Rifle & Bag

[homerifle]

I like this style of carving. Is there a name for this type of more rustic engraving style? Folk?

I'm going to give you a long answer to the carving question. I have been a collector and student of the Kentucky rifle for over fifty years. Hunted and shot them for about the same. To justify this build I had a original forged southern iron guard that is very close to shape and design to RCA 103's brass guard. I also built a bench copy of 103. I also built a "folky" carved rifle in the style that is attributed to Andreas Albrecht. I wanted to build a iron mounted gun roughly in the style of 103. This is where the carving idea comes into the picture. From 1770 to 1776 there was a news paper called the Massachusetts Spy. It was circulated in all thirteen colonies with about 3500 subscribers. Some of the subscribers could have been gunsmiths. The top of the Spy had the picture of a snake cut in pieces depicting the colonies and the dragon depicting England. So with an original early iron guard of southern origin and a news paper picture that was circulated over all thirteen colonies I set out to build a rifle. A rifle that could have been built in the 1770's by a patriotic gunsmith. So to answer your question you already answered yes the carving is "folky."  IMHO it falls within the carving style of Andreas Albrecht attributed rifles.

[JohnnyFM]

Very cool!

[Ian Pratt]

Really nicely made - very nice job forging and filing the hardware and a neat concept for the carving.

You are certainly getting some nice feedback here. When you mention "justifying" your build I would hope you mean it more in the sense of explaining your concept rather than feeling a need to defend it somehow. Over on one of the gun building threads I had been sharing the idea that "tradition" may too often perceived as a line drawn in the sand.  Too often we disregard the fact that artisitic creativity is a huge part of that tradition . What would the longrifle be without it? The art of the longrifle has been evolving since the beginning. Why should it stop?  Don't mean to hijack your thread , just trying to add another layer to the conversation!

[Brian Stuart]

...A rifle that could have been built in the 1770's by a patriotic gunsmith. So to answer your question you already answered yes the carving is "folky."  IMHO it falls within the carving style of Andreas Albrecht attributed rifles.

I've seen the Ben Franklin snake cartoon (Join, or Die) which is what I assumed you were referencing, but didn't know the Dragon represented England. I think it's a great motif and I like the more rustic character. Personally I don't care for the elaborate (Rococo?) carving on most Lancaster rifles. Where can I find examples of this Andreas Albrecht style? I looked in the Library here but could only find information about Albrecht himself, not photos of his rifles.

[homerifle]

...A rifle that could have been built in the 1770's by a patriotic gunsmith. So to answer your question you already answered yes the carving is "folky."  IMHO it falls within the carving style of Andreas Albrecht attributed rifles.

I've seen the Ben Franklin snake cartoon (Join, or Die) which is what I assumed you were referencing, but didn't know the Dragon represented England. I think it's a great motif and I like the more rustic character. Personally I don't care for the elaborate (Rococo?) carving on most Lancaster rifles. Where can I find examples of this Andreas Albrecht style? I looked in the Library here but could only find information about Albrecht himself, not photos of his rifles.

Brian you can find Albrecht rifles and John Christian Oerter in the RCA book vol. 1, Lehigh Valley Christian's Spring school. The book Moravian Gun Making of The American Revolution and the KRA 2019 CD Moravian Made Rifles. If you don't own any of the books I believe the CD would be the way for you to go and the most reasonable to purchase. You will find the type of carving your interested in the last two publications.

[homerifle]

Really nicely made - very nice job forging and filing the hardware and a neat concept for the carving.

You are certainly getting some nice feedback here. When you mention "justifying" your build I would hope you mean it more in the sense of explaining your concept rather than feeling a need to defend it somehow. Over on one of the gun building threads I had been sharing the idea that "tradition" may too often perceived as a line drawn in the sand.  Too often we disregard the fact that artisitic creativity is a huge part of that tradition . What would the longrifle be without it? The art of the longrifle has been evolving since the beginning. Why should it stop?  Don't mean to hijack your thread , just trying to add another layer to the conversation!

Ian, I had read the the thread you mentioned and refrained from making any comments. I guess the word justify was on my mind instead of just saying where my concept came from which was real historic  evidence. I agree with you that the artistic creativity evolved in this country early on and that it still continues to evolve. Some masters work evolved to the point that if their work wasn't signed you wouldn't recognize it as theirs. Where others felt comfortable and didn't evolve or just built the same thing for economic reasons.  Thanks for your comment  Ian good to hear from you!