Hi Robert,
Very nice and beautiful gun. It is very French indeed and of much better quality than the usual trade gun. My friend, Richard Colton who was the senior park historian at Springfield Arsenal National Historical Park, has been diving deep into collections and museum specimens of colonial New England guns and he is focusing on a Marlboro, MA gunsmith named Barnabas Mathis. Some of you may recognize the last name from RCA #13, Shumway's French inspired example. Mathis produced a number of guns that use very high quality French hardware, barrels, and locks, and all of his guns have strong French architecture. Richard believes he had a strong direct influence on some of the greatest NE gunsmiths such as Thomas Earle. Richard believes he was the maker of the famous Hawk fowler, which I am currently reproducing, and his work suggests there was a vibrant trade for high quality gun parts between NE and French Canada. He is not referring to trade and military stuff captured from locations like Louisburg but high end goods coming directly to NE gunsmiths from New France. Keep in mind, the famous Robert Rogers of Rogers' Rangers fame learned his wilderness skills smuggling goods between Canada and New England largely through the wilderness that is now Vermont. Despite the almost permanent animosity and violence between New France and the northern New England colonies, if you could make money dealing with the enemy, you did, politics and patriotism be !@*%&@.
dave
