Dennis,
Thank you for a very kind and complete review of my new book on the Moravian gunsmiths in North Carolina. I am glad to see you enjoyed reading it. It has been a three year labor or love.
The book contains over 370 pages making it the largest book I have attempted.
There are 260 pages of color photographs. 78 rifles and 1 pistol are illustrated. The book also includes maps and images of buildings, and gunsmiths graves in this region.
The book includes what I believe to be one of the earliest known Moravian rifles made in this state. From my conversations with Eric Kettenburg, we discussed the great evolution that took place between the early Moravian rifles made in Christian's Spring prior to the Revolution, to the more neoclassical rifles made by Christoph Vogler, his sons Nathaniel and Timothy, and his nephews John and George Vogler in Salem. Eric and I both wondered where did this new design come from, and what would a rifle made in Wachovia by Andreas Betz, Joseph Muller, Valentine Beck, or Jacob Loesch, Jr. look like? My search was for a rifle that would serve as a bridge between the early Moravian rifles made in Pennsylvania and Wachovia during the 1760 - 1780 period and the later Vogler (Salem School) rifles made in the 1790 - 1820 period.
An early unsigned rifle surfaced Rowan County in 2018 that best serves this purpose. The barrel is over .50 caliber. The lock is a large English flintlock marked Willett. The wide trigger guard and side-plate are both engraved in a style that would look to have been found on an early rifle from Christian's Spring. In my opinion each of these features could date to the 1770 period. The butt-stock of the rifle would however date to the late 1780 or early 1790 period. The rifle does have carving behind the cheek-rest and around the barrel tang. The carving is there, but not sophisticated.
Andreas Betz moved from Pennsylvania to Wachovia in 1754. From the information I received from Eric Kettenburg, Bob Lienemann, and Scott Gordon, Betz had worked in the locksmith shop in Pennsylvania and was not formally trained as a gun stocker. He was sent to North Carolina to repair guns, but could had done some stocking. Valentine Beck was trained as a gun stocker and was sent down in 1764 to take on that role in Wachovia.
In 1767, it was learned that Andreas Betz had secretly engaged himself to Barbara Bruner in Salisbury, the daughter of Rowan gunsmith Henrig Bruner. When Andreas Betz left Wachovia, he took with him his younger brother George Betz and trained him to work as a gunsmith. Andreas Betz opened a store and gun shop next door to each other in Salisbury and operated both until his death in 1795. I found two land deeds listing George Betz as a gunsmith between 1795 and 1804.
I believe this bridge rifle was made by Andreas Betz or possibly his brother George while working in Rowan County. It is possible the rifle was made in the Moravian shops in Pennsylvania, bought down to North Carolina, had the stock broken during the period of use and had a new stock made by Betz in the 1780's period using the earlier barrel, lock, trigger guard, and side-plate.
I was able to display this "bridge rifle" at my program on the Moravian gunsmiths of Wachovia at the KRA meeting last year in Pittsburgh.
Detailed photographs of the rifle do appear in this new book.
As to the issue concerning the quality of the photographs in my books that someone raised.
I have been gathering information, documents, and photographs on North Carolina Longrifles and the people that made them for the last forty years. There is no museum or collection you can visit where you will be able to view or photograph a large quantity of these rifles at one place. You have to take them as you find them.
Many of the photographs in the new book come from Old Salem Museum & M.E.S.D.A. One rifle was photographed by David Miller at the Smithsonian. Some are from professional photographers Kenneth Orr and Mark Elliott. Others are from collectors like myself and and Arron Capel. They are not all of the same quality. Some of the photos are over 20 years old. I have no idea where some of those rifles are now to be able to re-photograph them to get better images. Would you rather not see those rifles at all?
I will be the first to admit that I am not a professional writer or photographer. What I am is a passionate student and collector on the subject of North Carolina Longrifles and have been willing to invest the tremendous amount of time to search to pull the information, documents, photographs, and opinions of the experts to share them with other students and collectors who will appreciate it. My talent, if I have one, is being able work with so many sources to pull this much information together and package it in one place for those people who are interested in learning about this subject.
Thanks,
Michael
