Perspectives from the Donor of the William Benson Collection

This post was written by a friend of the Museum, Officer Eric Stolzman, (Retired #490), Yale Department of Police Services.  Officer Stolzman served in New Haven, Conn. and donated his collection to the Museum in 2006.

Collecting has always been a passion of mine, instilled in me by my father when I was only nine or 10 years old. After he passed when I was 15, I felt the full influence of my father having belonged to the “Greatest Generation,” a generation defined by beliefs in honor, duty, and patriotism. Stories about my father and other contemporary family members abounded. I had one uncle in particular who served in the submarine service during World War II. Later, he worked for the CIA and shared his stories about traveling through Europe during the Cold War. I also vividly recall the individuals from national and international police agencies that were often at his home. My uncle was a collector of police memorabilia, and I would eventually strive to follow in his professional and collecting endeavors.

Photograph, Benson and his two daughters, Collection of the NLEM 2006.488.139

One of the most important groups of items I have ever collected reflects my desire to honor the memory of past officers, as well as explore the social mores of the past and how the lives and experiences of officers from several generations ago are still relevant to today’s officer. I discovered an officer named William Benson who started his career in 1888 with the Brooklyn Police Department in New York, which eventually merged with other boroughs to become the New York Police Department (NYPD).

Through contact with his family, I was able to obtain his Brooklyn uniformed photograph, appointment certificate, valor medals from two separate occasions, numerous NYPD police items , and a number of personal items, including his death certificate and a letter written about him by one of his daughters. With further investigation, I learned things about this man that even his relatives knew nothing about. You can imagine my pride as I shared this additional information with his family generations later. Benson retired in 1912 and died in 1935, but the memory of his service lives on because of the Museum’s vision to create a venue for displaying the history of men like him.

When I learned about plans to erect a museum representing the history of law enforcement, I contacted the National Law Enforcement Museum. Being informed that some 300,000 to 400,000 visitors per year are expected to visit the museum, I am honored by the inclusion of my collection and its contribution to our profession. The lives of officers, like Officer William Benson, can live on and teach others what I believe are the principles of our nation’s finest.

July Artifact Detective: .32 Colt Revolver from the Late 1800s

By Jeni Ashton, Associate Curator

Help us learn more about our collection!

With the sheer volume of artifacts that have been acquired by the National Law Enforcement Museum – more than 7,500 to date – we can’t always devote as much time to researching individual objects as we would like. So we are calling on you to help us uncover some of the stories behind our objects. On a regular basis, I will post pictures and any information we have on specific objects in our collection. We want you to tell us anything you may know about the item. All information is welcome; sources and citations are requested when possible. Please email Jeni Ashton at jeni@nleomf.org. Thank you.

1896 .32 Colt New Police Double Action Revolver Collection of the NLEM 2007.125.1

Inscribed “"New York Police" on butt, "Colt's Pt. F. A. Mfg. Co. Hartford, Ct. US.A. Pat. Aug. 5.84.Nov.6.1888", "1438"”

What we know:

Weapon was produced between 1896-1907
Approximately 49,500 were produced
NYPD purchased and issued around 4,500
President of the Commissioners of Police, Theodore Roosevelt, authorized the purchase and issue
Weapons were factory stamped ‘New York Police’ on backstrap
Two stamped badge numbers 2318 and 4777


What we want to know:

Who do the badge numbers belong to?

We have seen that the first "officially carried" weapon of the NYPD was the Colt .36 5-shot percussion revolver. But I’ve also found references to Roosevelt having problems with poor marksmanship and back firing weapons after this weapon was adopted. After conducting tests, the NYPD decided to issue the Colt New Police as the standard revolver for the NYPD. Does anyone have any insight on this?

We are also looking for information on the standardization of law enforcement equipment in the late 1800s. So, if you have an early-issue police weapon or know of information when police departments began issuing standardized weapons, let us know.