BCG, with the rights of ownership also comes the responsibility, i.e. that of a caretaker of an historical item, for future generations. You are right, ownership does confer privileges and if someone wants to saw several inches off of an original Beck, that owner has the right to do what he will with it, BUT!
I know several high end collectors of rifles who must own stock in the Brasso Company; they order industrial quantities to polish any brass and silver on their guns. The lighter engraved lines are beginning to disappear from the patch boxes as a result. Sorry, but I don't look at shined guns, or see them the same way that I do attic guns.
Too, ask any military collector, having found two 1816 muskets, one scrubbed and one dirty, which he would buy. I'll bet it wouldn't be the scrubbed gun.
Point here is: you often times never know when you cross the line with cleaning or trying to brighten the brass and/or silver and the less you do, the better for the gun.
Okay Dennis; the story: about 15 years ago we had planned a Christmas ski trip to Vail, CO for the holidays. About a week before we were to go, I came down with a raging case of influenza and was sicker than I can ever remember. The trip was canceled and for two weeks I was kept in the thrall of the virus.
Somewhere along the way, a good friend phoned me, I didn't take the call and a week later he called again to ask if I had seen the Kentucky Rifle at the XYZ gun shop down on Main Street. I asked him some questions about it and his answers made me feel progressively better; so I made the promise that a trip would be made the next day. Still sick, I went down to see the elephant, entered the shop, looked around and saw this looong barreled gun upright in a rack with many other pieces. The gunsmith permitted me to pick it up and look it over.
Here is what I saw: the barrel is about .50 caliber and is 46 inches long; octagonal, rifled and has engraving; the stock is a very nice striped maple; the wrist is checkered; there are 10 engraved silver inlays; the patchbox is fully engraved and has the 'tobacco leaf' finial; the forestock has a fine incised molding and scolls; the bas relief carving behind the cheek rest is some of the wildest I have seen; the gun is in original flintlock state and has a Sharpe lock; finally, the top flat is beautifully signed 'J. Gonter'. All Original!!!
The price was " make an honest offer" which we did and carried the rifle home with us.
When well, once again, I was able to contact the gentleman who had consigned the gun.
He was 90 years old, had no heirs that wanted the gun, so on their advice, he put it up for sale even though it had been in his family for 175 years.
The rifle had belonged to his grandfather (many times removed) who had been a land surveyor in Berks County, PA in the 1830s. He bought this rifle and carried it on his jobs.
David Graffin worked at surveying for a number of years and then gave it up to work as a telegrapher. He was also known as a very good fiddler. The rifle went into a closet as a family treasure and was retained until the last owner could claim it and put it on the wall in his new home up in the mountains. It stayed there for 40 years until it came out.
It is real, real dirty and as stated earlier, I haven't touched it.
We made the effort to locate the bag and horns to no avail. No one even remembered them. Well, you don't win them all, but the rifle is up on my wall.
JTR's part is that he wanted a 'Blue Book of Gun Values' (or some item), and phoned the gunshop for a price. It was more than he wanted to pay, so he went to another shop to buy it. This was prior to my learning of the availability of the rifle and had he gone into that store he would have certainly seen it, and bought it.
Point here? Sometimes being sick isn't as bad it seems to be. Never did get to go on that trip either. Stayed home ever since, just rubbing that Gonter.
More that you wanted to know, I'm sure, but you asked. No photos yet, but will get them and post them here in the Antique Gun Collecting section.
Regards-Dick
