Who Was John Hintlian?
Archivist’s notes… John Hintlian, shown in the photo herein seated below far left, is something of an enigma to the modern day 2025 collector. As Hintlian himself passed away in 2000, we’re now 25 years removed from him being a presence in the collecting world of gun paper, and specifically, Colt related paper items of all different kinds.
There are few living collectors who knew Hintlian personally, and fewer those who didn’t know him that truly understand the impact he had on this hobby of collecting. Hintlian’s name is all over this website, and for good reason. He’s something of a Patron Saint of Colt records preservation. An enormous amount of the surviving documents flowed through his hands from the 1930s up until the time of his passing in 2000, and he’s to be celebrated for his efforts in preserving paper when it wasn’t in vogue.
More is to be written and shared on this subject, though this is the placeholder for now.