The Piedmont Collection of World Class Kentucky Rifles

They go by many names:  Kentucky rifles, American longrifles, Pennsylvania rifles, and so on, but they all reference a single style of muzzleloader that instantly evokes images of a young American nation - and rightly so.  Those distinct long and rifled barrels are a unique American twist on a design that is linked directly to this country's origins.  Capt. John Dillin said it best in his 1924 book, The Kentucky Rifle,

"From a flat bar of soft iron, hand forged into a gun barrel; laboriously bored and rifled with crude tools; fitted with a stock hewn from a maple tree in the neighboring forest; and supplied with a lock hammered to shape on the anvil; an unknown smith, in a shop long since silent, fashioned a rifle which changed the whole course of world history; made possible the settlement of a continent; and ultimately freed our country of foreign domination. Light in weight; graceful in line; economical in consumption of powder and lead; fatally precise; distinctly American; it sprang into immediate popularity; and for a hundred years was a model often slightly varied but never radically changed."

These eloquent guns earned their name from the location of their manufacture.  Most "Kentucky" rifles were actually created somewhere in the foothills or mountains of the Appalachian mountains by European immigrants who had settled there.  These rifles exemplify the hard work, gumption, and dogged persistence shown by those early pioneers.  Truly a "one stop shop," there was no division of labor.  Each gunsmith was responsible for every stage of manufacture: barrel, lock, action, stock, and any artistic embellishments he wished to add.  It required a gunsmith to also be a blacksmith, carpenter, engineer, and sometimes a silversmith, carver, and engraver.  It was hard work done entirely with hand tools, but the fruits of the labor were sweet.  At the finish, a man would have a tool that was indispensable on the frontier.  Much like today, it could be used to provide food as well as protection, two vitally essential functions.

The Kentucky rifles featured in Rock Island Auction Company's September Premiere Firearms Auction represent the finest ever made.  Produced during the "Golden Age" of Kentucky rifles, some of the most well-known and skilled gunsmiths are represented in the sale courtesy of the expansive and impressive Piedmont Collection of World Class Kentucky Rifles.   Such a grouping is the result of decades of collecting, focusing on the very finest, high condition pieces that exude the beauty of a bygone era.  Here are some of the top arms of this collection.

Lot 204: Extraordinary John Armstrong Golden Age Percussion Long Rifle with Raised Relief Carved Stock

Estimate: $65,000 - $95,000

John Armstrong was a gunsmith located in Emmitsburg, Maryland whose smithing career spanned circa 1808 - 1841 (though some say he started as early as 1793).  His works can be found in many of the most respected books written on Kentucky rifles and he is generally considered to be one of the very best of the era.  His pieces often draw comparisons to Swiss watches and Rolls Royce automobiles - classics that defy time.  We could only find one previous rifle built by Armstrong using percussion ignition, though there are rumored to be as many as four originally created as percussion arms.  In either case, this example remains supremely rare.  The rifle was undoubtedly produced in his later years of manufacture and features inlaid brass plate, beautiful wood carving, twelve silver inlays, engraving, and checkered sections of the stock.

Lot 207: Documented Award Winning Peter Neihart Golden Age Flintlock Pennsylvania Rifle and Matching Contemporary Miniature with Award Plaque

Estimate: $20,000 - $35,000

This flintlock Kentucky rifle made by Peter Neihart has enjoyed quite a bit of attention in its lifetime.  Featured in several noteable books, this significant piece has a stunning, full-length curly maple stock, brass wire inlays, carved embellishments, an attractive patchbox, silver inlays, engraving, and other brass accents.  It won the Kentucky Rifle Association's "Best of Show" in 1969 and is accompanied by a contemporary miniature of itself!

The gun's significance in Kentucky rifles is also notable, as detailed by George Shumway in his book Rifles of Colonial America, Vol. I.

"A lot is known about Neihart from the research of Ronald G. Gabel... This rifle serves as a transition piece linking the Germanic style of rifle made at Christian Spring with the classic curved-butt Lehigh Valley rifles of the Federal Period and beyond... The two-piece engraved brass patch-box on this rifle, with the lid bearing the date 1787, has a finial of fleur-de-lis pattern. This is the earliest dated use of this pattern that we can be certain of..."

Lot 1140: Extremely Rare John Armstrong Golden Age Flintlock Long Rifle with Raised Relief Carved Stock

We're fortunate enough to have a second John Armstrong piece in this auction, but, unlike the first, this is a flintlock.  Note the design similarities between this and the first rifle shown in this article.  Armstrong rarely varied in his design, but this suited the perfectionist manufacturer and allowed him to hone his craft to a fine art.  His consistency and benchmark quality spawned numerous imitators and provided inspiration to even more.

Part of that perfection lies in the locks.  When most makers were purchasing their locks, saving them both time and money, Armstrong was crafting his from hand.  Albert Sullivan phrases the importance of these locks as such,

"Incidentally, there is a feeling, a very sensible one, in the Kentucky rifle fraternity that the absence of the original lock in a Kentucky rifle is not too important. This is because the lock was almost never made by the gunsmith and so did not represent his handiwork. Also, locks were expendable they wore out and they were replaced, so they seldom related to the gunsmith who made the rifle. But this does not hold with Armstrong. Because he made and signed his own locks, and because they were so special and were so appropriate to his guns..."

To read more of Sullivan's article is to understand the reverence and respect that is held by collectors for these iconic and classic firearms by Armstrong.

Lot 1145: Documented Adam Ernst Golden Age Flintlock Pennsylvania Rifle with Raised Relief Carved Stock and Brass Lock Plate

One of the aforementioned artisans who took inspiration from Armstrong's designs is clearly Adam Ernst, a top gunsmith in his own right.  A quick look at the patchbox, cheeckpiece, engraving, and buttstock carving reveals more than just a slight influence from the era's preeminent maker.  What stands out as unusual on this rifle is its brass lock plate when most were made from browned or case hardened iron.

These magnificent guns represent only a fraction of the more than one dozen spectacular Kentucky rifles appearing in this auction courtesy of The Piedmont Collection.  The brief descriptions given here only scratch the surface of the deep, rich histories of both the arms and their makers.  It cannot be overstated that Kentucky rifles played a role in shaping this great nation.  Initially a tool of "rugged individualism," well before Herbert Hoover coined the phrase, these rifles' superior range and accuracy provided a distinct combat advantage in numerous conflicts such as the Seven Years War, the War of 1812, Texas' War for Independence from Mexico, and the American Revolution.

Please view our extraordinary selection of this historically significant rifles from some of the era's top gunsmiths.  Collectors' respect for these early artisans is not misplaced!  Ponder for a moment that often one man was responsible for specializing in a number of areas in the manufacturing process.  To do at such a high and renowned level, even recognized hundreds of years later, is something that can be recognized by anyone who appreciates a superior level of quality and dedication to task.



-Written by Joel R. Kolander







SOURCES:

http://www.emmitsburg.net/archive_list/articles/places/business/armstrong_rifles.htm

5 Things You Might Not Know About Antique Firearms

On any given news day, one sure hears an awful lot about modern guns.  The term "assault weapons" gets thrown around like a Sunday football and "concealable weapons" also get their fair share of press as states rush to vote on new gun laws.  You know what type of guns are gladly being ignored from this glaring spotlight?  Antiques.

It was after prohibition and the United States had had its fill with mafia gangsters and their violence.  The National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) attempted to target the weapons that were popular with organized crime by regulating their favorite weapons: machine guns, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns, silencers, destructive devices (think grenades, missiles, mines, poison gas, etc), and the wonderfully vague genre of "any other weapon."  The NFA required lots of registration, imposed stiffer fines, charged taxes, and greatly restricted the availability of the weapons listed in it.  It also exempted muzzle loaders from the Act (they would later be included in legislation if they could be modified to a non-muzzle loading weapon).  The exemption of muzzle loaders was the first instance of a protection being offered to an older weapon.

The Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) built on the NFA by placing import restrictions, requiring FFLs, and constructing that fun list of questions when filling out ATF Form 4473 (Are you a felon?  Are you a fugitive? Etc).  The GCA was the first piece of legislation to define an antique firearm.  It along with the Arms Export Control Act (according to Title 18, Section 921(a)(16) of the U.S. Code):

"(A) any firearm (including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system) manufactured in or before 1898; and

(B) any replica of any firearm described in subparagraph (A) if such replica -

(i) is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition, or

(ii) uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade."

(Note: The full, current ATF definition can be found here and can be found illustrated here).

So basically any gun made in or before 1898, replicas thereof, anything that uses "a primitive ignition system", or that uses ammunition that is no longer commercially available is considered an antique.  Now that we know what an antique is, we can delve into what makes them so attractive.

1.  They were birthed in a law that attempted to stop organized crime.

If you read the above paragraphs, you know that antiques were defined so that they wouldn't get lumped in with all the "gangster guns" that the government was trying to stifle.  Even as far back as 1934 people were concerned about what would happen to their favorite old muzzle loading guns and were ready to include them in Federal legislation. That's a pretty neat bit of history.

A Savage navy Model Percussion Revolver., Lot #3169.  A fantastic collectable, but not so useful for gangsters.

2.  Antiques have history.
This should come as a no-brainer, but antique guns have history.  Maybe a particular antique was used in a certain military conflict.  Maybe it had an innovative design.  Maybe that innovation changed the course of events surrounding it.  Maybe the model, or a specific firearm, may have been used someone historically significant.  The best part is, that's only half the history of the gun!

Many gun collectors say that nobody really owns their guns, but instead people are only stewards of them for a short time.  After that they'll be passed down, given as gifts, sold, or consigned.  The people that have collected a gun after its useful life has passed are sometimes referred to as the gun's "secondary history," or "provenance" as collectors like to say.   Maybe the Colt Single Action Army you have your eye on was part of the most famous Colt collection of all time.  Maybe that shotgun was long held by a collector widely known to collect only the best.  Maybe there are documents that trace the gun's provenance after it left the factory.  Maybe it was your grandpa's.  These historical details are all fascinating to the vast majority of gun collectors and antiques routinely provide them.

If your gun has a document, like this Colt Single Action Army
Lot #1021 has, from a noted expert on
the subject authenticating your gun that adds
provenance, collectability, and value.

If that same expert states that your weapon
"could possibly indicate a Custer connection," in
his three page authentication letter,
you've really got something.

3.  Antiques can be shipped directly to your house.
That's right!  Any gun you buy that needs to be shipped for you to acquire it typically must be shipped to an FFL (Federal Firearms Licensed dealer).  Not for antiques!  Thanks to the rules of the GCA, antiques are exempt from that requirement.  If you buy an antique, you can have it shipped directly to your doorstep.  How's that for convenient?

Collector's Lot of Two C.S. Pettengill Double Action Revolvers, Lot #3181

4. After purchase, you can walk out the door with it.
No waiting period.  No background checks.  No ATF paperwork.  Heck, in Illinois you don't even need a FOID card to purchase an antique.  If you purchase an antique firearm at, say, a Rock Island Auction Company auction, you can walk out with it the very same day.  You can pay cash and leave because they are viewed as collectables and not as usable weapons.

Sanchez Marked "EL RALLO" Spanish Percussion Miquelet Rifle with Elaborate Gold, Silver, Engraved and Carved Decoration, Lot #1176.  It also features a three dimensional monkey as the hammer.  It requires no paperwork.

5.  The story behind choosing the 1898 year is a pretty good one.
The year was 1968 and gun legislation was being passed in response to a number of high profile assassinations.  The House had passed its version of the GCA and the Senate had passed theirs.  To reconcile the differences between the two bills a committee came together and one of the members of that committee was a Senator Russell B. Long (D - LA).  In the course of reconciling the two bills the NFA's definition of an antique was determined to not be broad enough and the question arose, "What does define an antique?"  Well, Senator Long happened to be acquainted with Red Jackson, the renowned Dallas, TX gun dealer, known worldwide to be an expert in the realm of collectable firearms.  Long asked Jackson the same question that had come up in committee and after some thought, Jackson came up with the year 1898.  Allegedly he had done so based on the success of Mauser's M98 bolt action rifle.  While not the first bolt action rifle ever, its action quickly became the most common bolt action system in the world thereby making its design one of the most successful ever.  Some folks just think that a bunch of Washington bureaucrats came up with 1898 based on the fact that it was 70 years prior and provided a nice, easy, round number with which to work.  Since when is government work that simple?

Winchester Model 1873 Lever Action Rifle with Factory Letter, Lot #1039.  This gun's primary history is well known as "the gun that won the West," but it also comes with a factory letter documenting the beginning of its secondary history.

As you can see, there's a lot more to antiques than most people realize.  They have two separate histories, each of which is fascinating in its own right, while enjoying numerous privileges and protections under current Federal law.  We have over 1,500 firearms in our June 2013 Regional Auction that can be classified as antiques!  Take a look in our online catalog and find the ones that'll have a place in your collection.  After all, there's no paperwork!

-Written by Joel Kolander

SOURCES:

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/nfa/index.html

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/guides/importation-verification/index.html