Virginia signed rifle

[debnal]

Here is a rifle I just acquired that I thought might be interesting both from a builder’s standpoint and from a collector’s view. It is a nice Southern, Shennandoah Valley gun, signed by John Crummey. It is 60 inches long with a .40 caliber 44 inch barrel. It is in totally original condition. The wood surfaces have their original finish in a deep dark red color. The area behind the cheekpiece is relief carved. There is also low relief carving ahead of the cheekpiece on both sides of the wrist. There is incised carving at the barrel tang and there is a relief, interrupted forestock molding. The brass is unpolished and has a nice patina. The seventeen silver inlays are also unpolished. The ramrod is even original and has a brass ball starter on the muzzle end and a very interesting fitting on the other. It looks like a triangular bit housed in a collar. Can anyone shed some light on this? I think the architecture is very well done. The other most interesting item is the conversion. The lock plate is signed TW Cofer who was the Cofer from Norfolk, Va who made pistols for the Confederacy. So we know this rifle made it from central Virginia to Tidewater, Va a distance of over 230 miles. I have a friend who has several Cofer marked conversions, mostly single barrel shotguns. So, no reconversion for this rifle! Could it have been a Southern sniper rifle? Also, does anyone have any idea as to the pointing finger inlay?

[tallbear]

Fantastic rifle  Thanks for shareing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mitch

[WElliott]

Congratulations, debnal, you have a good original Virginia rifle.  It is nice to see them untouched.  As you may know, John Crummey worked in Rockingham County 1805-32 and was a fairly prolific maker.  One thing I particularly appreciate about Crummey is that he seemed to usually sign his rifles - an all to rare habit among Southern makers of the period.

[Fullstock longrifle]

Great rifle Al, thanks for the pictures. If memory serves me right, Crummy actually worked in the town of Harrisonburg Virginia (in Rockingham County) and was a justice of the peace in that town as well.  Years ago I owned a court document that was written and signed by him.  I've seen the pointing hand on several Valley guns before (and heard all of the jokes about them)  not sure why they put them on their rifles, but it's a nice folk art feature.

Frank

[Joe Stein]

I don't know about any meaning for the pointing finger inlay, but it is on some of the guns pictured in Scooter's (James Whisker) book on Western Penn. makers- Bedford, Somerset, etc.  I'd have to dig out my copy to see if the guns are from about the same time frame as yours, or later.
Maybe Dr. Whisker will post more info on this.

-Joe

[woodsrunner]

I remember reading somewhere at sometime in the past that the right hand with pointing finger was a sign and symbol of Fidelity tied to the Roman Goddess Fides. Can remember no more than this

[T*O*F]

The lock plate is signed TW Cofer who was the Cofer from Norfolk, Va who made pistols for the Confederacy

It's an overstamp.  There is another signature under it.  Can you make it out?

[mr. no gold]

Nice find,Al! Thank you for sharing the photos with us. You have one heck of a fine rifle there. Can't even guess what the pointing hand means; maybe it has something to do with representing that the rifle shoots true.
The Cofer altered lock is beautiful. It would indeed be an act of vandalism to reconvert it; wonder if the underlying name isn't Maslin and Company? Thanks again.
Dick

[G-Man]

Fantastic rifle. 

Rockingham County rifles show such an interesting mix of characteristics - to me they seem incorporate elements of the fine rifles made further north, in the Valley, with the folky feel of the rifles made farther to the southwest.    They just have a certain charm to them.  In the period this gun was made, carved decoration was becoming less common on longrifles -this gun has it all - architecture, great inlays, nice engraving, and nice carving. 

Thanks for posting that fine rifle.

Guy

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

M M Maslin?

[Hurricane ( of Virginia)]

Ramrod: could the end be a "male" end to attach other functional instruments?
Hurricane

[sidreilley]

Thanks so much for posting these pictures of your wonderful rifle. They certainly provide one clear answer to the question "what does a Virginia rifle look like" !
  Regarding the hand inlay,  while I know virtually nothing about the history of these folk symbols, I believe that one is similar to the one in the Ranger Handbook for "enemy in sight", which is just where one would want the muzzle pointed! Makes me wonder if there's a connection.

Cheers

[Majorjoel]

Thank you Al for posting pictures of a very fine longrifle! Glad to see you taking an interest in "Kentucky's"  Be carefull, their addicting! I find it interesting that a person goes a lifetime without seeing anything made by this Virginia builder and then see's two examples in the same week. There is another J. Crummy pictured on the Aspen Shade website.

[debnal]

I looked very carefully at the lock plate markings and it sure coud be Maslin. On the other Cofer conversions I have looked at he was not very careful in removing the original markings. He just wanted his name on the lock. I know of at least three other similarly marked Cofer conversions.
Al

[BGC]

Yep, Dr Boone is correct.  The lock is a M.M. Maslin.

This is a splendid rifle. I have personally had the one at Aspen Shade in my hands and it too is a very well made rifle.  It is a light and well balanced rifle. A hunter could carry that rifle all day and never get tired of carrying it. Mr Crummy definitely knew how to make a rifle.  Too bad it wasn't made a further piece to the West as that is where my main interest are.

Just a thought guys, since the buttstock has a moon, pointing finger and star on it.
Could the pointing finger and star (maybe North Star) have some navigational significance? 

[Artificer]

That is a fine rifle and congratulations on acquiring it.

As to possible use as a Southern Sniper Rifle, well, it could have been used for that early in the war but I don't see it as a true "Sharpshooter's Rifle."  
Sharpshooter was the common term then for what we call a sniper today.

By the time of the War Between the States, heavy barreled target rifles were much more commonly used for that and as they became available, British Whitworth Rifles were highly prized.  

[JTR]

Wow! What a nice rifle, Al! Congratulations!

I've always heard that the moon was for good luck, and the pointing finger to help you find your way. So they might mean, good luck finding your way...
Or maybe the maker just liked the look of them, and they don't mean anything.
But both inlays were used on lots of guns from various areas, so they must have meant something, or maybe not.
Obviously I don't really have a clue!

Great gun none the less!

John

[debnal]

There are at least seven rifles in Jim Whisker's book "Gunsmiths of Virginia" with the pointing finger inlay. Additionally, on page 166 is a signed Crummey rifle with the very same patchbox.
Al

[scooter]

Several comments. First, it is 1 of just 2 Crummey rifles I've seen that are worth owning, Al. A VERY nice piece. I certainly would have included this in a book had I had the opportunity to photo it.
2nd, the thumb: seems upside down. in southern end of Valley the thumbs seem to aim upward. In northern part thumb disappears.
In many older German cemeteries there is a hand with finger pointing upward, presumably suggesting the deceased was on his way to Glory. I'd guess that the pointing finger on rifles suggests true flight of the bullet. As to the position/ appearance of the thumb, I have no opinion.
I would wager my autographed photo of [censor here will delete name] that the lock is imported and only sold by Cofer. I owned a Cofer shotgun that was clearly a Belgian medium-low grade that he had over=stamped. Virtually none of Eastern Seaboard gunsmiths made shotguns; they sold imported ones [just like no one in USA seem to nake anything, it's red chinese].

In fact it appears to be an over=stamp. Still, period + most intriguing -- most b/c of working time! Cofer was not born until 1827 and last working date anyone has on Crummey is 1832! HMMMMMMMM

Now the only thought I have is that Cofer may have converted the lock and thus stamped it. It's possible but frankly I respect Cofer too much to really buy into that.

I doubt Wally or anyone else has published any of following on Cofer

Cofer, Thomas W. (1827-1885). gunsmith. 1850, Nansemond County, living in Richard Riddick Sr’s inn. 1861-62, Portsmouth. Thomas W. Cofer was born in 1827 in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.. He married Margaret A. Sanders in Gates County, North Carolina, on 13 May 1852. They later resided in Portsmouth, Virginia. Cofer died in Portsmouth on 23 July 1885. He invented a revolver that could fire fixed cartridges or could be used in a traditional way as a percussion arm, for which he received Confederate patent 9 of 12 August 1861. These very rare revolvers are considered secondary Confederate arms although there is no known C.S.A. order. A number of quality shotguns bearing his name have been located. 1872 Portsmouth Directory, Cofer T W., gunsmith, 15 Union, home, Clifford, corner of Court, Portsmouth. 1880, Portsmouth; wife Margaret [Census]. 1880, Cofer, gunsmith, 52; Margaret, wife, 51; Rich, 24, book-keeper; Wm, clerk, 21; Marg. L., 19; Walter Simcoe, son-in-law, clerk, 31; Annie, wife, 26; Lucile, 3; Estelle, 2 [Census].

[debnal]

Jim,
The guns I have seen with Cofer overstamps were all flintlocks (several single shot fowlers and one sporting type rifle) that had been converted to percussion. Additionally I have seen a pair of target/duelers that were also converted from flint that were marked Spratley, Norfolk suggesting that this was a practice that was used in Tidewater.
Al

[wattlebuster]

Wonderful rifle thanks for posting

[msmith]

arms2armor.com has a Double Barrel Shotgun looks like a English Shotgun, W/ T W Cofer on lockplates...