Maybe if it doesn't slide into obscurity we will get to see it down the road. Upside is that the auction house will receive a nice commission and the consignor, a public institution will get a lot of money to continue their work.
Dick
I lean toward a restocked German rifle given the stubby little barrel tang.
I lean toward a restocked German rifle given the stubby little barrel tang. Looks like the tang broke at the original screw hole, but perhaps was still well breached, so simply squared off and redrilled. I would have a very hard time believing a barrel tang that short was originial, untouched/undamaged work. Also no reason the wrist escutcheon may not be original; it 'fits' the rest of the hardware and there surely is enough room for it, given the stubby tang moving the carving forward probably by at least 1/2".What EK said. ;)
In the case of the Atwater Kent museum in Phila, it has now closed, and the pair of Wm Henry, Jr pistols and paintings of the Henry family are at risk. When items are donated to such groups, we hope that they sustain themselves and continue to display the items we donate. There will probably always be tension between the two approaches.
... Though relatively small, the gun was graceful and did not have the 'clunkiness' that I usually associate with the CS guns. The rifle has been known for awhile and Westor White is said to have made drawings and taken photos of it many years ago....
Dick
Dick, Bob L, BFox,
Do any of you have any thoughts on the barrel proof? I've observed similar looking marks on German/Prussian musket barrels. The color photo I posted as a closeup is, unfortunately, not clear enough for me to have a definitive answer.
It's a small point but, could help give a time frame for the restocking.
Kent
so this rifle was possibly originally a Mastricht or Liege product before being restocked here.
Backsplash, when did Behr work?
so this rifle was possibly originally a Mastricht or Liege product before being restocked here.
Thanks for your analysis. The boys in Liege & Mastricht were certainly busy people, seemingly arming everybody.
Where the heck is Immel when you need him? I realize that much earlier pieces - north German and 'Brandenburg' style rifles for example - used individual sideplates for the lock nails, but they were nothing like these. I know that there will be some pushing for this to be a 1750s rifle but I just don't see it, those side pieces being exhibit A and the carving to my mind being exhibit B; I see this carving and the shorter cheek being a continued development of the what is present upon the Marshall rifle and which would ultimately end up as the very "full" carved Moll and Rupp style.
It's particularly interesting to finally see color photos of this. I've had the Wes White disc for a couple of years now and the black/white is one thing, but it takes on an entirely new life in good color photography.
... Though relatively small, the gun was graceful and did not have the 'clunkiness' that I usually associate with the CS guns. The rifle has been known for awhile and Westor White is said to have made drawings and taken photos of it many years ago....snip
Dick
(https://i.ibb.co/pQJBz0g/Christians-Spring-Rifle-Rochester-Historical-Society-Plate-I.jpg) (https://ibb.co/DY5HCVN)
Not an exact match, but does this buttplate at bottom center look familiar?
(https://i.ibb.co/8D5kdv0/conestoga-gun-parts.jpg) (https://ibb.co/kg8Z9bx)
Where the heck is Immel when you need him? I realize that much earlier pieces - north German and 'Brandenburg' style rifles for example - used individual sideplates for the lock nails, but they were nothing like these. I know that there will be some pushing for this to be a 1750s rifle but I just don't see it, those side pieces being exhibit A and the carving to my mind being exhibit B; I see this carving and the shorter cheek being a continued development of the what is present upon the Marshall rifle and which would ultimately end up as the very "full" carved Moll and Rupp style.
It's particularly interesting to finally see color photos of this. I've had the Wes White disc for a couple of years now and the black/white is one thing, but it takes on an entirely new life in good color photography.
another Behr product that looks a lot closer to the Rochester gun sideplate panels.
(https://i.ibb.co/qDtjKYq/90-02-quzyxv.webp) (https://ibb.co/kGRBj2b)
(https://i.ibb.co/GsNFt4Y/90-01-rupijj.webp) (https://ibb.co/JxgCyw6)
I'm surprised no one has mentioned rifle # 3 in Shumway's RCA Vol I. Much to compare.
Perhaps this piece represents a stocking by Oerter, and carving by someone else, either before or after he was master of the shop? Lots of possibilities, at least to my mind.
Let me ask a heretical question, bearing in mind that I'm new to this.
Is there documentation that all of the stockers actually did all of their own carving?
I realize that these people are looked on as artists, but were they really, or just businessmen?