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Frontier Firearms from the Lifetime Collection of Larry Ness
|
- Sale 1987
Live
| Cincinnati
Jun 8 | 10:00 AM EDT
Live
| Cincinnati
Sale 1987
| Cincinnati
| Cincinnati
Estimate$20,000 – $30,000
.52 caliber. 45.5" pinned octagonal barrel. SN: NSN. Browned finish, brass furniture, figured maple stock. Unmarked flint lock is an old reconversion with an ill-fitting frizzen and hammer with incorrect tumbler geometry. Barrel is unmarked but the style of the work and craftsmanship are certainly that of Albright. The gun is mounted with a lovely, lightly engraved four-piece Lancaster-sytle daisy head finial patchbox with the release in the top of the buttplate tang. Other brass mountings include the crescent buttplate with faceted tang, the flat, unadorned side plate, the triggerguard with skeletonized finger rest extension and the nose cap. The stock features a raised cheek rest with delicately executed relief carved foliate swirls to its rear, incise carved swirls at the wrist and double incised lines running along the forend from the entry pipe to the nose cap, along the line of the stock pins. The stock is further decorated with the addition of an oval brass insert in the cheek rest, delicately carved in the form of a shining star, and a blank German silver oval thumb piece at the wrist. Sights include a simple dovetailed notch rear and a dovetailed Rocky Mountain brass blade front. Faceted brass pipes secure a wooden ramrod. Henry Albright (1772-1845) was born in Lititz, PA and is listed as working as a gunsmith in Lancaster, PA (1792-1794), Chambersburg, PA (c1796), Shippensburg, PA (1800), Gnadenhutten, OH (1805-1808) and Nazareth, PA (1810-1845) (Sellers).
The Collection of Larry Ness
Attic and untouched. Metal with a dark and uncleaned patina. Lock needs mechanical attention and is somewhat ill-fitting with some wood loss in the lock mortise showing gaps around the tail and lower edge of the plate. Lock may be a very old replacement. Although previously cataloged by another major auction house as "smoothbore" this gun does have rifling in the bore, and dropping a very bright light down into it reveals that the rifling is quite visible until the last 3"-4" of the barrel nearest the muzzle where it becomes quite weak. The bore is extremely dirty, heavily oxidized and pitted and clearly has not been cleaned since the period of use. The stock shows scattered bumps, dings and mars, with grain drying cracks, most notably in the figure of the wood around the head of the patchbox. There is also an old sliver of wood missing from the tang area.
The physical condition of lots in our auctions can vary due to age, normal wear and tear, previous damage, and restoration/repair. All lots are sold "AS IS," in the condition they are in at the time of the auction, and we and the seller make no representation or warranty and assume no liability of any kind as to a lot's condition. Any reference to condition in a catalogue description or a condition report shall not amount to a full accounting of condition. Condition reports prepared by Freeman's staff are provided as a convenience and may be requested from the Department prior to bidding.
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Tim Carey
Associate Vice President, Head of Department, Arms, Armor and Militaria
