CLA Auction Lee Cooper Horn

[heinz]

Cresswell Powder Horn by Lee Cooper
text by H Ahlers
photos by H Ahlers

In 1775 a twenty-four year old Englishman found himself on the Colonial American frontier as the American Revolution was taking hold.  Nicholas Cresswell was low on cash and took employment with an Indian trader to recoup his fortunes.  He left us with a journal of his frontier adventures from Fort Pitt into the Indian Country and back.

Lee Cooper has produced this extraordinary horn in commemoration of Nicholas Cresswell and included a photocopy of Cresswell’s journal of his trading adventure.

This is a good sized horn, a little over 14 inches on the outside curve. A very fine horn, as we would expect from Lee Cooper, it has a great rendering of the Revolutionary War period version of the British coat of arms.  This polychrome example is as good as you will find on a horn.  The scrimshaw work on the horn is carefully done and very nicely laid out.  The horn has a hand worked tip and a great scalloped molding where it transitions from the dark tip to the lighter body.  The plain plug is secured to the horn with wooden pegs and has an iron staple for the strap.

This is an exceptional horn.  It would go well with the equally exceptional Djuana Tucker strap also available at this years auction.

Lee Cooper is a repeat CLA Auction supporter and we are always proud to be able to offer his work.  Lee is not into email and social media.  You will have to get into contact with him the old fashioned way.

Lee Cooper  (740) 622-5993

The Contemporary Longrifle Foundation will have the Live Auction Fundraiser for the Contemporary Longrifle Association at the CLA Annual Meeting on Friday August 17 in Lexington Kentucky.
The CLF live auction takes place at the annual meeting of the CLA in Lexington, Ky on August 17 this year.  The Auction will take place in the Convention Center Exhibit Hall at 5:00 PM.
The CLA meeting and exhibition is for members only, however, non-members have two options.  They may attend and join at the meeting for $20.00 for their first year (with certain restrictions). Non-members may also use the absentee bidding process described on the CLA web currently under the CLF 2017 Auction section.  You also may call the CLA office for details 540-886-6189

Be sure to visit the CLF 2018 Auction website going up n July 15 for extended descriptions of the items and more photographs of each item.

[heinz]

Lee Cooper is one of those old-time artists who do not get much recognition because he is off the internet.  I thought it would be nice to include a horn he built for the 2016 CLA auction.  This one came with research that Lee did on Private William Cleveland who served at Fort Laurens

[Greg Pennell]

Thanks for posting these...These are a couple of VERY impressive horns!

Greg

[BOB HILL]

Beautiful work. Thanks for posting.
Bob

[Tim Crosby]

 Those are Grand horns.

   Tim C.

[Marcruger]

Some lovely engraving.  I especially like the sun.  There is a ton of time and work in that horn.  God Bless,   Marc

[Craig Wilcox]

Relatively new to long rifles, and no experience at all with powder horns, so a couple questions.  Any reply will be appreciated.

What causes the tip part to be so clearly defined?  The transition from natural buff to black is pretty nice looking.

It was mentioned that Cooper's horn was very large at 14" along the outside curve. What would be the normal size, and how much black powder would it hold?

I have seen several parts/pieces made of brass.  A boss would be (I guess) epoxied into the horn tip, or base plug, so that threaded plugs or outlets could be screwed in.  What would be used on a horn from the later part of the 18th century for the purposes of filling or dispensing from the horn?  and lastly, for now, what size horn would be used for priming powder?

I am attempting to make a "replica" of sorts of Herman Rupp's 1793 rifle, and would like to make period correct accoutrements to go with it.

As I stated, any response will be greatly appreciated.  Happy 4th of July to all!

[heinz]

Craig, there are a Number of experienced horners on this site who will help you along. You can start a horn. Post pictures and they will guide you. The dark to light tip transition occurs because the dark layer is on the inside of the horn in the transition area. The maker files the white away to make a transition step. You should start a new topic on beginning horn building after you check to see if we already have a tutorial. Welcome to ALR!