Bonnie and Clyde but I haven't found them yet.

 

[Chucktshoes]

1 hour ago, Jeb48 said:

I have some more pictures of Bonnie and Clyde but I haven't found them yet.

 

I've seen their car. It's at Whiskey Pete's In Primm, Nevada. 

[Jeb48]

Another picture of Bonnie, she put her guns away for a sexy pose this time.

 

[Jeb48]

Ready for battle

[Ronald_55]

1 hour ago, Jeb48 said:

Another picture of Bonnie, she put her guns away for a sexy pose this time.

 

How vulgar...I can see her ankles. Lol

I always like that these old criminals took time out for photo shoots

[MP5_Rizzo]

I've found a lot of vintage gun photos on the web using various search criteria but this one got my attention because of the Tennessee connection.  I'm not sure how I managed to never learn of this person until now being that I've lived most of my adult  life in a county bordering the county of her birth place.  Maybe some of you long timers know the history of Mary Fields.

Mary Fields (1832–1914), also known as Stagecoach Mary and Black Mary, was the first African-American woman star route mail carrier in the United States.  She was not an employee of the United States Post Office. The Post Office Department did not hire or employ mail carriers for star routes; it awarded star route contracts to persons who proposed the lowest qualified bids, and who in accordance with the Department’s application process posted bonds and sureties to substantiate their ability to finance the route. Once a contract was obtained, the contractor could then drive the route themselves, sublet the route, or hire an experienced driver. Some individuals obtained multiple star route contracts and conducted the operations as a business.

Fields obtained the star route contract for the delivery of U. S. mail from Cascade, Montana to Saint Peter's Mission in 1885. She drove the route with horse and wagon, not a stagecoach, for two four-year contracts: from 1885 to 1889 and from 1889 to 1903. Author Miantae Metcalf McConnell provided documentation discovered during her research about Mary Fields to the United States Postal Service Archives Historian in 2006. This enabled USPS to establish Mary Fields' contribution as the first African American woman star route mail in the United States.

Mary was born a slave in Hickman County, Tennessee, around 1832, Fields was freed when American slavery was outlawed in 1865.  She then worked in the home of Judge Edmund Dunne. When Dunne's wife Josephine died in 1883 in San Antonio, Florida, Fields took the family's five children to their aunt, Mother Mary Amadeus, the mother superior of an Ursuline convent in Toledo, Ohio. In 1884, Mother Amadeus was sent to Montana Territory to establish a school for Native American girls at St. Peter's Mission, west of Cascade. Learning that Amadeus was stricken with pneumonia, Fields hurried to Montana to nurse her back to health. Amadeus recovered and Fields stayed at St. Peter's, hauling freight, doing laundry, growing vegetables, tending chickens, repairing buildings, and eventually becoming the forewoman.

In 1895, although approximately 60 years old, Fields was hired as a mail carrier because she was the fastest applicant to hitch a team of six horses.  This made her the second woman and first African American woman to work for the U.S. Postal Service. She drove the route with horses and a mule named Moses. She never missed a day, and her reliability earned her the nickname "Stagecoach".   If the snow was too deep for her horses, Fields delivered the mail on snowshoes, carrying the sacks on her shoulders.  She was a respected public figure in Cascade, and the town closed its schools to celebrate her birthday each year.  When Montana passed a law forbidding women to enter saloons, the mayor of Cascade granted her an exemption.

In 1903, at age 71, Fields retired from star route mail carrier service.  She continued to babysit many Cascade children and owned and operated a laundry service from her home.

Fields died in 1914 at Columbus Hospital in Great Falls, but she was buried outside Cascade.  In 1959, actor and Montana native Gary Cooper wrote an article for Ebony in which he said, "Born a slave somewhere in Tennessee, Mary lived to become one of the freest souls ever to draw a breath, or a .38."

Best I can tell she is holding an 1876 Winchester carbine with a 22" barrel

 

In the 1976 documentary South by Northwest, "Homesteaders", Fields is played by Esther Rolle

 

Edited June 9, 2017 by MP5_Rizzo

[Ronald_55]

7 minutes ago, MP5_Rizzo said:

I've found a lot of vintage gun photos on the web using various search criteria but this one got my attention because of the Tennessee connection.  I'm not sure how I managed to never learn of this person until now being that I've lived most of my adult  life in a county bordering the county of her birth place.  Maybe some of you long timers know the history of Mary Fields.

Mary Fields (1832–1914), also known as Stagecoach Mary and Black Mary, was the first African-American woman star route mail carrier in the United States.  She was not an employee of the United States Post Office. The Post Office Department did not hire or employ mail carriers for star routes; it awarded star route contracts to persons who proposed the lowest qualified bids, and who in accordance with the Department’s application process posted bonds and sureties to substantiate their ability to finance the route. Once a contract was obtained, the contractor could then drive the route themselves, sublet the route, or hire an experienced driver. Some individuals obtained multiple star route contracts and conducted the operations as a business.

Fields obtained the star route contract for the delivery of U. S. mail from Cascade, Montana to Saint Peter's Mission in 1885. She drove the route with horse and wagon, not a stagecoach, for two four-year contracts: from 1885 to 1889 and from 1889 to 1903. Author Miantae Metcalf McConnell provided documentation discovered during her research about Mary Fields to the United States Postal Service Archives Historian in 2006. This enabled USPS to establish Mary Fields' contribution as the first African American woman star route mail in the United States.

Mary was born a slave in Hickman County, Tennessee, around 1832, Fields was freed when American slavery was outlawed in 1865.  She then worked in the home of Judge Edmund Dunne. When Dunne's wife Josephine died in 1883 in San Antonio, Florida, Fields took the family's five children to their aunt, Mother Mary Amadeus, the mother superior of an Ursuline convent in Toledo, Ohio. In 1884, Mother Amadeus was sent to Montana Territory to establish a school for Native American girls at St. Peter's Mission, west of Cascade. Learning that Amadeus was stricken with pneumonia, Fields hurried to Montana to nurse her back to health. Amadeus recovered and Fields stayed at St. Peter's, hauling freight, doing laundry, growing vegetables, tending chickens, repairing buildings, and eventually becoming the forewoman.

In 1895, although approximately 60 years old, Fields was hired as a mail carrier because she was the fastest applicant to hitch a team of six horses.  This made her the second woman and first African American woman to work for the U.S. Postal Service. She drove the route with horses and a mule named Moses. She never missed a day, and her reliability earned her the nickname "Stagecoach".   If the snow was too deep for her horses, Fields delivered the mail on snowshoes, carrying the sacks on her shoulders.  She was a respected public figure in Cascade, and the town closed its schools to celebrate her birthday each year.  When Montana passed a law forbidding women to enter saloons, the mayor of Cascade granted her an exemption.

In 1903, at age 71, Fields retired from star route mail carrier service.  She continued to babysit many Cascade children and owned and operated a laundry service from her home.

Fields died in 1914 at Columbus Hospital in Great Falls, but she was buried outside Cascade.  In 1959, actor and Montana native Gary Cooper wrote an article for Ebony in which he said, "Born a slave somewhere in Tennessee, Mary lived to become one of the freest souls ever to draw a breath, or a .38."

Best I can tell she is holding an Winchester 1876 carbine with a 22" barrel

 

In the 1976 documentary South by Northwest, "Homesteaders", Fields is played by Esther Rolle

 

Always great to see someone work hard and be appreciated.

[peejman]

I've heard "stagecoach Mary" but never researched the story. That's good stuff!

[MP5_Rizzo]

While I'm on a roll with vintage photos of women and their guns, I present to you Lyudmila Pavlichenko aka Lady Death.  She was a Red Army Ukrainian Soviet sniper during World War II.  Credited with 309 kills, she is regarded as one of the top military snipers of all time and the most successful female sniper in history. The American folk singer Woody Guthrie composed a song ("Miss Pavlichenko") as a tribute to her war record and to memorialize her visits to the United States and Canada.  Click here for more

sometime before her death in 1974

 

 

[peejman]

Colorized versions of Russian sniper photos...  

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4424682/Colourised-photos-Russia-s-female-snipers-WW2.html

[Garufa]

Kinda semi-vintage but y'all know who this old-timer is, right?

Edited June 10, 2017 by Garufa

[TripleGGG]

This is an awesome thread. I love history. 

[MP5_Rizzo]

1 hour ago, Garufa said:

Kinda semi-vintage but y'all know who this old-timer is, right?

If there's a wheel gun shooter that doesn't know anything about Elmer, they should make an effort to!

 

[Jeb48]

This one really needs a caption.

 

[Jeb48]

Don't forget big guns.

I like this one, my caption is

Practice Good Finger Control

[Ronald_55]

7 minutes ago, Jeb48 said:

This one really needs a caption.

 

""I told you not to mess around on me. Now run you SOB and hope I miss"

[seez52]

I'm wondering if the black stage coach character, maybe named Mary don't remember, on the Hell On Wheels series was sparked by this real real life person?

Well, I just googled it and it was. That show was pretty good and though completely fiction, did base many of the characters and backstory on real life history. 

Edited June 10, 2017 by seez52

[hipower]

1 hour ago, Jeb48 said:

Don't forget big guns.

I like this one, my caption is

Practice Good Finger Control

lol! This just ain't right!

[GlockSpock]

How vulgar...I can see her ankles. Lol
I always like that these old criminals took time out for photo shoots

They had to take time out for it! Nowadays all you have to do is livestream it during the heist.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Jeb48]

Barney, I told you to shoot the gun out the window, not shoot out the window.

 

[Jeb48]

A Vespa 150 scooter modified with a M20 75 mm light anti-armour cannon. A two man team was air dropped with two scouters, one with the big gun the other carried ammo. The French army ready to go.

[Ronald_55]

6 minutes ago, Jeb48 said:

A Vespa 150 scooter modified with a M20 75 mm light anti-armour cannon. A two man team was air dropped with two scouters, one with the big gun the other carried ammo. The French army ready to go.

Is he sitting ON the gun or is it on the other side?

Not sure I want to ride a Vespa across the countryside fighting armored vehicles. Lol

[Jeb48]

He sits on it, with it between his legs.

Are you happy to see me or is that a M20 75 mm in your pants. 

[Ronald_55]

1 hour ago, Jeb48 said:

He sits on it, with it between his legs.

Are you happy to see me or is that a M20 75 mm in your pants. 

Man that must hurt his nuts when it fires...or he hits a pot hole. 

[MP5_Rizzo]

Not sure I would call it adequate padding but it's better than nothing I guess.

Edited June 12, 2017 by MP5_Rizzo