Category: CLA

Sometimes when you have something really nice, you want to have it in a case that you can open when you want to display it, and close when you want to be a bit more discreet, Also you might prefer not to shove your antique Nicholas-Noel Boutet French officer’s pistol into a cigar box.

Jerry Moniot hand made this finely crafted chest he refers to as a pistol case. I mentioned Boutet because that is the level of pistol that would be perfectly appropriate in this case. If you put a vintage Luger in this case, people will say “Nice Luger but where did you get that case!”

This case is 11” X 19” X 6.5” tall. It is a finely handcrafted pistol case made of rare curly cherry with curly walnut, figured maple and ebony inserts. Jerry chased this wood down from Wayne Dunlap. Note the fine dovetail construction and the inlay work. There is a well inletted premium grade lock. So if you have a really nice or rare pistol, or you just want to have the best pistol case at the show, this is perfect for you.

Copy by H Ahlers
Photos by G Barlow

Larry Pletcher, editor

CLA artists consistently demonstrate the ability to marry museum-quality aesthetics with rugged practicality. Artist Jack Weeks and a cadre of talented craftsmen have collaborated to produce a truly outstanding bag and horn set for this year’s CLF fundraising auction.

The project is the brainchild of noted CLA artisan Jack Weeks. The basic concept, he explains, was to assemble “the equipment a market hunter in the three rivers area would have carried to collect skins and to furnish meat for the garrison and the village at Fort Pitt.” Some of the items, Weeks says, the hunter could have made for himself; other components in the set he could have traded for locally. “Our hunter,” explains the artist, “used a smoothbore French fusil de chasse to kill big game with round ball and used the same gun for turkeys and waterfowl.”

The pre revolutionary frontier, west of the great wagon road was an exciting place, from the Allegheny River country down through western Virginia and the Carolinas. The Frontiersman were learning their trade and the skills that would take them across the continent.  One of their primary tools was the American longrifle and one of the cradles of longrifle development was Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Josh Wrightsman and Gary Tingler have created an early frontier rifle and hunting bag with knife for the auction. The rifle is an early Lancaster, late transition style, with a 38″ swamped B weight. 50 cal barrel. Josh cast the trigger guard and sideplate. He also made the ramrod thimbles and trigger. Josh hand forged the lock and tang bolts and made the front and rear sights, The rifle has a tapered hickory ramrod with rolled sheet metal tip. Josh fabricated all the patchbox release parts.The buttplate, patchbox and large Siler lock were purchased.  The sugar maple stock is incised and relief carved. The stock was scraped and burnished, stained with nitrate of iron and hand rubbed with aged linseed oil.  All the hardware, the barrel and the lock have been aged with ammonia, vinegar and saltwater to give a well cared for but aged appearance.

Josh also made the very nice hand forged bag knife with bone handle and pewter bolster.  Gary Tingler contributed the excellent elk hide bag, hand sewn with waxed linen and with a nice edging and flap decoration.  The bag also has interior pockets and a Kris Polizzi hand woven strap.  Altogether this is a remarkable set, that just cries out to be used.  As the old saying goes, “it would do well to run the river with.”  It would be right at home on the Ohio, the Monongahela, or the Cumberland before the Revolution.

Josh said “I built the rifle to donate because I wanted to do my part in helping to preserve an important part of our history. I feel that the CLA/CLF is doing a great job at this. I want to thank them for giving me a chance to donate and help in educating and preserving such an important part of history.”

Josh Wrightsman’s contact information is catfishingpro@hotmail.com

Gary Tingler’s email is treeingwalkers@hotmail.com

( how could you go wrong with those emails?)

Copy by H Ahlers and J Wrightsman

photos by R Lambert

Larry Pletcher, editor

Few items in a modern longhunter’s kit are as important as a comfortable possibles bag. Buyers on today’s market can find few bags as well made, aesthetically pleasing, or long lasting than those crafted by Kentucky artist Bill Smith.

Smith produces a custom-made bag for the CLA auction each year, and this year’s exceptional offering is sure to please prospective bidders. Smith describes the bag as a small haversack or messenger’s bag, and it’s perfectly sized for a day hunt. Typical of the artist’s work, this bag is constructed entirely of historically appropriate materials. The body of the bag is crafted from genuine hemp canvas, at one time a staple agricultural product of frontier Kentucky. Smith dyed the canvas in black walnut hulls and then sealed the surface with beeswax. The front flap and shoulder strap is crafted from heavy weight but supple cow hide, and both are fitted with hand-forged iron buckles. The body of the bag is entirely hand-sewn with 5 strand waxed linen.

Bill Smith’s bags are exemplary samples of the leatherworker’s craft and have set a precedent in the field for quality. The artist explains that he plans to donate a bag to the CLA auction “every year until I can’t make bags anymore.” It’s simply his way of supporting a worthy endeavor. “I want to give back to the CLA,” says Smith, “it’s a wonderful organization.”

For more information on the work of the artist, contact:

Bill Smith

wsmithblackpowder@windstream.net

270-737-3597

Copy by Joshua Shepherd

Photos by David Wright

Larry Pletcher, editor

This great Andrew Knez painting was scheduled to be auctioned last year. That did not happen. Your auction Chairman was a bit remiss in the logistics also Andrew unfortunately was involved in a serious automobile accident on his way to the auction. We deferred the auction of the painting off to this year. We are happy to say Andrew has recovered nicely and should be at the auction this year. We have straightened out the logistics and the painting should also be there. Joshua Shepherd’s fine write-up from last year follows.

Attendees of the CLA’s live auctions are regularly treated to a stunning array of arms and accoutrements from some of the longrifle culture’s best artisans, but the bidders at the 2016 event will be afforded a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: the chance to own an original painting by noted frontier artist Andrew Knez Jr.

The oil-on-canvas masterwork, titled I See It Too, depicts a mounted frontiersman gripping a longrifle balanced across the pommel of his saddle; more than that, it’s a truly exceptional depiction of the frontier character. Both horse and rider have clearly seen something on the trail that demands their attention – perhaps game, smoke, or Indians – but the artist has lent the painting a bit of edgy mystique. The rifleman and his mount are obviously “intent on something”, says the artist, “but it’s not life or death yet. I like to leave a little bit to the imagination of the viewer.”

The remarkable canvas constitutes one of the showcase offerings for this year’s auction and is sure to attract a good bit of appropriate attention from collectors. “We all need to support the CLA in whatever way is practical,” says Knez. His donation of I See It Too, observes the artist, “is the most sensible way to raise funds” for a worthy cause: the continued vitality of the Contemporary Longrifle Association.

Andrew is a member of the American Plains Artists, Artists of the American West and a signature member of the National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society.
Andrew’s work may be viewed at http://www.andrewknezjr.com
You may contact Andrew at 724-969-3200.
copy by Joshua Shepherd
photos by Gordon Barlow

Larry Pletcher, editor

Young people on the frontier went about armed from an early age. In “Thoughts on Kentucky Rifle in the Golden Age” Joe Kindig Jr. shows a 30 inch barreled youth’s rifle he attributes to Wolfgang Haga. This is an early gun with a brass box and raised carving. Kindig also notes that he owned another boys rifle by Fredrick Zorger dated 1805 that was engraved and had a patchbox. Nathan Boone related killing a deer with a rifle in 1793 when he was 12 years old. He also stated he had a smaller “bird rifle” before that. (We have what is very likely a copy of Nathan’s deer rifle in the auction donated by Ed Fish.) So in addition to cut down, old muskets we know that some lucky young people received some classy purpose built firearms.

Terry Methe has made a grand style boy’s or girl’s smooth rifle for the auction. This gun is 35 1/2 inches in overall length with a 23” barrel, 5/8 of an inch across the flats. A 36 caliber, the gun is light and handy with a 11” length of pull.

The diminutive flintlock is one of this guns most striking features. Carefully crafted in an English style, the lock is perfectly sized for the rifle, and it is lightning fast.

This smooth rifle has engraved brass furniture, raised carving on the highly figured maple stock and a nice patchbox. Terry Methe’s signature is engraved on the barrel. This nicely made rifle will probably make a life-long shooter out of some lucky young person.

Terry Methe’s contact information is 636 394 6865

Copy by H Ahlers

Photos by R Lambert

Larry Pletcher, editor

The successful colonial farmer, wealthy merchant or Virginia aristocrat, wanted his equipment to send a message about his social status.   A fine rifle or fowling piece would be accompanied by fine shooting bag and horn. By the beginning of the French and Indian war rococo decoration and dark leather were very much in style.

Tom and Sandy Greco, repeat auction supporters, have created this refined and historically appropriate hunting set for this years auction. The set is comprised of a belt pouch, 7 by 6 inches; a hunting bag, roughly 8 1/2 inches high and 8 inches wide: and a powder horn roughly 11 inches around the outside curve.

The leather pieces are of cow hide, stained with vinegar stain, and lined with sueded calf skin. It has brass buckles and tactsThe craftsmanship on both leather pieces is top quality, with gussets, welts, binding on the edges and lined flaps. The flaps are decorated with with diamond pattern engraving and small brass tacks. Both have brass buckles. The top grain lined strap for the shooting bag with two brass buckles and D rings pairs perfectly with the bag.

The powder horn is as elegant as they get. Tom Greco’s carefully crafted horn is set off by a classic rococo leaf pattern designed and engraved by Sandy Greco, who once again demonstrates her mastery of 18th century art forms. A panel is provided for the owner to place his name. The horn has a separate strap, appropriate for a gentleman’s outfit, meticulously crafted and decorated with wooden beads.   The horn has subtle little touches like the woven cord securing the spout and the twist in the stable securing the front strap.

All the pieces are marked with the Greco fish and G touch mark.

Tom and Sandy Greco’s contact information is

flintlock52@yahoo.com

phone 773-744-5401

copy by H Ahlers

Photo 1 R Lambert

Other photos H Ahlers

Larry Pletcher, editor

For General George Washington, the mundane duties of supply and logistics would come to be as important as strategy and tactics. Washington, who cut his teeth on the western frontier during the French and Indian War, was keenly aware that appropriate clothing was crucial to the fighting trim of his men. When the cash-strapped Continental Congress decided in 1775 to supply the army with linen hunting shirts, Washington was concerned that the men would be ill-prepared for cold weather. In a letter to Massachusetts authorities, the general strongly suggested an article of clothing that could be worn under the frock and would be “cheaper and more convenient” than a full uniform. Each soldier, he thought, needed to have “a warm Waistcoat.”

From the drawing rooms of London to the wild American backcountry, the waistcoat was a ubiquitous article of clothing in the 18^th century. At this year’s CLA fundraising auction, bidders will have the opportunity to take home a custom-made circa 1750 waistcoat from artist Karen Hainlen. The waistcoat is one of the most crucial articles of clothing for today’s reenactors, and Hainlen offers some of the finest garments available to the living history community. This waistcoat is made from period appropriate linsey-woolsey, hand spun and hand woven by Hainlen. The artist, who keeps historical authenticity paramount to her work, used an authentic period pattern by “L.P. Ryan.”

The back and lining is cut from 100% linen material.  All topstitching, buttonholes and eyelets are done by hand. This waistcoat has functional pockets on the outside and a hidden pocket inside the left front.  The outside shoulder seam has been designed to 18th century style but the lining shoulder seam has been cut to 21st century style so that the wearer “feels” a comfortable modern shoulder seam. Even small details like the buttons have received close attention to blend seamlessly with the garment. “I use a button base,” explains the artist, “and cover it with the same Linsey-Woolsey” used on the front of the waistcoat. The buyer may keep this waistcoat – an X-large, 46-48 – or trade for one of a different style, size or material preference. A trade may require additional time to make a custom waistcoat.

Hainlen, who’s listed as one of the nation’s top artisans by Early American Life magazine, has been sewing since she was eight years old and has been spinning and weaving for nearly two decades. The artist notes that the CLA is an important facet of her career. “It means that I am an artisan that does quality work keeping with the traditions that our early patriot ancestors used.  I like using these skills that I have learned, keeping them alive.  There is just something very rewarding when making something entirely from scratch and also very period correct.”

For more information on the work of the artist, contact:

Karen Hainlen

Apple Cart Creations
www.applecartcreations.com
765-210-4080

Copy by Joshua Shepherd

Photos by David Wright

Larry Pletcher, editor

The Pennsylvania style hunting bag can be more complex than the styles encountered on the frontier in the Southern Highlands. Eastern Pennsylvania was more settled and specialized craftsman such as cordwainers, bootmakers and tanners were available. An active commerce in trade and cash existed east of Fort Cumberland in the mid 18th century. Although homemade bags were in common use, bags with linings and a bit more style are often encountered, This Pennsylvania Dutch influenced bag created by Steve Lasely is an example of these.

Ed Fish is donating a copy of a very important rifle currently owned by Brian LaMaster. The rifle bears an inscription on the patchbox, N D Boone, Kaintuck done in a primitive style. Based on this inscription and extensive research Brian believes the original rifle may have been owned by Nathan Boone, and that it was built by Daniel Boone and William Arbuckle around 1790. The rifle could have been used by Nathan in the early 1790’s.

Among the tribes of the eastern woodlands, few symbols could be as potent as the ball headed war club. Missionary John Heckewelder, who spent a lifetime on the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Ohio, explained that “When the Indians have determined to take revenge” they would leave a carved war club at the site of an ambush. It was a stark tribal message that many Europeans failed to grasp, but which native warriors intuitively understood. “This war club is purposefully left that the enemy may know to what nation the act is to be ascribed,” observed Heckewelder, “or, in other words, war will be forthwith declared against them.”

In one of the most unique offerings of this year’s CLA fundraising auction, artist Gordon Barlow has crafted an exceptional reproduction of an 18th century ball headed war club. Carved from ash and measuring 3” thick and 18” long, this fearsome club is sure to become an heirloom work of art. The ball itself is gripped by the open mouth of a snake, a traditional tribal motif. “To the Native American,” explains the artist, “the serpent is symbolic of immortality.” Barlow’s finishing techniques imparted the piece with subtle aging that renders it nearly indistinguishable from surviving originals. The snake itself is fitted with glass eyes, and using a mixture of stains and paint, the artist achieved a color scheme straight from the 18th century.

An accomplished woodworker, Barlow remains a driving force within the CLA, an organization that he helped form in 1996. Bidders at this year’s auction will not only have the opportunity to take home a remarkable work of art from a CLA artist, but a museum-quality reproduction from one of the pivotal figures in the preservation of traditional frontier arts.

CLA Auction item – Sculpture by Bruce Meurer

For any craftsperson, the successful marriage of three-dimensional and two-dimensional disciplines is one of the most difficult hurdles of the creative arts. Buyers at this year’s CLA fundraising auction will have the chance to own a unique sculpture by master carver Bruce Meurer that skillfully accomplishes the feat.

Meurer executed the piece in basswood, a tight-grained medium favored by professional woodcarvers. Measuring 11” high, the bust depicts a typical warrior of the eastern woodlands during the 18^th century. The sculpture itself, however, is anything but typical, and the amount of detail that the artist was able to capture at such a diminutive scale is remarkable. The minutest trappings of the warrior’s possessions are historically accurate and expertly carved. He’s depicted with a French fusil slung over his back and a turkey plume adorning his scalp lock. The warrior’s chest is draped with strands of carved wampum beads, and each earlobe is adorned with a loop of sterling silver wire.

To bring life to the sculpture, the artist finished the carving by utilizing a palette of thinned oil paints mixed with Danish oil. Meurer’s “wet-on-wet” technique has been favored by master painters for centuries and results in an appropriately muted appearance. The colors, he observes, “blend together and appear as a thin stain instead of heavy paint and the wood grain shows through creating a soft, blended look.” Perched atop a finely figured tiger maple base, the final result is a one-of-a-kind sculpture directly from the hands of the artist.

Meurer is not only a skilled wood carver but a long-time reenactor who brings a familiarity with history to the work bench. He’s been carving for over two decades, and, he explains, has been “a serious student of the eastern woodlands cultures since about 2001 and they are my nearly exclusive subject matter.”

For Meurer, the CLA is a natural fit. “The organization,” he says, “provides me with comradeship with other people of like interest and a sense of helping to portray and spread the history of America through my art.”

For more information on the work of Bruce Meurer, contact the artist directly at:

621 E. Call St.

Algona, IA 50511

wdpecker@netamumail.com

cell (515)320-3428

text by J Shepherd

photos by D Wright

Larry Pletcher, editor

CLA Auction Item – Belt Knife by Mike Davis

Mike Davis has produced a fine Woodbury style belt knife for this years action. Mike is a repeat donor, having donated an iron mounted rifle last year that sold very well.

This year Mike has turned out a 6 inch bladed knife in a classic frontier pattern. The whitetail antler handle with a poured pewter bolster shows Mike’s association with House brothers school of knife making. If you only wanted to carry one knife, this would do very well. As Mike quipped “Don’t know what else to say about a knife except that when you pick up the right one, you know it.” Pick this one up and you will be a bidder.

CLA – Auction item
Longhunter’s Knife and Sheath by Heinz Ahlers

I have always liked the longknife style. The design choices for a longknife vary from a heavy bladed, thick handled, fighting knife with a cross guard to a thin bladed utilitarian butcher knife style. I believe a longhunter preferred to carry tools that could meet multiple challenges. This longknife seeks to combine everyday utility with a potential for combat.

CLA Auction item:
In September of 1736, nineteen chiefs from the Six Nations – the Iroquois Confederacy – arrived at Philadelphia to strengthen the “covenant chain”, or traditional alliance, with British officials in Pennsylvania. When Kanickhungo, the chieftan who spoke on behalf of the Seneca tribe, rose to speak, he expressed “Satisfaction in the friendly and good Disposition of you our Brethren, towards all the Indians of the Six Nations.” As a record of his words and a testament of his own forthrightness, the sachem then presented Pennsylvania officials with a wampum belt “of white Wampum of eleven Rows, with four black St. George’s Crosses on it.” In the delicate game of frontier diplomacy, the belt was a powerful symbol of good faith.

For this year’s CLA fundraising auction, artist Matthew Bowles has painstakingly crafted a remarkable reproduction of the belt that was originally made for the “Treaty of Friendship” with the Iroquois in 1736. While conducting background historical research, Bowles ran across a description of the belt in treaty records which were printed by none other than Benjamin Franklin. Intrigued by the original 18th century description of the belt, Bowles got to work and closely followed the original treaty notes in crafting the reproduction. The belt measures an impressive 2.75″x34.5″, woven on leather lace using white thread. The beads are glass reproduction wampum that closely approximates the original shell pieces used. “As best as anyone knows,” explains the artist, “this is the only reproduction of the belt.”

This offering of the 2017 CLA auction presents a unique opportunity for bidders to obtain a museum-quality piece. Wampum belts are visually stunning works of art and the reproduction of this belt was in good hands. The artist has been making wampum belts, and studying the history behind it all, for nearly a decade and a half. “Beadwork has been something I’ve always enjoyed,” says Bowles, “and I’ve had a blast weaving wampum as it combines the original native materials and European goods into permanent records of their talks.”
The donation of this exceptional piece is the artist’s way of assisting the organization which is at the heart of the longrifle culture. Bowles’ experience with the CLA has been nothing but positive. “So far,” he says, “I have found everyone to be fantastic people.”

For further information on the work of the artist, contact:
Matthew Bowles
3572 Wolf Creek Road
Narrows, VA 24124
matthew.bowles.34@gmail.com

text by Joshua Shepherd
photos by D Andy Wright

Larry Pletcher, editor

The Contemporary Longrifle Association is proud to announce the 2017 Fund Raising Live Auction will be held on Friday, August 18, 2017 in the Grand Ball Room at the Lexington Convention Center in Lexington Ken-tucky. If you cannot attend or are not a member of the CLA there is an ab-sentee bidding process. Contact the CLA for details.

More information will be available soon on the to the CLA website at longri-fle.com by going to website and clicking the CL Foundation button. While the website is under construction our friends have agreed to posting some items for us.

(Made in the Tansel style by Tim Crosby and TC Albert)

text by Tim Albert

As war between Britain and the American colonies loomed, in a letter to his Prime Minister Lord North, King George wrote:

“The New England governments are in a state of rebe-llion, blows must decide whether they are to be subject to this country or independent. … The war is inevitable — and let it come!”

More prophetic words were never spoken, for blows would indeed decide. They would go on to decide again soon after in the War of 1812, and then again in every other war or conflict our young nation would find itself entan-gled in thereafter. Caught up in these events, many now famous American families would follow similar paths of western migration, patterns of frontier life, and answer the nation’s calls for patriotic service, including the ances-tors of Thomas Lincoln.

Descended directly from English puritans and original members of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Thomas Lincoln’s father was born in Berks County Pennsylvania in 1744. He went on to become a prominent land owner and farmer in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, and during the revolu-tion served as Captain in the Augusta County militia, helping to give a few of the blows that decided the question of our nations independence.

Like many others, Captain Lincoln and his young family had followed Dan-iel Boone to Kentucky. Tragically, it was there that Thomas saw his father killed by Indians while he and his brothers helped him clear the fields of a new farm stead near Floyd’s Fork. Thomas himself barely escaped the tomahawk that day. Luckily he was saved in the nick of time by a well-aimed rifle shot fired by his older brother Mordecai.

In a way, Thomas’s luck ended there. Being the youngest he didn’t inherit any of his father’s estate and had to quickly learn to fend for himself. As a young bachelor he was known locally as something of a shiftless roamer, earning a living at various times as a farmer and a carpenter. Even after his marriage to Nancy Hanks in 1806, he continued to supplement his income as needed by taking odd jobs around the county as diverse as road build-ing, clearing land and bear trapping.

In 1809 on their farm at Sinking Creek, Nancy bore a son that the couple named after Thomas’s father Abraham, but by 1811 Thomas had taken them to a farm located near Knob Creek. Here he became fairly prosperous for a time, but like many others including
Daniel Boone, Thomas would eventually lose title to most of his property due to Kentucky’s many shingled surveys and contested land claims.

Still on the move, by 1816 Thomas had taken his family across the Ohio River to the Little Pigeon Creek community in what is now Spencer County Indiana. There, in 1818 Thomas’s wife died from milk sickness, a malady contracted from drinking the milk from a cow that had eaten the poisonous snake root plant. Though still living in extreme poverty, Thomas soon re-married and stayed in the community until 1830 when another outbreak of milk sickness along the Ohio River sent them to Macon County Illinois.

When Thomas prepared to move yet again in 1831, young Abraham finally put his foot down and went his own way, for all practical purposes ending what had always been a very difficult relationship between father and son. Life had been extremely hard on Thomas, dealing him many cruel blows. Life would be just as hard on his son, who as fate would have it, would go on to lead our nation through yet another turbulent time when only blows would decide again.

This horn, in the Tansel style, commemorates Thomas Lincoln and Captain Lincoln. Tim Crosby did a fine job on building the horn itself. The style is faultless from the screw tip to the butt. And Tim Albert has done some of his finest scrimshaw work on this horn. The horn also includes one of Tim’s hand drawn and colored renditions of the horn art on a flat sheet of archival paper.

Once again the Contemporary Longrifle Foundation is presenting a great auction of outstanding items at the The Contemporary Longrifle Association Fund Raising Live Auction. The auction will be held on Friday, August 18, 2017 in the Grand Ball Room at the Lexington Convention Center in Lexington Kentucky. If you cannot attend or are not a member of the CLA there is an absentee bidding process. Contact the CLA for details. This is an auction item.

Once again the Contemporary Longrifle Foundation is presenting a great auction of out-standing items at the The Contemporary Longrifle Association Fund Raising Live Auction. The auction will be held on Friday, August 18, 2017 in the Grand Ball Room at the Lexington Con-vention Center in Lexington Kentucky. If you cannot attend or are not a member of the CLA there is an absentee bidding process. Contact the CLA for details. This is an auction item.

Few blades capture the indomitable spirit of the frontier quite like the Bowie knife. It’s a fearsome edged weapon that’s quintessentially American: rugged, hardy, and better off left alone. In fitting homage to the legendary Bowie – as well as the independent spirit it represents – attendees of this year’s CLA fundraising auction will have the opportunity to own a stunning example of a contemporary Bowie crafted by one of America’s top artists.
The one-of-a-kind piece was created by West Virginia’s Keith Casteel: rifle maker, bladesmith, and legend in the blackpowder community. With six decades of experience under his belt, Casteel is considered a master in his craft; it’s a well-earned reputation that readily shows in this knife.
Casteel’s knife is a robust contemporary take on the classic Bowie. Measuring over 14 ½” in length, the knife sports a 3/8” thick, 9 ¾” long blade forged from 1085 steel, a high-carbon alloy that holds the keenest of edges. The knife’s handle is fitted with scales shaped from axis deer antler, and the handguard and pommel were crafted from German silver. The artist treated every metal surface on the knife – including the rivets that secure the handle – with exquisitely rendered engraving. The blade itself is enhanced with a pithy motto paired with the defiant im-age of a rattlesnake: “Happy is he who Escapeth me.” The opposite side of the blade is engraved with a banner reading “C.L.A. Forever.” This museum-quality knife comes with a hand-sewn leather sheath embellished with snakeskin detailing, and the entire set is accompanied by a cus-tom-fitted hardwood display stand.
The remarkable creations of master craftsman Keith Casteel are in high demand and in-frequently available on the open market. An inductee to the Blackpowder Hall of Fame, Casteel has been crafting flintlocks since 1956; his work has been collected by celebrities and statesmen for decades. In fact, one of his rifles played a central role in a truly iconic moment in American gun rights history. At the 2000 annual meeting of the National Rifle Association, former NRA president Charleton Heston gripped one of Casteel’s rifles when he famously quipped “from my cold dead hands…”

Casteel’s donation to this year’s auction affords collectors a rare opportunity to own not only an exemplary Bowie, but a work of art from a legendary maker. The longrifle culture, says Casteel, has been “a passion of mine for all of my life.” That passion for history, heritage, and uncompromising craftsmanship has resulted in a collector’s grade Bowie that’s one of the most significant offerings in this year’s fundraising auction.

Text by Joshua Shepherd
Photos by Gordon Barlow

CLA Auction Item

THE JOHN FRASER PROJECT  by:
Gary Tucker, Eddie Rector, Ron Vail, Ken Scott , Heather McClure and J Casey McClure

For the upcoming Contemporary Longrifle Foundation Fund Raising Auction to be held at the Annual Meeting in August, CLA members Gary Tucker, Eddie Rector, Ron Vail, Ken Scott , Heather and J Casey McClure have recreated a collection of artifacts based on early frontiersman and trader John Fraser’s life during the time of the French and Indian War.

The John Fraser Project tells a story about an important figure on the early frontier. He led an exciting life in extraordinary times. Fraser became a competent gunsmith and blacksmith as well as a frontiersman, a licensed trader, a scout, a guide and a militia officer. He was an important figure on the early frontier before and after the French and Indian War.

Fraser’s early life is a little hazy. Fraser seems to have been born in Scotland in 1721. Recent research finds a John Fraser orphaned after his arrival in the colonies and apprenticed to the Lehigh Valley gunsmith, Jacob Dubbs. Serving an apprenticeship to Dubbs would account for his skills in blacksmithing, gunsmithing and his love of music. Some earlier references put John Fraser in Dauphin County on a 122 acre farm from 1735 to 1740 but this is probably a different John Fraser. In 1735 Fraser would have only been 14. John Fraser the trader was an accomplished gunsmith and blacksmith at 19 years of age by 1740 when he established himself at Venango.
Venango was located where French Creek meets the Allegheny River. At that time it was the far western edge of Northumberland County Pennsylvania. Today it is the small town of Franklin, Pennsylvania. Fraser became a popular trader with the Iroquois tribes and their allies. He traded goods and gunsmithing for furs and obtained a traders license around 1748. He was an industrious young man who constantly strove to improve himself.

Trouble started for Fraser in 1750. In May, two of his employees, Maurice Turner and Ralph Kilgore were captured by “French Indians” at the Twightwee Town near Piqua in present day Ohio, and taken to Detroit. They later escaped, and made their way to William Johnson, the British agent for the Iroquois. They told Johnson that the French had raised 500 men to attack the Indians who were still friendly to the English.
Fraser continued trading from Venango during the year 1750. This same year in November, on the east side of Lake Erie, he was chased by the French and was forced to abandon trade goods belonging to Fraser and James Young valued at 217 pounds. Almost three years later on May 25, 1753, Fraser wrote to William Trent and other traders at Logstown warning them that the French forces were on the Allegheny and planning to eradicate the English trade. The French were supported by the Delaware Indians but were opposed by the Iroquois and their allies.

Later in 1753 a third Fraser employee, “William” narrowly escaped being captured by French Captain Philippe-Thomas de Joncaire, and William warned Fraser that Joncaire was coming to Venango. Fraser then abandoned Venango and fled along with a number of Iroquois and Mingos including the Seneca, Half-King. Harassed by the French, Fraser moved his base of operations almost 70 miles south to the mouth of Turtle Creek on the Monongahela River in the fall of 1753. The Turtle Creek post was a few miles east of the Forks of the Ohio.

Fraser continued trading and smithing from Turtle Creek. In addition to trade, he was involved with George Croghan, Andrew Montour and William Trent in efforts to resist the French. George Washington and Christopher Gist stayed at Fraser’s Turtle Creek cabin when Washington went out to accost the French over their incursions into the Ohio country. Fraser wrote to his partner in the east, James Young, that trade was poor since the French would not allow the northern Indians to hunt. Young in ‘Harris Ferry” was the eastern end of their trading operation.

The Ohio Company undertook to establish a fort at the Forks of the Ohio with William Trent as the Captain. John Fraser reluctantly agreed to be a part time “Lieutenant” for this operation. He showed a total lack of enthusiasm for the job preferring to try to save his trading operation. A French force came down from Canada under Colonel Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecour to capture the half-built fort and on April 18th, 1754, Ensign Ward surrendered the Fort. With the French in command of the Forks of the Ohio, all the English Traders, including Fraser, drew back into Pennsylvania and Maryland. Despite the danger from the French, Fraser and Young, kept trading.

George Washington wrote he was encamped at Great Meadows on June 1, 1754 when a trader came by, probably John Fraser. Washington pressed Fraser’s animals into service and detained him until the Battle of Fort Necessity. As a result Fraser lost a fortune in goods, including seven “rifled guns”, five smooth guns, and two cases of neat pistols. Along with these were five casks of gun powder, two dozen bridled gun locks and a complete set of armorer’s tools.

Under the terms of the surrender at Fort Necessity Fraser would have been allowed to keep his personal weapons. The French and Indians however looted the baggage train and all of his other goods were lost.

After the defeat at Fort Necessity, Fraser pulled back his operations to Virginia. Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia, a leading member of the Ohio Company, ordered a court martial of Fraser and William Trent over the April 1754 loss of the fort at Forks of the Ohio. George Washington came to Fraser’s defense and the court martial never took place. On the contrary, in August 1754 Fraser was made Adjutant of the Virginia colonial forces. Dinwiddie and Fraser remained at odds. Fraser resigned his command by the end of 1754.

While in Virginia Fraser married his wife Jane and then moved to Evitts Creek, near Fort Cumberland, Maryland when he resigned. But his adventures did not stop there. He was employed as a guide for Braddock’s ill fated expedition to Fort Duquesne. He guided the force along the rugged ground on the north side of the Monongahela river to near his old trading house at Turtle Creek. In the battle on July 9, 1755 he again lost his baggage in the retreat.

In October 1755, Washington asked Fraser to repair the muskets at Fort Cumberland. Fraser began building a new gunsmith’s shop at Evitts’ Creek. On October 9, raiding Indians captured Jane Fraser while she was on her way to Fort Cumberland. Finding his hired man, who was escorting her, killed and scalped, Fraser assumed his wife was dead. Jane was gone for over a year when she escaped from the Indians and returned home to find her husband re-married and the gunsmith’s shop still not completed. The second marriage was undone and John and Jane Fraser set about building a home and a farm where they resided to 1758.

Fraser’s last campaign was with General Forbes in 1758. He served as Captain of Forbes’ guides, as a translator, and as wagon master. He may have had input into the route of Forbes Road

When the Forbes campaign was over, the Frasers moved to Bedford, Maryland. His six children were born in Bedford County where he was a yeoman farmer, an innkeeper, a land speculator and a Justice of the Peace until his death in early 1773.

Fraser was a well liked man on the frontier. He was friends with George Washington. George Croghan, Andrew Montour and Christopher Gist. The Iroquois and Mingos cosidered him honest and a friend. Fraser was a great traveler. He made regular trips to the Miami River country. He went back and forth to Harris Ferry, now Harrisburg, to pick up goods and meet with his partner. When he moved to Bedford he traveled with General Braddock, back to the forks of the Ohio. Later he made that same trip again
with General Forbes.

THE JOHN FRASER PROJECT
The Contemporary Longrifle Foundation is proud to present at auction the John Fraser Project. Gary Tucker, Eddie Rector, Ron Vail, Ken Scott , Heather and J Casey McClure are telling John Fraser’s story in recreations of the material goods he may have have had with him on his long journey from the Lehigh Valley, through Venango, Turtle Creek, Fort Necessity, and Fort Cumberland
John Fraser probably brought a rifle with him when he came to Venango, a product of his own work, built possibly under Jacob Dubbs’ guidance. Gary Tucker has created an interpretation of the rifle Fraser may have carried. Gary took cues for the rifle’s style from research by Wayne Watson and Lee Teter indicating a John Fraser was apprenticed to Jacob Dubbs when Fraser’s parents died. With no signed example of a Dubbs or Fraser rifle known, Gary used his creativity and several rifles attributed to Dubbs to tell the story. He built the rifle around an early profile barrel donated by the Rice Barrel Company. Jason Schneider at Rice manufactured the 36 inch barrel in .60 caliber with a 1 1/8” breech, which he felt would be appropriate for the period. Tim Tressel at R. E. Davis donated the early style flint lock. Gary ran across a wonderful 18th century Scottish fowler at the CLA show and used the engraving patterns on the sideplate, buttplate, triggerguard, and thumbpiece as a basis for the engraving on the Project rifle. Gary also incorporated some early Berks county characteristics, a wrist that is wider than tall, and an open ended brass nosecap. The barrel is crowned in the early European fashion and it looks really good on this rifle. The stock is a piece of stump cut curly maple selected by Fred Miller as appropriate for an early rifle gun. The sliding wooden patchbox is nicely done. It has a great subtle figure and raised baroque carving sets off the stock. The stock architecture is definitely early with a 2 inch wide butt. The classic sliding lid wooden patch box completes this correct interpretation of an F & I Period rifle. The rifle is equipped with swivels and an Eddie Rector hand made sling to accommodate the rigors of travel.

Ron Vail created the Project powder horn telling a story of Fraser’s close relationships with the Seneca. A horn like this could have been a gift from the Seneca, perhaps even from Half-King himself. There is a thistle on the horn reflecting Fraser’s Highland heritage along with the totems of the eight Seneca clans and the Tree of Life of the Seneca. The black and white wampum strap by Eddie Rector reminds us of the brisk trade that Fraser did in wampum beads.

The knife by J Casey McClure is hand forged in a traditional Scottish utility knife style. It could appeal to a pragmatic trader like Fraser more than a dirk. The hand forged blade is over 8 1/4 inches long and has a nice distal taper and a finely ground edge. An iron cross guard and ferule set the handle off. Heather McClure made the handsome, practical, dark sheath that pairs perfectly with the knife.

Eddie Rector created a hunting bag with tools such as Fraser may have carried in his trekking. This fine bag has a stitched thistle decoration on the flap and piece of authentic Fraser tartan, hand woven in Scotland, lining the flap. A striker and punk in a tinder bag, a set of rifle tools and a tow worm in a wallet are in the bag. There is also a bullet bag and small sack of tow. This is a hunting bag well stocked and neatly arranged and cased for the wise traveler. Eddie made all of the accoutrements and constructed the bag from Scottish Bull leather. The bag is accompanied by a small hammer polled tomahawk by an unknown maker donated by Eddie with a shoulder strap sheath he made.

Much of what we know about Fraser comes from his own correspondence. Ken Scott created a Trader’s Journal representing what Fraser would likely have carried to keep his records and correspondence. It incorporates a Pennsylvania Trading License, some sketches and notes in an authentic hand crafted portfolio showcasing Ken’s remarkable skills. With sketches and notes this recreated Journal brings a personal touch to the project. This carefully crafted journal is a great work on its own. It is a wonderfully appropriate addition to the project

The JOHN FRASER PROJECT is a well researched, fitting tribute to this little known hero. The Contemporary Longrifle Association is proud to announce THE JOHN FRASER PROJECT will be auctioned in the 2017 CLA fund raising auction as a single offering. The auction will be held on Friday, August 18, 2017 in the Grand Ball Room at the Lexington Convention Center in Lexington Kentucky. More details will be available by going to the CLA website and clicking the CL Foundation button.

References

Clark 1956 Howard Glenn Clark John Fraser, Western Pennsylvania
Frontiersman Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine Vol 38 pp 83 to 93; vol 39 spring pp 35 to 41, Vol 39 summer pp 109 to124

Minutes of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania vol. 5 Published by the State of Pennsylvania 1851 pp 660 to 665

Ohio Company Papers The Ohio company papers, 1753-1817, primarily papers of the “Suffering traders” of Pennsylvania, by Kenneth Bailey pp 83 to 85 and 123 to 128

text by Heinz Ahlers
photos by Ric Lambert

An Iconic Southern Pistol in the Style of Elisha Bull by Mike Miller

There are some antique flintlock arms that seem to epitomize a genre or “school” as well as capture the personality of the maker and the time and place in which it was created and used. The fine silver mounted “Death or Victory” pistol by Elisha Bull of Tennessee is just such a piece. Well known riflesmith Mike Miller of Paducah, Kentucky has graciously built and donated a near-bench copy of this famous pistol as one of the centerpieces for this year’s CLA live auction.

The pistol is well known and was posted on the Risers’ “Contemporary Makers Blog Spot” in October 2010. The Bulls, along with their in-laws the Beans, were among the best – and best known – of the Tennessee gunmakers of the early 19th century. Their rifles – and their reputation – were carried across the spreading southern frontier from Tennessee to Texas in the early 1800s. The family moved from Maryland to the Tennessee frontier after the Revolution, buying land from famed Captain William Bean in the late 1780s. Elisha was born in what is now Tennessee in 1791. Who he learned gunmaking from is unknown, as a formal master-apprentice relationship among most early mountain gunmakers either went unrecorded or perhaps was even alien to the strong sense of independence of the Scottish and Scots-Irish backcountry settlers. Elisha was joined in Tennessee by his older brother John by 1800, and the two made similar and beautiful rifles and pistols into the second quarter of the 19th century. John married Fetna Bean, sister of famed and ill-tempered gunmaker Russell Bean, continuing the tie between the families. Russell Bean was manufacturing guns for sale as far downriver as New Orleans by the 1790s, so it is highly possible that Elisha learned his trade from the Beans, or perhaps from his brother John if John had worked as a gunmaker in Maryland before rejoining his family in Tennessee as some have speculated. Some of the Bulls’ work strongly resembles the work of the Beans, but regardless of who taught who, in the first quarter of the 19th century the Bulls had developed distinctive styles of graceful architecture, mounts and decorative metalwork. Elisha was in Washington County, Tennessee prior to the War of 1812, and later worked at Bull’s Gap and in Grainger County.

The War of 1812 in the southern backcountry was primarily a war among frontier militia and tribes that either sided the British or the Americans, and the Death or Victory pistol strongly evokes those times. When I first saw it, my primary thought was that it pretty much sums up – without words – everything you would want to convey about what makes so many of these flintlock arms fascinating. It has an elegant simplicity about it – not plain by any means but not gaudy – and a lot of character put there by a maker not bound by the traditions of a conventional school of gunmaking. Several great silver-mounted Tennessee pistols such as this are known to exist by makers including the Bulls, Baxter Bean, and J. Cox, but this Elisha Bull piece is the cream of the crop. Casting silver or brass mounts is a process that is most efficient when working in volume. However, these silver mounted southern pieces demonstrate the mindset of the mountain gunmakers who typically worked in iron mounts – in that on the occasions they chose to make mounts from silver or brass, they were fabricated and hand formed in pieces and joined, in a manner similar to iron mounts – and never cast as was done by English gunsmiths other schools of American gunmaking. While the influence of late 18th century dueling pistols is evident in the hardware forms and features such as the single set trigger and checkering of the grip, the manufacture was adapted to the efficient style and maker’s sense of economy.

The coin silver mounts are decorated in simple yet elegant engraving on the sideplate and triggerguard with the phrases “Liberty” and “Death or Victory” capturing the defiant and patriotic spirit of the era. 

This splendid piece is believed by many to be Elisha’s personal sidearm that he made for himself when he served in Captain David Vance’s Company of Bunch’s mounted East Tennessee volunteers from 1812 to 1814. Just as with swords, such personalized arms pistols were often carried and used by militia officers. 

Mike Miller is one of the best known contemporary makers working in many schools or styles of southern arms and is well known for his high-quality metal and wood work, producing well-crafted pieces that capture both the elegance and folky grace of the best southern work. He works in all styles of southern rifles from the Shenandoah Valley to the Tennessee mountains and most enjoys working in genres that have not been heavily copied by contemporary makers, such early Carolina Piedmont, Central Kentucky and other styles. He also is one of the few makers out there who offers full custom work such as hand-rifled and profiled barrels and hand-made locks if a customer desires. Mike strives to make each of his pieces unique. So the Bull pistol project is right up his alley. Mike and his art was recently the subject of a feature article in MUZZLELOADER Magazine (May/June 2014)

For this pistol, Mike worked off his own in-hand observation and measurements of the original. He donated and hand profiled, reamed and rifled the swamped barrel to match the original barrel. Mike’s pistol is .43 caliber. Mike also donated a premium piece of maple for the stock and the sterling silver for the mounts which he formed and fabricated by hand. The lock is a one-of-a kind English style lock that was made by Rice as a prototype many years ago, and matches the original lock very closely. Mike donated, modified and hand-tuned the lock to perfection. Mike also hand-made the single set trigger from scratch to exactly duplicate the original. Mike’s decorative skills are evident in the graceful shaping of the stock and elegant yet folky engraving and carving of the grip, in form true to Elisha’s work form 200 years ago. Also, as an owner of Mike’s work, I can tell you that his guns are shooters –his locks are tuned to be among the fastest and he has a great reputation with serious shooters as well as collectors.

Mike’s hard work, skill and generosity offer the chance to own a piece of great contemporary art that faithfully captures the spirit of one of the most significant southern firearms of any era. We appreciate the chance to offer such an exquisite piece at this year’s auction.

More of the original pistol can be seen at: http://contemporarymakers.blogspot.ca/2009/10/elisha-bull-death-or-victory-pistol.html

Mike Miller can be contacted at:

(Larry Pletcher editor, www.blackpowdermag.com)

Southern Mountain Rifle by Marc Tornichio

This early iron mounted Southern longrifle was created by Marc Tornichio. This rifle is not a copy of any one rifle but incorporates the architecture and features of several early iron mounted rifles of the western Virginia/Carolina Appalachian area from the 1790 to 1810 period. It shows the quality workmanship of a trained and talented gunsmith from 200 years ago or today. Marc says, “The rifle has a lot of characteristics of the GB rifle with a touch of the MESDA gun.” Wallace Gusler published an article on the “GB” rifle titled “A Fine Iron Mounted Rifle” in the September 2004 Muzzle Blasts. Wallace noted the step wrist architecture and fine workmanship, attributing the rifle to southwestern Virginia or eastern Tennessee circa 1790. Another picture of the rifle can be found on page 32 of the July 2012 American Tradition. The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (M.E.S.D.A.) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has another step wrist rifle with iron mountings and carving by an unknown maker often referred to as the MESDA rifle. Pictures of this rifle are published on page 109 of Longrifles of Virginia by James Butler, and on page 43 of the January 2012 American Tradition. This rifle exemplifies the early period of the iron mounted southern rifle, prior to 1810, still showing some Germanic and English details but also the functional elegance of an evolving trans-mountain culture with details like the captured lid iron box. 

Rifles like this were carried on the southwestern frontier, by both the frontiersmen and the Indians. In deadly conflicts such as the “Chickamauaga War” between the American settlers, Cherokees, and Creeks, spanning the years after the Revolution and prior to the War of 1812, rifles made by regional gunmakers were carried and used by both sides. For settlers and natives in the mountain backcountry their rifle guns were often their most valuable possessions; sometimes bought at great cost; sometimes bartered for in times of peace; and sometimes taken as a prize of victory. References for this fact can be found as early as 1757. Both Cherokee and Creek chiefs, especially those of mixed Scots and Native American lineage like Bob Benge, William McIntosh, Alexander McGillivray, used these iron mounted rifles with deadly purpose. Scots Irish frontiersmen like the Crocketts, Shelbys, Campbells and McDowells and native allies among the Chickasaw and Choctaw, also used these prized southern black rifles with the same deadly purpose. These elegant and serviceable weapons continued to serve in the War of 1812 and throughout the westward movement from Missouri onto the Rocky Mountains.

Marc’s work in iron is a continuation of a chain of evolution in contemporary gunmaking that began with Hershel House in the 1960s and continues today through gunmakers like Ian Pratt, Mike Miller and Roger Sells, to name only a few. Marc has been influenced both by Ian Pratt and Jim Kibler in his building, craftsmanship and attention to historical detail. The rifle’s 48 caliber custom profiled 46″ swamped barrel by Ed Rayl is a copy of a barrel from an original rifle stamped “GB”. Although not the barrel from the rifle in Wallace Gusler’s Muzzle Blast article this ties in another “GB” gun. It has an English Ketland style lock donated by Jim Chambers and a showy stump curly maple stock donated by Nathan Cox and Pat Harrison of Harrison’s Sawmill . All the forged iron work is masterfully done by Marc. The fully captured lid box with finial piercing has a “GB” inspired outline. The double set triggers are made completely from scratch incorporating details strongly rooted in the southwest Virginia region and used by Jacob Young and others. His stock work on this trim, stepped wrist rifle exemplifies his abilities to transform his research and talents into an outstanding example of an early longrifle.

This is a fine example of the rifles carried on the southeastern frontier. This rifle is another of the great contemporary interpretations of the fascinating schools of gunmaking in western Virginia, North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and across Kentucky. Understanding of these schools is expanding, and they appear to have produced some of the finest longrifles crafted in the South. This rifle ties in as a precursor in style to the Marvin Kemper Lexington rifle featured in the 2013 CLA Fundraising Auction and also the Roger Sells Elisha Bull featured in this years auction. This is a chance to own an excellent example of an impeccably styled and fabricated early iron mounted rifle by Marc Tornichio, a young contemporary gunmaker whose name is becoming more known with each passing year.

Marc can be contacted at:

CLA artists Donald and Tina Shaver handcrafted this circa 1810 to 1825 hunting pouch and horn set for the 2014 CLA fundraising auction. The pouch is a classic beaver tail pouch with a carved buffalo powder horn.

Donald Shaver’s interest in American History began during his youth and he started reenacting about 30 years ago through the Boy Scouts. His first period of interpretation was the Rocky Mountain fur trade era of the 1830s, then 15 years ago he met quill worker Shawn Webster who introduced him to the Eastern Woodland Indian culture of the 1700s. As his need for proper research deepened, so did his library – as he light heartedly comments, “Let’s just say my passion for collecting books about the Woodland Indian culture has gotten out of hand.”

After years of study and research, today he portrays the living history persona of an 18th century Woodland Indian. As a result of his devotion to correctly interpreting these native people, he is frequently asked to model for nationally known historical artists.
His interests also include blacksmithing and working with horn, especially making powder horns. Don reverted slightly for this beavertail pouch and buffalo horn rig in keeping with this year’s auction theme of change and expansion at the close of the War of 1812.

Don and Tina are repeat auction donors. Donald had this say in 2013 about his donation, “I wanted to donate his pouch and horn set to our fundraising auction to help further the preservation of these skills, and encourage the continued showcasing of the artists.”

For 2014 they have contributed a great beaver tail shaped bag with nicely sculpted buffalo powder horn and 75 grain cane measure. Both the bag and horn have excellent workmanship and style. I think this is a classic early Missouri/rocky mountain style perfect for heading west at the end of the 1812 war. Don and Tina are well known for their work and this pouch and horn are another great example.

You can contact Donald & Tina at: