Curly Maple Stocked Pistol - Does It Look Like a Later Tennessee Pistol?

[Tanselman]

This pistol sold recently, and supposedly had a southern origin, owner thinking it was probably Tennessee. But "thinking" it might be from TN is different from knowing it was from TN. I'd like to get opinions on the pistol and its possible origin. Barrel is 5-1/2" long with a 15/16" breech block behind it, and a .38" bore. Well-made but absolutely no markings anywhere on it. My first thought on unmarked, "slightly later" pistols is that the maker was "kind of" copying an Eastern pistol that was patented, and wanted to avoid any legal hassles so he made the requested gun, but did not mark it so he could remain anonymous.

The sheet brass trim on either side of the front edge of the curly maple grips was, I believe, added to prevent erosion of the stock wood in that area from the residue of percussion caps. Such brass protective plates are most often found on southern guns, in my experience.
 
I recall an old post about Alfred Bearden of Tennessee, where a marked pistol by him was posted in the discussion portion. If memory serves, it was a little on the clunky side as well. Any thoughts are appreciated on this little, unmarked gun.   

Shelby Gallien

[Levy]

Just looking at it, I'd assume it came from the NE like most of them do.  There wouldn't be many of them from the south to compare it to.  Other than a story that came with it, I don't see anything that would make it southern.  I have a great respect for your knowledge and if you do see a southern trait, please share what it is.  James Levy

[T*O*F]

A lot of that style pistol was made and sold in Memphis by various makers for the Mississippi riverboat trade when it flourished.

[Hungry Horse]

 I donated a small pocket pistol that looked very much like that gun to the local museum. It was found under a beautiful carved wood back bar in an old local saloon, the later got converted to a restaurant. My gun had no name on it, and was .30 caliber smooth bored. I did see one identical to mine in a private collection marked Bottoms on top of the barrel. Both my gun, and the gun marked Bottoms had walnut grips held on with a simple wood screw that entered from the right grip.

  Hungry Horse

[Sequatchie Rifle]

Shelby, I have avoided pistols because it is so difficult attributing them to a maker when unmarked. My gut tells me it looks Southern, but there doesn’t seem to be any single attribute that confirms the “gut” feeling. Having said that, I’ve seen two pistols attributed to a Huntsville Alabama shop which are very similar to this one. As I recall, the attributed maker came to Huntsville from North Carolina. I’ll look through my notes and add to this post later.

Bill

[Sequatchie Rifle]

From my notes: "Observed two percussion pistols marked Baker, Wilmington. Pistols closely match each other. caliber .44, octagon to round fixed barrel. Brass front post site only. Bbl length 6 in. Supposedly made by a Huntsville gunsmith/blacksmith named Wm Baker who moved to Huntsville from Wilmington, NC prior to 1850. Was a member of Helion Lodge F&AM. (Apr 16th 2011)."

[Tanselman]

James... you asked about why I think this might be a southern pistol.

I've seen all the similar Eastern pistols by Allen & Therber, Ethan Allen, Bacon, Allen & Wheelock, etc., that I think this one was copied from. All of those Eastern pistols are well-marked, usually have "Cast Steel" barrels, and often are marked "Patented" on the barrel...to scare away imitators. This pistol has no markings anywhere, which usually means a gunsmith copied a well-known pistol, probably upon request, in an area where the Eastern-made pistols of this style were not available. That makes me think it was probably made farther west, well outside of New England. I doubt a gunsmith would go to the trouble of copying a style of pistol, if the actual pistol was readily available for sale in his area.

There is also a general style difference between this pistol and Eastern pistols, from what I can see. The Eastern pistols of this type have shorter handles that run only about 60% of the distance up the grip, and a longer breech block/receiver that extends farther backwards to meet the grips. This pistol deviates from the standard Eastern pattern with grips that run completely up to the back of the actual breech block.

While I have no real knowledge of where this pistol was made, I do think it has a good chance of being a southern pistol for a couple of small but significant reasons.
1. Curly maple grips, which were never used on Eastern pistols of this style [underhammers are not the same style].
2. Brass strip treatment at top end of each grip. While it may look decorative, it appears functional, reducing wood erosion from percussion cap fulminates. Brass protective strips are seen more often [but not always] on southern guns. There are other percussion guns, usually rifles, where brass has been added after wood decay has taken place, so the brass wasn't an original feature, but a later repair. I think the original brass strip application suggests a southern origin, but doesn't prove it.

Not sure of this, but I don't recall decorative muzzle rings on this style Eastern pistol...but maybe I haven't handled them enough.

Shelby Gallien

[Levy]

Thanks Shelby for taking the time to explain the thought process.  your observations sound very plausible.  I have seen two underhammer pistols that were found here in Tallahassee.  One was found near the Natural Bridge Battlefield, was signed Bentley and had a German silver frame.  The other was found a few years ago at a local rendezvous.  It was literally kicked out of the ground on the firing line.  I cleaned the rust off of it and it still had a spent cap on the nipple.  James Levy