51 and 1/2" overall. It has a 36" barrel and it is 57 cal.
Comments:
The signature looks remarkably like that of Samuel Smith, who started out in Redstone Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, and ended up in Astoria, Fulton County, Illinois. The architecture does not look like his work, although I'm used to looking at Smith's rifles made 15 or 20 years after this one.
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Interesting bit on Samuel Smith. Samuel, I believe, was the son of Peter, who started out in New Berlin, Union County, which is near where this rifle was originally made. I can not rule out others, like Laudenslager or Samuel St. Clair on this one. I would not be surprised if this were a Laudenslager, but others have disagreed.
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I have studied this gun for a long time, and can't come to much of a conclusion about it. It is signed; even though short, it does not appear to have been shortened; it has fine carving upon nice wood; the PB is odd and doesn't seem to fit in anywhere; and the gun has a patent breech. The crescent moon is somewhat like that used by John Dreisbach and the profile, (and carving), is that of an Upper River School gun. The rake of the stock is a bit like Samuel Smith, but the workmanship is lesser.
So, what are we to think? It seems to be a gun made for a boy or a woman and had its origins in the upper areas, (Berks close to Upper River?), and it is a very nice gun. Though it doesn't seem to belong particularly anywhere, it does belong in the Library.
