Property from the Collection of Ray Howser Pony Express Sport Shop, Ventura Boulevard, California
For more than half a century, Ray Howser owned and operated Pony Express Sport Shop at 17460 Ventura Boulevard, widely regarded as the greatest gun shop in the San Fernando Valley. Under Howser and his partner, Robert “Bob” Ellithorpe, Pony Express became far more than a sporting goods store: it was a legendary destination for antique and collectible firearms, militaria, western art, and objects of historical consequence. Serving an advanced collecting clientele in Southern California, the shop occupied a singular place at the intersection of connoisseurship, commerce, and the enduring mythology of the American West.
Though celebrated for his knowledge of fine and historic arms, Howser’s interests as a collector extended well beyond the gun trade. Over decades, he assembled a deeply personal collection of Native American material, including beadwork, quillwork, moccasins, bows, and related objects, many acquired in the 1950s and 1960s. These were not works gathered for the market, but pieces retained with unusual conviction and care, reflecting a collector’s instinct shaped by taste, study, and long familiarity with the field.
Now, in the later chapter of a life devoted to objects of rarity, craftsmanship, and historical resonance, Ray Howser has chosen to release this portion of his collection. Preserved in private hands for decades and formed in an earlier era of collecting, these works possess the integrity of long ownership and the rarity of material fresh to the market. Lewis & Grant is honored to present the Collection of Ray Howser to collectors both old and new.
