Early Model Bess photos....

[Bigmon]

I found these photos I took of a musket belonging to a distant relative I met at an auction that I had never met.
We found we had the same interests and he had this old Bess he had bought at an auction many years before.  HE has since passed on and his son will not part with the musket.  Cant blame him for that.
Martin West, the main man at Fort Ligonier, since retired, told me this was an early and rare model.
Any info would be welcome. I'd sure like to talk his son into selling it to me.


uploaded photos

[120RIR]

Wow...you've got a real winner there!  From what I can see it looks like a "pattern" 1730/1740.  Can you see the maker name and date on the lock plate?  It's got that nice characteristically early banana shape although the cock itself is definitely a later replacement.  Other than that and based on the photos, it appears to be 100% original and correct and retaining the original wood rammer which has got to be remarkable.  Getting the cock replaced with a correct and properly-aged pattern is what I would do (your chances of finding an original are, well, likely zero) but there are different schools of thought on that.  What all will agree on is that you should absolutely NOT touch it otherwise - no "refinishing", no polishing, no nuthin'!  If you're interested, the best book currently on the market on the Brown Bess is called, interestingly enough, The Brown Bess by Erik Goldstein and Stuart Mowbray.  I'm sure you'll find it through Amazon.  I will not speculate on a specific value but having seen comparable untouched examples of somewhat later patterns on the market (and their actual sale prices), I'd say it's well into the five figure territory.

[Bigmon]

THe guy that bought it years ago at an auction paid something like 2 or 300 dollars for it.
It's too bad but he has passed nd that is his son holding it.
I approached him about selling but he wants to keep it.
When I showed it to Martin West at Fort Ligonier he told me he had recently been to the Tower of London and he did not believe they had this model Bess?
Would that end on the rammer be correct?

[smart dog]

Hi,
From a distance the rammer tip looks OK. That flintcock has got to go because it really alters the proper look of the lock. 

dave

[120RIR]

Two or three hundred bucks...jeez, why wasn't I at that auction!  I'd be shocked if the Tower didn't have at least one of these in their collections but I suppose anything is possible  As for the ramrod, I can't really tell from the photos but it looks like a brass tip.  Assuming that's the case then yes, that is indeed correct.  Hopefully some day you'll tempt the guy out of this piece.  It would make an incredible addition to even the most advanced collection of 18th century military arms.

[Bigmon]

If I remember right that rammer tip looked like white plastic, but I thought maybe bone?
But I didn't think it looked right but I had no idea what is right.
Then I saw another somewhere, maybe just a photo?  But it looked the same and I figured it must be right?
I am gonna make it a point to look his son up and try at least???
Here is the last photo I have. It's about the same but a little closer, it might tell ya something?

[smart dog]

Hi
The rammer tip should be sheet brass rolled into a trumpet shape with a brass end cap.  It should be anchored with a wedge like an axe handle.

dave

[120RIR]

Are there perhaps any unit markings on the top of the barrel?  Any marks on the brass escutcheon on the wrist?  They might give us some clues as to the regiment of issue and it's probable service use. 

[Bigmon]

That is all the photos I have, and it has been about five years since I saw it.
And I do not remember if there were any markings?