« previous next »
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Pratt brothers Alvin and Henry. But Nathian is never talked about  (Read 1052 times)

Offline jruff5585

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 53
Pratt brothers Alvin and Henry. But Nathian is never talked about
« on: October 16, 2022, 12:16:31 AM »

Alvin and Nathian partnered for a short time in Watertown Mass, 1812 and 1813 before Alvin moved on to Concord.
Has anyone else come across any of Nathians guns?
















Logged

Offline smart dog

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *
  • Posts: 7012
Re: Pratt brothers Alvin and Henry. But Nathian is never talked about
« Reply #1 on: October 16, 2022, 01:18:49 AM »
Hi,
Thank you for posting those.  They are so wonderfully different than most NE guns of that time.  What a nice bit of variation.  I am sorry, I cannot contribute to your information request but I appreciate you posting the guns.

dave
Logged
"The main accomplishment of modern economics is to make astrology look good."

Offline RAT

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 699
Re: Pratt brothers Alvin and Henry. But Nathian is never talked about
« Reply #2 on: October 16, 2022, 05:15:58 PM »
Can we see more photos of the half stock rifle from the first photo?
Logged
Bob

Online Jim Kibler

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4473
    • Personal Website
Re: Pratt brothers Alvin and Henry. But Nathian is never talked about
« Reply #3 on: October 16, 2022, 06:46:42 PM »
That fullstock is a fine gun for sure!  You can even see some traces of an oxide blue on the tang.
Logged

Offline jruff5585

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 53
Re: Pratt brothers Alvin and Henry. But Nathian is never talked about
« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2022, 09:40:08 PM »
RAT, here you go.









Logged

Offline spgordon

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1329
Re: Pratt brothers Alvin and Henry. But Nathian is never talked about
« Reply #5 on: October 16, 2022, 10:08:59 PM »
Probably his name was "Nathaniel," I'd think?

The barrel signature seems to be Nathl, a standard abbreviation for Nathaniel.
Logged
Check out: The Lost Village of Christian's Spring
https://christiansbrunn.web.lehigh.edu/
And: The Earliest Moravian Work in the Mid-Atlantic: A Guide
https://www.moravianhistory.org/product-page/moravian-activity-in-the-mid-atlantic-guidebook

Offline jruff5585

  • Jr. Member
  • **
  • Posts: 53
Re: Pratt brothers Alvin and Henry. But Nathian is never talked about
« Reply #6 on: October 16, 2022, 11:38:43 PM »
You are correct, but it is hard to see the i looks like it's there so I assumed the a and n was worn. American Gunsmiths by Frank Sellers has him listed as Nathaniel brother of Alvan. please pardon my miss spelling, I'm dyslexic
Logged

Offline spgordon

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1329
Re: Pratt brothers Alvin and Henry. But Nathian is never talked about
« Reply #7 on: October 17, 2022, 03:21:30 PM »
Quote from: jruff5585 on October 16, 2022, 11:38:43 PM
You are correct, but it is hard to see the i looks like it's there so I assumed the a and n was worn. American Gunsmiths by Frank Sellers has him listed as Nathaniel brother of Alvan. please pardon my miss spelling, I'm dyslexic

There is a gap between the first name and the last--these gaps often puzzle me. In the "J GRAEFF" barrel being discussed on a different post (https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=73753.0), there's a big gap between the "J" and the last name but no writing at all seems to have once filled that gap. Not sure why makers signed barrels in this way.
Logged
Check out: The Lost Village of Christian's Spring
https://christiansbrunn.web.lehigh.edu/
And: The Earliest Moravian Work in the Mid-Atlantic: A Guide
https://www.moravianhistory.org/product-page/moravian-activity-in-the-mid-atlantic-guidebook

Offline JV Puleo

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 934
Re: Pratt brothers Alvin and Henry. But Nathian is never talked about
« Reply #8 on: October 22, 2022, 12:32:19 AM »
I think it's a very nice rifle. I have examples by both Henry and Alvin but I'd never heard of Nathaniel. Both Henry and Alvin had very long working lives, perhaps Nathaniel didn't...or he may have worked with either of his brothers and thus we don't see his name anywhere near as much.

I also have one of those mystery NE rifles...signed "W. Allen". Presumably a relative of the better known Silas Allen but, as yet, I haven't seen any reference to him.
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
« previous next »