Store bought patchboxes

[ntqlvr1948]

Somewhere I thought I read that back in the day there were sellers who provided fancy patchboxes. I know that stores sold locks. Were many of the nice early guns with the beautiful patchboxes equipped with store bought boxes?

[WadePatton]

I'm not the best scholar to answer your inquiry but since 174 views with zero replies have passed, I'll say something about it.

First of all you say "nice early guns".  What are you calling "early"?

As I understand it there was much more "in-house" making of furnishings in the early years, and that it would be much more likely for gunmakers to rely on outsourced parts in the later period of flintlock production which overlapped capper guns-when I would expect more outsourcing was done than in the early years.

Maybe that'll be enough to get the folks who have indeed studied these things to chime in. And if those gentlemen/ladies find my vague assessment here inaccurate, unsupported, or misleading, I'll bow out to them and adjust my thinking.

[ntqlvr1948]

I am talking about guns made in the early 1800's to the 1850's

[redheart]

Since Wade had the stones to get this party started, I'll add that it's well known that TRYON, Philadelphia 1811-1872 was a very prolific provider of gun components to the trade, which included butt plates, a variety of patch box styles and all other trim parts. I've see them used by (including, but not necessarily limited to) J. Henry, Krider, H.E. Leman, Lower, Bown & Tetley, and Henry Derringer. 

[WESTbury]

A whole industry came on line during the Rev War to supply musket components to Pennsylvania gunsmiths that built arms for Pa. I would imagine that the furniture components they supplied were brass as the pattern followed for the muskets was the British Land Pattern.

Some of those suppliers most assuredly continued supplying brass rifle furniture after the war as well as Charleville musket components to those Pa arms builders that supplied new muskets for the Pa Militia.   

[WESTbury]

By the way, for those with intellectual curiosity related to arms built in Pa during the Rev War, read the essays posted by Eric Kettenburg on his website. They are excellent and exhaustively researched.

[WESTbury]

Some of those suppliers most assuredly continued supplying brass rifle furniture after the war

After the Rev War includes 1800-1850, which, by the way is for many collectors, LATE. My Hess rifle from the late 1820's qualifies as Late Flintlock Period.

Everyone has their own perspective on this subject.

[WESTbury]

Below is a link to a thread I started in late 2021 concerning patch boxes.
https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=68672.msg689488#msg689488