An Interesting Horn I Picked Up

[Gazz]

I'm a new guy to the forum and hopefully I can get some help from you folks.  A guy came into the LGS where I was hanging out to sell some guns.  The owner wasn't interested in most of them but there were a couple that I liked so I asked if I could chase the guy out the door and got a go ahead.  The guns were okay, a TC Hawken and a repo percussion revolver but he also had in his car this very interesting very large powder horn which he said was also for sale so I bought it.   The horn is quite large and has the name GEORGE MATTHEWS in one line and on the second line MUSGRAVETOWN.  The third line is BB HM and then a long space as if more was supposed to go there.  I found a Musgravetown in Newfoundland Canada and while searching the name found some reference to a George Matthews who resides there.  I sent an email to the Musgravetown offices and and also to a British military history organization but did not receive any replies.  In my searches, I found some reference to BB as having some kind of British military significance and wondered if the HM was to signify His Majesty (if the line had been completed I would know more but alas it was not which makes one wonder why was it not finished?).  So I wonder if this is possibly from the Revolutionary war or perhaps the war of 1812 and poor George was a casualty.  Anybody here have ideas of where else I might look for info?  I'm sorry but there does not seem to an image of the last line and I will get posted shortly. 


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[moseswhite]

Very Nice 11

[Bob Gerard]

Interesting horn- it would be great to learn more of its provenance and know its story. That’s the treasure behind so many of these old pieces.
There are a few things about it that seem “off” to me though I am no scholar in the field;
Somehow the wear spots on the butt plug looks strange and unnatural,  with the sharply defined wear edges of the paint. (I hadn’t seen a painted butt plug before).
It looks like the painted spout plug has the same wear pattern. Having the original spout plug would be a rare find as well I think?
The engraving still looks nice and crisp and the ink still dark, without any indication of wear.
If it was an actual period horn it looks like it has been preserved well.

[Tanselman]

The horn looks all original to me. The heavy scuffs on the plug appear to be some kind of heavy modern abrasion. A lot of the Newfoundland horns, and/or eastern Canadian seaboard horns, appear to be a little more heavily, or deeply, cut than better American horns, making the lettering, while a little crude at times, stand out sharply from the background. While not the best carving, at least those horns will be readable for a long, long time despite their past, and future, handling and wear.

Shelby Gallien

[Gazz]

Thank you for your comments!  I do not doubt that the horn is original and suspect that it didn't see much use afield due to its size - it is just shy of 20" long.  I'll take some more pictures today.

[wattlebuster]

Cool horn

[jdm]

Nice old horn . You were in the right place at the right time and acted on it.