July 5, 2004

• Museum of Western Heritage

  So this is what we did on America’s Birthday (after watching Portugal defeated by Greece in the Euro 2004) We had a very American experience…

  The inside of the Autry museum was dimly-lit and I had to be sneaky because photography wasn’t allowed so these pics aren’t of the greatest quality. But I think you get the idea. I wanted to take some snaps to share with Tony, Eddie’s brother ( and Melbourne, Australia’s biggest John Wayne fan) Happy Birthday Tony!

          

        

           

  Images – row by row:

  1. Entrance to the museum (in Griffith Park)
  2. Eddie and statue of Gene Autry the singing cowboy
  3. Cowboy stuff: saddles, bridles, holsters, you name it. This museum has it all!
  4. Downstairs is a gigantic mural with Cowboys and…
  5. … Indians, of course. There is also a great exhibition of paintings by George Catlin on at the moment.
  6. Hopalong Cassidy toy from way back when
  7. Eddie Dean‘s guitar – the carvings are amazing (very kitsch!)
  8. Colt pistols in the Colt Gallery (There were lots and lots of pistols)
  9. Coast Grain character with somewhat large udders
  10. Penny-pressing machine – Stick a penny into the slot. For 50 cents, have it pressed into an oval shaped souvenir.
  11. Elmer Sneezewood ventriloquist doll
  12. Spurs.
  13. A cool toy in the Museum Store.
  14. More Colt pistols
  15. Nathan on horseback!
  16. Lone Ranger kids’ turntable

  Some other things that caught our eye besides the opulent costumes and large range of vintage firearms: Hopi Katsina dolls, Inuit snow goggles, rustic interiors by Thomas Molesworth, and a magnificent red velvet armchair made with shiny black buffalo horns.

  Eddie: You know you’re in an LA Museum when a good portion of the ground floor was devoted to the Cowboy in film/television!  There were some very cool props (John Wayne’s shirt…man, was he a BIG guy!), movie posters, and some great short documentaries on the TV screens positioned around the exhibits.  The Cisco Kid, Lone Ranger, and a heavy bias towards the singing cowboys (well, it was the Gene Autry Museum after all), but sadly…NO DAVEY CROCKETT!!!  Damn…I would have killed for a real coonskin cap from the gift shop.

  P.S. We are pretty exhausted. I don’t think we’ll be seeking out the fireworks tonight (we can hear them right now!) Just staying home and chilling out…

  • 12:00 am
  • 3 Comments