Author Topic: Tansel Horn  (Read 1649 times)

Offline Keith Zimmerman

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Tansel Horn
« on: February 07, 2024, 05:36:18 AM »
Found this today in a jewelry shop in CO.













« Last Edit: February 07, 2024, 06:10:24 AM by Keith Zimmerman »

Offline Tanselman

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2024, 08:21:45 AM »
Nice find. I've looked in pawn shops, flea markets, and antique shops for years and years, and I've never stumbled across one unexpectedly... and I live in Indiana where a lot of them were made, so I'm a little jealous! If you look at the horses' heads, they are rather cartoonish, and the riders' hands are not well defined, details of Timothy Tansel's work. The eagle's larger talons and the "smooth" style wings, i.e., no sharp angle on inside edge separating the lower and upper sections of the wing, help date the horn as a slightly earlier example of Timothy's work... about 1838-1839.

One odd detail is his "incomplete" fish-mouth border on the spout end, where he put the large scallop border on the front side of the horn that shows, but not on the back side... and even on the front side, he didn't fill in the small interior scallops with closely spaced hash marks like he did on the basal border. That, plus the apparent lack of polychroming, seems to indicate he was in a bit of a hurry to complete this horn.

If you want to learn more about Tansel horns, check out the blog articles at www.kentuckygunmakers.com. I've got a large collection of Tansels, but each new one is fun to see... one more small piece of the puzzle.

Would you mind posting the inside curve and outside curve dimensions, from tip of spout to where horn body meets plug?

Shelby Gallien
« Last Edit: February 07, 2024, 08:34:28 AM by Tanselman »

Offline Keith Zimmerman

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2024, 09:10:46 AM »
Thanks for the reply, Tanselman.  I was hoping you would chime in.  Ill get some more accurate measurements in the morning.  From the broken tip (plug still in it with a few grains of powder) to the end of the walnut plug is 15 inches.  Diameter of the butt is about 2 5/8 to 2 3/4".  I took a bunch of pics I can send u.  There is a name and date at the top right of the eagle ALBERT H 1852.

Im thinking it was made representing the Black Hawk War.  Maybe that guy carried it.


On the inside of the horn you can see where the indians leg, horse leg, and riders boot are worn away from wearing it.







« Last Edit: February 07, 2024, 09:17:14 AM by Keith Zimmerman »

Offline Tim Crosby

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2024, 12:34:24 PM »
 What a find, at a Jewelry store no less.

  Tim C.

Offline Keith Zimmerman

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2024, 05:06:11 PM »
Outside is 15in.  Inside is 12in.  Plus about an inch broken off the tip.

Offline aaronc

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #5 on: February 08, 2024, 05:01:25 PM »
 :o You gotta be kiddin ?..........what a find Mr. Zimmerman. That's unbelievable.
- Aaron C
At the work bench.

Offline Keith Zimmerman

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2024, 06:12:33 PM »
Got lucky.  I saw it hanging on the wall at the back of the shop.  I noticed the fish mouth.  The owner gave me a price and I bought it.  Ive never found anything like this in the almost 40 years I have been looking.

Offline DHouse

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2024, 07:17:01 PM »
As collectors, how often do we really get to say "Is that what I think it is?", and it actually be true?! Congrats!!!

Offline aaronc

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2024, 12:55:38 AM »
Got lucky.  I saw it hanging on the wall at the back of the shop.  I noticed the fish mouth.  The owner gave me a price and I bought it.  Ive never found anything like this in the almost 40 years I have been looking.


The engraving of the federal eagle is on a ton them and that feller on the horse looks familiar too, but have you done any homework yet to see if it was a known horn to the "experts"? In other words is it documented in books and such that you know of or to your knowledge have you rediscovered it?
- Aaron C
At the work bench.

Offline Hawken62_flint

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #9 on: February 09, 2024, 06:50:40 PM »
 :)Great find Keith!! You just never know.

Offline homerifle

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #10 on: February 10, 2024, 07:37:29 PM »
Really nice! You just never know where something like this is going to turn up.

Offline jbigley

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #11 on: February 11, 2024, 03:55:22 AM »
Cool find, Keith. A jewelry store...!! -- JB

Offline Keith Zimmerman

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #12 on: February 11, 2024, 04:04:29 AM »
Thanks, guys.  I certainly got lucky.  Not just finding it, but the condition would be even more amazing if the tip of the spout wasnt broken off.  I havent decided what to do with the broken plug stuck in the spout.

Offline Tim Crosby

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #13 on: February 11, 2024, 04:32:09 PM »
Thanks, guys.  I certainly got lucky.  Not just finding it, but the condition would be even more amazing if the tip of the spout wasnt broken off.  I havent decided what to do with the broken plug stuck in the spout.

 I think I would just leave it as found.

   Tim

Offline scottmc

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Re: Tansel Horn
« Reply #14 on: February 11, 2024, 04:37:01 PM »
Nice find, Keith!  Fill it with powder and bring it to Union County to shoot.
Whoa there boys, I'm just kidding of course😁
Remember Paoli!