Allentown/Lehigh shooting pouches

[MeliusCreekTrapper]

Are there any original shooting/hunting pouches or rifle pouches from the Allentown area, that would date 1785 to 1800? I can find plenty of horns and rifles, but come up dry when looking for pouches.

[Mad Monk]

Are there any original shooting/hunting pouches or rifle pouches from the Allentown area, that would date 1785 to 1800? I can find plenty of horns and rifles, but come up dry when looking for pouches.

Look for a book written some years back by Madison Grant
Titled: The Kentucky Rifle Hunting Pouch
Long out of print and don't let the title fool you.  He has a lot of Eastern PA pouches in there.  A few from the Northern Berks and Lehigh County area.
They are listing on Amazon a hard copy version at a price of $48.27.
But if you run into somebody who has been in ML a bunch of years you might find a copy to loan.  Madison Grant was noted for his work on that stuff and the photos were really clear and detailed.

[Clark Badgett]

Still in print https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/267/3/BOOK-KRHP

[MeliusCreekTrapper]

Sorry for the late reply. I do have the Madison Grant book, thank you for that recommendation. Sometimes I am not sure if those older books are still the best resources for some things.

[Shreckmeister]

These pages are copyrighted by Madison Grant in the book the Kentucky rifle hunting pouch. I looked through the book and this is the only Lehigh identified bag.

[Notchy Bob]

I apologize in advance if this is too far from what you want, or not specific enough, but I did see this pouch and horn recently on an auction site:



The seller provided a decent physical description, with dimensions, and some additional excellent photos, but very little with regards to the outfit's provenance, just stating it was "Philadelphia found."  I know Philadelphia is not in the county that interests you, and I don't know the specific timeframe for this pouch and horn.  However, it is a nice outfit, and we wonder if there were really any clearly identifiable county characteristics for shot pouches.  I think both pouch and horn are pretty generic, really, but I find both very appealing.

Anyway, you can see more photos and read what little there is about it here:  Philadelphia Pouch & Horn

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

[MeliusCreekTrapper]

Thank you very much for that pouch information, Notch. That is a fine looking set for sure. The look really appeals to me.

[Notchy Bob]

Here is one to consider:



This pouch, with its contents and accoutrements and a Lehigh styled rifle, belonged to one David Cooke.  The whole shebang was written up on the Contemporary Makers Blogspot, along with this photo and some additional pictures of the rifle.  Here is a link:  Rifle & Hunting Pouch Cariied By David Cooke

Briefly, Mr. Cooke was a full-time professional hunter, listed on the tax records for Norristown, Pennsylvania between 1780 and 1842.  These were the tools of his trade.

I don't really know Pennsylvania geography.  I looked up Norristown, and it is apparently in Montgomery county.  I don't know where Allentown is in relation to that.  In any event, this looks like a pretty big pouch.  The attached powder horn suggests it was indeed used as a hunting pouch or shot pouch, but considering its size and the amount and variety of accoutrements carried in it, this pouch must have been used in much the same way the German hunters used their game bags.  For more on this, see Frederick Gerstaecker's Wild Sports and Adventures in the Far West.  On page 126, he described his "...game-bag, which was filled with all possible sorts of things," and on page 186 he stated that "... I had one spare shirt in my game-bag, with a pair of rather woful [sic] looking socks, a small cord, a bullet mould, and a few bits of lead."  He mentioned the game-bag frequently in the book.  The point being, I guess, that hunters who spent a lot of time in the woods away from home might carry a lot more than just shooting supplies in their pouches.

Back to David Cooke's pouch, it looks essentially pretty simple, and very plain.  I don't think it should be too hard to replicate, either full-sized, or in a slightly reduced-size version.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

[MeliusCreekTrapper]

Thanks again Bob. That looks like a very interesting set of accoutrements, sure wish they could talk.