High Expectations for a North Carolina Rifle with Kentucky Details ©

Forward: Recently a fascinating relief carved, full-stocked rifle sold at auction that appeared to be an exceptional North Carolina rifle, perhaps related to the Salem School, but with several Kentucky details. The gun was in the black, too dark to see engraving or names, but the carving quality and uniqueness of the patchbox suggested it will prove to be a highly significant rifle and probably signed on the patchbox or barrel. The author purchased the gun but has not received it. He is waiting impatiently for the rifle to arrive and posted this preliminary review to introduce it… and calm his nerves.

Auction Description: The gun was erroneously described as an “18th Century English Tiger Maple Flintlock Musket” that helped hide it from potential bidders. No other information was provided except its length of 58-1/2 inches. Auction photos were limited [all posted here], showing the front side but only the relief carved area on the back. No images of the tang or side plate were posted, or forestock inlays to see which were present or missing. But what was illustrated was fascinating and important enough to make a southern longrifle collector’s heart skip a beat!

Figure No.1: The new rifle’s slim architecture can be seen here, along with its four ramrod pipes used in both North Carolina and Kentucky. Oval forestock inlays protect the wedge positions but, like most other details, are too blurry to see. Photos courtesy Fontaine’s Auction Gallery, Pittsfield, MA.

Front Side: A full-length image showed the gun’s slim architecture as seen in Figure No.1, but it quickly became grainy when enlarged, blurring smaller details. A half-length image of the front side in Figure No.2 was better but also frustrating due to the outline of an exceptional patchbox with its smaller details obscured by a dark surface. The outline showed an elaborate, pierced patchbox with stylized bird finial and guilloche side-leaves, suggesting a North Carolina rifle was hidden under all the surface dirt. The badly rusted lock also sparked interest with its “T. Ketland & Co.” name, the preferred lock of Kentucky’s early “Lexington School” gunmakers. The lock, originally flint but converted to percussion, is shown in Figure No.3.

Figure No.2: The gun’s large patchbox is heavily pierced with guilloche side-leaves and a bird finial. Its lid may be initialed but is too dark to read. However, the patchbox holds promise for a signed lid as well as good quality engraving highlighting its features. Despite the gun’s worn appearance and minor damage, all important pieces are present so it can be returned to its original appearance rather easily.

Figure No.3: The new rifle has a pointed tail lock that was originally flint and helps date the gun to circa 1800. The lock is stamped “T. Ketland & Co,” which was also the preferred lock on Kentucky’s Lexington rifles before the War of 1812.

Forestock Details: The rear ramrod pipe had a major surprise. Its pipe section [all pipes] was filed in a faceted pattern, with tiny silver diamond-shaped overlays on the flats as seen in Figure No.4. Also present was double-line forestock molding terminated by a large, serpentine line, like on Bluegrass area guns from central Kentucky. A forestock wedge location that lost its inlay had an attractive “interrupted” forestock molding line with ends that drooped down below the inlay, as seen in Figure No.5. Unfortunately, the gun had suffered wood shrinkage that resulted in a contraction break at the wedge position that dislodged the inlay. The silver forestock inlays are a common oval shape used on both North Carolina rifles and Bluegrass area rifles in Kentucky.

Figure No.2: The rear pipe area has two important details, the faceted ramrod pipe with silver overlay, and the double-line molding with wavy line termination similar to Kentucky’s Bluegrass molding terminations.

Figure No.4: A forestock inlay mortise with missing inlay shows a graceful detail in the forestock molding line as it droops and separates below the wedge inlay. The wood suffered a full contraction break.

Unique Butt Carving:  A single picture of the backside of the rifle showed the butt’s elaborate relief carving behind the cheekpiece as seen in Figure No.5. Relief carving is rare on North Carolina guns but occurs in several schools. However, the author has not seen this particular pattern on a published N.C. rifle, perhaps making it unique in its construction and small accent cuts. The rare and perhaps unique butt carving along with the elaborate, previously unseen patchbox make this rifle a highly important study piece in ongoing research into both North Carolina’s and Kentucky’s early gunmaking. A final significant detail is on the butt plate return with its raised ridge with two filed lines across it. That detail was widely used on Kentucky’s Lexington School guns and was perhaps more commonly seen there than on North Carolina guns.

Figure No.5: Relief carving on North Carolina rifles is rare but occurs in several of its gunmaking schools. This complex carved pattern appears unique among North Carolina carved rifles; it is restricted to the area behind the cheekpiece. The carving is both relieved and gouged, with interesting highlights created by: 1) punched dots running the length of major gouged “C” scrolls, and 2) “feather” type veining along the lower edges of several scrolls. Also visible is the butt plate return with its raised ridge with two filed lines across it, similar to Bluegrass rifles from Kentucky.

More To Come… Who made this exciting new rifle, and how important will it prove to be? Odds are good that it has a maker’s name/initials hidden under the surface dirt on the patchbox lid or barrel to help answer those questions. The gun has the potential to be one of North Carolina’s most fascinating new rifles with a previously unknown patchbox and different style of relief carving along with faceted pipes with silver overlay. It also relates well to early Kentucky guns and may shed light on how North Carolina details got to Kentucky… if a name can be found on the barrel or patchbox lid. Careful cleaning of the patchbox to uncover its engraving should prove educational, and even more so if a name or initials appear that could help identify the gun. So… to all readers, enjoy the images and descriptions already posted, have fun speculating about what the gun is, and be sure to check back later to find out more about this fascinating rifle… after it gets delivered!

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