(Head's up!) New museum "finds" in Switzerland w/photo's

[holzwurm]

A couple of years ago (some may recall), I came across a nice Swiss target rifle in a pile of other stuff at an auction and then donated it to the museum in Au Locke Switzerland where the builder Jeannet had lived and worked in the 1700's.  Subsequently, I became friendly with the curator and we exchanged several friendly notes.  The rifle is now on display in the museum.

I received a note from her a few months later telling me that she had discovered a "rack of old gun's" in the museum attic which were unknown to anyone and had never been inventoried. I'm guessing there are a number of the guns worthy of their own museum special exhibit down the road.*

Today she sent me pictures of three more Jeannet pieces; two target rifles and a shotgun, plus a few pictures of a rifle of the same time by another maker - Perrnoud (or Perrenoud) who worked in a neighboring town called La Sagne.

Here is the link to the album  

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v305/JerryCrawford/Au%20Lock%20museum%20pieces/

The piece by Pernnoud has an interesting pin through the bow of the TG into the plate - never seen that before?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/JerryCrawford/Au%20Lock%20museum%20pieces/PERNODAULaSagneH.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/JerryCrawford/Au%20Lock%20museum%20pieces/PERNODAULaSagneF.jpg


** right now she's doing a "pots and pans" exhibit.

Jerry Crawford

[holzwurm]

Furthermore - here is a note she sent me about several other building in the area


This morning I consulted the archives of the Canton de Neuchâtel. I was looking for some informations about Frédéric Jeannet.
I found something interesting. Jeannet live in a area of Le Locle named "Les Monts" (the Hills). In Les Monts, about 1850, were many gunsmiths native from Prussia and German Switzerland.
Do you know, Jerry, that a part of Switzerland speak German ? And that the land of Neuchâtel, from 1707 to 1848 (revolution!) belong to Prussia ?
 
Here are the names of these gunmakers
Chammel, Paul Edouard, born in 1825, from Prussia, gunsmith

Naguel, Isidore Joseph, born in 1825, from Prussia, gunsmith

Rychner, Henri, born in 1824, from Argovie (Switzerland), armurier

Kuster, Ulrich, born in 1827, from Saint-Gall (Switzerland), worker gunsmith

Sutermeister, Fred Moïse, born in 1815, from Argovie, worker gunsmith

Fessler, Justin François Adolphe, born in 1825, from Schwytz (Switzerland), worker gunsmith