Picking up material for auction can sometimes be simple. You go carefully pack it up, carry it out, load it in a truck, and take it back to catalog, photograph and prepare it for sale. Occasionally there are items that take a little more thought and muscle.
A few weeks ago, I received a call about a 12-pound bronze cannon to pickup for auction. It was in a building that had no loading dock. How the heck to get it out? It was in an old 19th century National Guard armory inside a wooden case up against a wall. My body started to ache just thinking about how we could remove it from the wooden case and get it outside to transport back without killing myself or others. I couldn’t wait to get the cannon back and start researching its history, but it seemed like it was going to be a tough process to even get to that point. We figured it weighed around 800 pounds or so and if we could get it outside onto a pallet, we could use a jack to load it onto a truck with a lift gate and strap it in for the ride back to the office. I spent some time festering over the whole process till it hit me. Call in the Guard!
The gun had belonged to the Massachusetts Army and Air National Guard Museum collection but as it didn’t relate to their mission it was being deaccessioned to support other purchases that did meet their criteria. An email to a few of the officers provided the support needed. The date was set, and we headed to the armory in a box truck with a lift gate. I arrived to see a busy group of men and women in camouflage who were carefully disassembling the case and getting the heavy bronze cannon tube on a dolly and to a side door of the old armory. Once there, a large crane also dressed in camouflage arrived and slung the cannon out of the building and onto a pallet. Once on the pallet they strapped it down and I walked over to look at it. I sat there thinking to myself that all my worrying and wasted time pondering the removal was all for nothing. I didn’t raise a finger or break a sweat! At that point the pallet jack and lift gate did the rest of the heavy lifting and the bronze beauty was on the truck and ready for its journey to Rhode Island and eventually a new home.
A big “Thank you!” to the men and women in the National Guard all over the country that do so much for us when there are emergencies and even little projects like this one. Next time, the history of the cannon.
