Andreas Albrecht essay

[spgordon]

Dear list members,

Over the summer I asked the list for images, documents, or information about Andreas Albrecht, and you all were typically generous. The long article that I wrote is now online and I would welcome any comments, suggestions, corrections, quarrels, etc. There are 14 images (mostly documents, but some of rifles) associated with the article, so please make sure you see those.

You can see the article here: http://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entry.php?rec=263

Best regards,

Scott Gordon

[rich pierce]

I will certainly spend more time reading this after my first quick scan.  The article gives me a new insight into the man and his community.

[blienemann]

Scott Gordon brings another perspective to the old guns and the men and boys who made them.  Scott discovered the Christian Oerter letter describing a new rifle a few years back, and shared this with us.  He has made great use of the Moravian Archives, the work of other researchers and scholars and his own considerable skills to write of William Henry of Lancaster, his son William Henry, Jr, Jacob Dickert and other individuals and topics.  In this case, Scott has located many new primary documents – both here and from Germany, to better tell the story of Albrecht’s life. 

[sqrldog]

Thanks for sharing your research. Always great to learn more about the early gunsmiths and forces that had an impact on their history. Tim

[Curtis]

Very nice article, great research!

Curtis

[Dan Fruth]

Thank you Scott for all the information. I have been fascinated with the Moravians since I bagan this wonderful hobby back in 1972, and I will spend much time reading .   Dan Fruth

[Tom Currie]

Scott, I just finished reading your essay on Albrecht and wanted to thank you for sharing your research here on ALR.

Some of your facts, conclusions and thoughts regarding Albrecht are rather thought provoking to me, and seem to shed light on his personality or even his character.

[spgordon]

Tom, thanks for reading--and for commenting! What parts in particular did you think were thought provoking? The material about his religious convictions?

[Tom Currie]

Scott, I find it interesting that Albrecht gave himself wholly to the Moravian faith and conceded any personal gain he might have earned or accomplished otherwise. Could he have been so turned off by war and his contribution to war as an armorer that led him to a more pacifist life ? It could be that he only leaned on his professional training as a gun stocker as a last resort ( either by Moravian direction or later on his own to provide for his family ).  

Albrecht's main profession of being a music teacher for children had led me to believe he was a " kind" person. Maybe that was a naïve thought . Maybe there was a hardness or stern taskmaster side to Albrecht. His first apprentice didn't last long. Oerter left and it sounds like it was a struggle to get him back. The church found him a wife after the first one they chose refused. And strangely when the Christian's Spring shop was ramping up production  as the revolution approached , the Moravian's sent Albrecht to run the Sun Inn ( dealing with drunks every night ), rather than run a shop with several individuals working together. Could the thought of contributing to a war effort again be part of the Moravian decision that led him to be an Inn Keeper ?

Other thoughts:

Assuming that he made the Edward Marshall rifle, and possibly the Dog rifle and maybe the Lion/Lamb rifle ( possibly Oerter ) he must have been talented. Yet, once he was working for himself he struggled to find a market for his product, or was his heart just not in working on arms ? Instead making pipes for a living  etc. The one signed rifle that is believed to be from Lititz is effectively just a copy of what Dickert was producing at the time.

I've always found it interesting that even though they did not have a lot of production going on they had +/- 380 blanks drying stocks on hand. Someone must have liked wood or had big plans .  

And lastly I agree with your comment on Albrecht's greatest contribution as that of a teacher , musically and as a master to his accomplished apprentices,  remains his greatest accomplishment.  
 

[spgordon]

Thanks so much for these reflections, Tom. My impression--and it is hard to put my finger on what gives me this impression, so it should be taken with a heavy grain of salt--is that Albrecht had a difficult personality. I think I sense this mainly from the discussions that arise whenever he is getting an apprentice. I would love to know more about what this was about:

Related issues arose in 1771 when William Henry, the former gunsmith who was now a prominent Lancaster merchant, apprenticed his eldest son to Albrecht: “because [William Henry] intends to place his son in an apprenticeship with [Albrecht], we thought that it would be good to speak directly and honestly with Henry, so that he consider it carefully, so that we should not get the blame and Henry should not be offended.”

But all we have is that mysterious note from Moravian records. Authorities seem to be taking special care to make sure parents are well informed before they give their son as an apprentice to Albrecht. So this could have something to do with Albrecht--or just with the apprentice system generally. But, as you say, he seems to have had friction with previous apprentices ....

Scott