General discussion > Antique Gun Collecting
Information on J.F. Ledbetter of Guilford County NC "Jamestown Rifles"
bartab:
Wondering if anyone can provide more information on Judd F. Ledbetter of Guilford County NC? From what I have found, there were a number of gunsmiths that produced what are known as "Jamestown Rifles" in the mid-1800's in what is now Highpoint/Greensboro, NC.
I was given an old percussion muzzleloader by my wife's grandfather who lives in New Bern, NC about 10 years ago. He is a firearms collector and a woman gave him the gun when her husband passed years before. He unfortunately (fortunate for me) was unable to ever find any information and he gave it to me to "put up over the fireplace" as a display piece. The gun sat in my closet for years and finally made it into my safe last year. Recently, I finally spent some time poking around looking at it and was surprised to learn that it probably dates back to the 1850/60s. There are a few bits missing; the patchbox door seems to have been damaged and a repair attempted at some point in time; and the inlays look a little rough. Initially I thought that it might have been a kit as the stripes on the wood looked like someone had burned them on, but after seeing some of the other tiger striped maple stocks I'm thinking that I might have lucked into a real jewel.
I have taken lots of pics to share, but need to find a site to host the pics in order to post. I will try to post them tomorrow.
--Bill
Hurricane ( of Virginia):
Several Points that might help:
1. Look below in the Museum...there are several guns on exhibit that originate from North Carolina.
Here is the URL:
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?board=112.0
2. There are 3 or more detailed essays on North Carolina Gunsmiths in the Library Section, also below.
Here is the URL:
http://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?board=120.0
3. Contact Mike Briggs or Bill Ivey ( not sure he follows this web site, but Mike Briggs does). They amongst the expert of North Carolina Gunmaking history.
Hurricane
bartab:
OK I have uploaded some pics to Snapfish.com. Hopefully this link works:
http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1245641027/a=2495265027_2495265027/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/
bartab:
Sorry here's a bit more info (some of which I already shared:
I was hoping that you might be able to provide more information on the gun in the attached pics. I was given the gun by my wife's grandfather who lives in New Bern, NC about 10 years ago. From what I have been able to find I believe the gun was made by Judd F. (Franklin?) Ledbetter of Guilford County NC. I'm guessing it dates somewhere in the 1850/60s. On top of the barrel is stamped "IX" in large roman numerals as well as "ADDRESS", "J.F.LEDBETTER", and "CAL" something. I think I remember it saying CAL 35 when I first got it, but after wiping it down it is much more difficult to make out. The bore is obviously smaller and not .50 caliber. The barrel is 37" long and the overall gun is 52". The front site is brass dove-tailed into the barrel. The rear site is a fixed iron "V" site. There are two pheasants on the lock and some scrolling on the hammer. On the opposite side of the lock there is un upside down crescent moon. There is a star-shaped recess in the cheek of the stock, but no evidence that a brass inlay was ever present (in my opinion) as the recess is rather deep (over an 1/8". The patchbox is a pretty ornately designed "Christmas Tree" as I have seen it called altthough it seems to be rough work and the wood does not fill the voids flush. It looks as if the patchbox door might be a replacement as it is a different color and the hinge seems to have been damaged a bit. This combined with the slight discoloration of the adjacent wood leaves me wondering if someone tinkered with it in trying to repair the door. Or perhaps someone made an attempt to polish the brass with a harsh cleaner or steel wool.
I would be most interested in any information you (or other resources that your might be aware of) might be able to provide about the gun's maker, age, and value. Additionally, I'd welcome advice as to how to care for it. I have many more pics if you are interested.
Specific questions are:
*** Would .35 caliber make sense? Does this help or hurt the value?
*** What is the signifcance of the "IX"? Is it some sort of proof mark?
*** What does "ADDRESS" mean?
Thanks in advance,
--Bill
bartab:
Better???
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version