Since it's slow on Antique Accoutrements, I thought I'd post another bag & horn set... this one from a northeastern Indiana estate sale 35+ years ago in Steuben County. It was accompanied by an average 1850s half-stocked rifle, but the rifle sold separately from the bag set. The gun went too high, but no one wanted the bag [with cracked/repaired horn] so I picked it up for $15.00... and no sales tax since an estate sale! The horn was well attached when I got it, but over the years "red rot" leather deterioration has caused the horn's front strap to break... although it already had one repair on it.
Three details on the horn & bag deserve comments:
1. The most interesting detail is the horn's screw tip, well done but somewhat non-standard... as an Indiana horn should be.
2. The horn was cracked near the base during its period of use, and a rawhide repair was glued/applied over the crack to keep it serviceable. Since acquired, the thin, dry patch has cracked and lost some chips, but most of it remains.
3. The last detail is a small patch knife, made from deer antler and part of an old straight razor. It's a little shorter than its sheath, so perhaps it replaced an earlier patch knife.
The bag itself remains in good condition, filled with shotgun reloading tools. The strap is striped heavy cotton, perhaps a repair/replacement for an original all-leather strap. The horn has a low domed, turned walnut plug with a small iron staple in its nose. For you guys who always want to know dimensions, the bag is about 8-1/4" tall by 8" wide. The horn is about 12-1/8" outside curve.
This horn & bag set isn't the best Indiana set I've seen, but it's one of the VERY few with a screw tip horn AND original patch knife.
Shelby Gallien
