William N. Beals

[msmith]

What do you " Southern Collectors" think of lot 13 at Case Antiques.?I think auction is August 26. caseantiques.com

[G-Man]

That's a pretty well known rifle and looks like a super piece - I have never seen good detail photos of it before.  I am sure Jerry Noble could tell you more about it.  I don't know that much about the gun so don't feel it appropriate for me to comment much on it, other than good iron mounted southern fullstocks have been bringing some really good prices, often higher than the estimates, in the past couple of years - signed pieces by known makers are rare and this is pretty much an archetypal example of its style.  Auctions are funny - on any given day the sale price can surprise you one way or another.

I've never dealt with Case but they seem to specialize in southern items and have auctioned some really great southern rifles in the past few years, including a super Elisha Bull gun two years back.  Some of the other lots look nice too - I like the horn/ladle/mold combo.

Architecturally, man, what a sleek rifle!

(Checked Jerry's books - the rifle is the same one shown in Vol. 1 page 157 as the auction catalog says, but it was not "attributed" as the catalog says - in the book he just points out that it had some Washington County type features but does not attribute it to any particular maker - perhaps the Beals barrel marking was obscured at the time.  In any event, it pretty much has everything an East Tennessee style rifle should have, doesn't it?)

Guy

[flintriflesmith]

Estimated prices found in auction catalogs have been changing during the last couple of years. It looks to me like the auction houses have started low-balling the estimates to attract bidders during the tight economic times. Everybody wants a bargin!
Gary

[Dennis Glazener]

Page 71 and 72 of my Gillespie book has a rifle that looks a lot like a Gillespie but its marked Wm. N. Beals on the barrel. I have always wondered if this was a Beals made rifle or just a barrel made by Beals and used by someone else.

I forget who, but someone, it may have been Jerry Noble, told me that Beal made a lot of barrel for other gunmakers. I have no idea if this is true or not.
Dennis

[G-Man]

Dennis - perhaps that is why Jerry Noble described the gun now being auctioned as having characteristics of various Washington County gunsmiths, I think he even mentions Baxter Bean, but did not attribute it to Beals at the time (who is listed in Unicoi County).  Unicoi and Washington are neighboring counties and both are close to the North Carolina line, so some Beals rifles (or barrels, for that matter) making their way around the area and back and forth over the mountain seems logical.

If Baxter did have a hand in that rifle, to me that makes it even more interesting.  Not sure about the dates though - I think Beals is listed 1850-1870s, but would have been almost 30 by 1850 and surely was making guns earlier.  Baxter bean was murdered in the 1850s as I recall.

The gun does have some Bean style features but then again there were so many commonalities amongst East Tennessee makers that when you start trying to split hairs on some features and use them for attribution, it goes beyond my level of knowledge.  Myron Carlson said you really have to be able to examine fine details like the inside of the set triggers, the styles of the joints where the pieces of the hardware are joined, etc. to be able to tell, and have to look at a whole lot of 'em  too  Jerry's probably seen as many or more of them than anyone alive.

For you guys who like Tennessee rifles, this gun is an excellent study in architecture and mounts - check it out - beautiful example.  

Case always has good photos of their auction guns.  If it's OK with the moderators, I'll post the link, since its in the context of study, rather than sales.

Guy

[Ken G]

http://www.liveauctioneers.com/h/item/6650887?prev=search&ah=525-bf80a&category=&itemtype=


Here's a link to the auction and photos. 

[angus]

Nice Southern rifle!

[Sequatchie Rifle]

What do you all think it will go for?

[Carper]

I have had three rifles marked Wn Beals in stamped letters on the top flat. Someone always brings up the barrel maker thing.  All the ones that I had showed similar details not unlike the one auction. I feel like a person named WnBeals made all three. I cant accept that such nice rifles ( and they are)would be sent out into the world with someone elses name stamped ( and not too good). I could buy no name but not someone elses. It was my best guess all three were made by the same hand( I guess the maker could have bought three barrels made and stamped by Beals but that seems farfetched to me. I sold the last of the Beals rifles that I had to someone on this board and although plain it showed the same nice lines as the on on auction. As a matter of fact it was on the picture part of this sight under orginal southern rifles so if they are still on here you could go and look at it. BTW I think I sold the last Beals rifle for 800.00 or maybe less.   Johnny

[Sequatchie Rifle]

Thanks for the information.  It's a nice looking rifle and worth documenting, as it will probably show up again.

[msmith]

Anybody know what the "Beals" went for?

[G-Man]

Case usually posts the auction prices within a few weeks - you just have to know the lot number - they ususally just show a list with the lot # and price on their website.

Guy

[Sequatchie Rifle]

Hammer price $3200

[scooter]

William N. Beals (1822-1898). gunsmith. 1850-70, near Erwin, Washington [after 1875 Unicoi] County [U.S. Census]. Refer-ences intermixed with a William P. Beals, same county, same birth year. He is well remembered as one who also practiced sev-eral skilled trades, including cabinet making and carpentry. He is listed as a gunsmith in 1850 and 1870 and as a farmer in 1860. He built his shop near a creek to utilize its water power, but his shop was destroyed by a flood. In the Phillip Nelson Collection at the University of Tennessee there is an order dated 1855 to “William Bales” for a gun barrel, four feet long, firing balls of 250 to the pound, which would be .278 caliber. It noted a friend wanted a similar barrel, but in a lighter weight. Beals made iron-mounted mountain rifles [State of TN]. 1870 district 6, Washington County Census: William,  48, gunsmith; Sarah, 34; William, 14; Elizabeth, 10; Bridget, 5; Jonathan, 2; Elizabeth, 72, all born in TN. 1880, William Bales, 58, gun-smith; Sarah, 45; born in NC; William N. 24, farmer; Biddie M., 14; Jonathan, 12; Martha, 8; Sarah, 4.

from my new book