"Shener" Do you know of him???

[Hurricane ( of Virginia)]

It is alleged that a person/gunsmith named "Shener" made guns in the Haga style of the Reading School. One such gun may be in the ALR Museum, label "Haga" Here is the URL :

http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=2200.0

Another gun with almost identical cheek carving has surfaced. The owner would like to find a signed "Shener" to compare similarlites. Anyone with a signed "Shener" is requested to respond or send me an email ( fgarner@verizon.net). Any other comments or attributions are welcome.
Hurricane.

[B Shipman]

William Shener is pretty well known. A city of Reading gunsmith circa 1800 give or take a decade or more. Very Haga-like. Bruce Moyer has several fine ones in his collection and had them at the last CLA show. Homer Dangler has a fiine one. The recent book from the Berks Co. Historical Society has one and a fine pistol as well. The late Col. Vaughn Goodwin was a Shener fan and ,as I remember, had a Shener pistol. Yes, the one in our site may well be a Shener. The sideplate and trigger guard shape  put me off a bit but could just be atypical. Shener carving tends to be varied, leafy, and folksy, not standard design stuff. A curl  on the barrel tang is unique but not on all his guns.

[Hurricane ( of Virginia)]

Thanks Bill! I will follow-up.
Fred

[B Shipman]

Fred, if you look at the pistol in the Berks co. book and look at the tail of the sideplate. Then imagine that exact design filed into the tail of the barrel tang, and the gun looks Haga, it's a Shener. No question. But he didn't always do this.

[DaveM]

Bill, you mention that several rifles are known by Shener in local collections.  I am aware of the signed pistol that you refer to - do you know if these rifles are siged, or are unsigned attributions?  Thanks

Dave

[B Shipman]

I'm no expert on Shener. Iv'e handled  four attributed to him and as far as I can remember none were signed. As far as I can remember. I tend to get sensory overload at these shows.

[Hurricane ( of Virginia)]

Bruce Moyer pointed out three published "Shener" rilfles...all attributed. 1 is in "Berks Co Longrifles and Gumakers" and 2 in Whisker and Chandler" Behold the Long Rifle."
Hurricane

[B Shipman]

And Bruce has three in his possession.

[DaveM]

Somewhere in one of George Shumway's books I thought I remember him noting that he had seen one or two signed Shener rifles, with a signature similar to the pistol, but he did not seem certain.   I was just curious if any of these may have been among those discussed, but it does not sound like it - thanks.

[Buck]

I have a rifle attributed to Shener it is a beautiful rifle 58 cal. smoothbore, raised carvived at the tang and wrist with a nice incised C scroll at the rear of the cheek piece. Definately a Reading rifle does anybody have any photos that I could compare it with?