2012 Contemporary Longrifle Foundation Fund Raising Auction A Great Success!

“Thanks To All For A Great Auction”

            

This year’s auction was a tremendous success! 23 superb artistic works by 32 CLA artists generated an excitement at the auction which prompted buyers to step forward and take home some great creations.  

After a year’s work to make the 2012 War of 1812 “Path to Freedom” Fundraising Auction an event to remember, I’m almost sad to say it’s over. As the CLF Fundraising Committee chairman I had the good fortune to work with the artists and get to know them and their work. Thanks to each of them for all of their efforts and for making the 2012 CLF Fund Raising Auction the big success that it was. And to all the “behind the scenes” volunteers, and donors, too. Thanks again to everyone.

TC Albert

2012 CLF Fundraising Committee Chairman   

RESULTS OF THE 2012 CLF FUND RAISING AUCTION

TC ALBERT & TIM CROSBY, Tansel horn & pouch $1,300 

BRIAN BARKER, Tecumseh tomahawk $750 

MIKE MCHUGH, Brock war club $350

MARIAH BLAKE, Quilled birch bark box $400

SCOTT & CATHY SIBLEY & DAVID HUGHES, Powder horn and papers $700

JOE SEABOLT, Knife $400

LARRY & ZACH CALLAHAN, Quilled bag and tool kit $200

JACK HUBBARD, Horseshoe Bend powder horn $460

GLEN MOCK, Midshipman’s dirk and sheath $400

LARRY SPISAK, Tecumseh’s Northwest Trade Gun $5,500

MITCH YATES, The Hunters of Kentucky longrifle $2,500

DANA BUCHANAN, Knife $600

FRANK BARKER, Cartridge box $100

CHRIS BARKER, BILL CARTER, ERIC VAN ALSTINE, MARK EWING, Joseph Stewart pouch and horn set $775

HARRIS MAUPIN, Old Hickory salt horn $350

 HARRIS MAUPIN, Battle of New Orleans powder horn $600

DANIEL CASEY, HERSHEL HOUSE, JOHN HOUSE, Knife and sheath $400

 JAMES BLAKE & CHRIS HAYS, Pipe with quilled stem $800

 MICHAEL AGEE, S Houston to Gen’l Jackson pouch $3,500 

CURT GILLOCK, Coach trunk $800

JENNIFER FRANTZ, Floor cloth $200 

BART DELLINGER, Ft. Meigs ax $150

JOHN DONELSON, 3 Naval boarding axes $450

The 16th Annual Contemporary Longrifle Show is Here!

The show opens at 8:00am this Friday August 17th, and at 1:30pm Saturday the 18th, we will hold or "War of 1812" fundraising auction. Back on March 2nd we began blogging all of the items letting you know about the artists, what they made, and what a great auction this is going to be. If you cant remember everything, you can review the blogs here.

For more information about the auction, times, the venue, or CLA membership please visit: Longrifle. 

 

You will definitely want to be there early to review the items and get a good place up front for the auction, because when the bidding begins, its all up for grabs. This is one event that you do not want to miss. See you there.

Copy by T.C. Albert.

2012 CLA Live Auction: Two More Items for the CLA Live Auction

Curt Gillock of Two Fools Leather Goods has made this "Hair-on Flop-top Trunk" for the upcoming CLA fundraising auction.  It's number 7 of only 10. The palonia wood frame is covered with a fine Brindle hair-on steer hide. The "English Tanned Harness Leather" straps, handles and trim are all edged & burnished by hand. The actual "Floptop" is backed & bound to a strong piece of the same leather as a strengthener. It is then hand-sewn through the wooden frame with leather strapping to further reinforce it. The trunk handles are also sewn in place using the same method, while all of the harness leather trim is nailed into place with pyramid head clinch nails. All of the hand sewing is done with waxed linen thread, and the trunk is fully lined with French drape cloth. The iron buckles are forged by Steve Baxter. The trunk measures a generous 33"wide x 17" tall x 14" wide.  

Finally, Jennifer Frantz of Americana Floorcloths will be donating a patriotic "Join or Die" floorcloth to the event. It is one of her best sellers. The floorcloth is two and a half by 4 feet in length, and painted in tones of mustard, ebony and burgundy with a generous antique stain in the final layers of poly. The floorcloth is painted on a heavy 22 OZ. canvas with 8 coats of paint and four coats poly-acrylic. The floorcloth is sealed on all sides to prevent the canvas from mildewing when exposed to the elements. The "join or Die" design includes the date of 1754 which is when Franklin originally posted this cartoon in the Boston Gazette, but its call to unity for all Americans still resonated during the war of 1812.

Either of these items would look great in your home or collection, and we thank Curt and Jennifer for donating them to the 2012 auction. For more information about the auction or CLA membership please visit: Longrifle.

Trunk images by H. David Wright; Floor cloth image by Jennifer Frantz; Text by TC Albert

2012 CLA Live Auction: "Axes Theres One if by Land, and Theres Three if by Sea, the CLA Fundraising Auction Offers You Your Choice."

In the War of 1812, during naval battles on the Great Lakes or on the high seas, it was customary for ships to engage with cannon as they closed upon each other, and then to finally board each other where the final outcome of the engagement  was settled in hand to hand combat. With its sharp steel spike, the boarding ax was designed to pry red hot cannon balls from the wooden decks before they could catch fire and its ax like bit was perfect to chop away any tangled rigging that fell from shattered masts. But when battling ships closed and boarding parties attacked, this tool became a substantial weapon in the hands of a determined man. Blacksmith and artist John Donelson of Clear Lake, MN is hand forging a complete set of three boarding axes, each reflecting a variation of the styles then in use by the Americans, the French, and the British navies. The image shown was taken in his shop, and is of the forgings in progress. They are finished now, and this rare assemblage will be among the special items up for auction at the 2012 Contemporary Longrifle Associations annual fundraising auction.

An ax of a different kind also played a part in the War of 1812. The Ft. Meigs ax was purportedly unearthed from the battle field of the name in Perrysburg Ohio. Built by General William Henry Harrison, Ft. Meigs was envisioned as a staging ground for American assaults into Canada, but in May of 1813, the fort found itself under attack from forces led by Proctor and Tecumseh. During the siege many skirmishes ensued as reinforcements to the fort began arriving from Kentucky. At some point it can be imagined that one of these Kentuckians lost his personal belt ax, and artist Bart Dellinger of Woodstock Va. has made a copy of it to include in our event. Bart has provided us a photo of his great little ax as well, and you can see how perfectly it would serve a contemporary long hunter today just as it did the Kentucky hunters and militiamen during the War of 1812 .

For more information about the auction or CLA membership please visit: Longrifle

Photos by John Donelson and Bart Dellinger. Text by TC Albert.

2012 CLA Live Auction: "Longknives" by Dana Buchanan, Daniel Casey, Joe Seabolt and Billy Heck

An undeniably important piece of our shared "Culture of the Longrifle" is the knife. So inseperable were frontiersmen and their ever present big blades, that they were identified by them and actually called "longknives", both a name and a trait that persisted as long as such men roamed our American frontiers. Our auction wouldnt be complete with out a few of these iconic knives to choose from, and true to form, CLA artists specializing in the creation of these beautiful side arms have risen to the occation and are presenting us with four real gems.

First up, Dana Buchanan has crafted a sleek, antler hilted hunting knife. The blade tapers to a graceful, slightly clipped point, and its traditionally constructed with a through tang, an iron ferrule, and a forged iron guard. Dana’s touch mark “B” is stamped into the steel blade. Like all of Dana’s blades, this knife would be the envy of any long hunter past or present.

Next, Daniel Casey has forged us one of his beautiful “Woodburry” school knives. The knife was was then specially engraved and sheathed by Hershel and John House.  From Daniels forge work and Hershel’s engraving on the knife itself, to John’s leather work in custom fitting up the sheath, Im sure you will agree that this collaborative effort has turned this one of a kind piece into something really special.

Joe Seabolt is also forged us a very special knife, and used an origional featured in Madison Grant’s ground greaking book “The Knife in Homespun America” to base it on. In Joe’s opinion, this knife definately represents everything a "homespun fighting knife of the 1812" era ought to be. From the base of its antler unique handle to the tip of its slight clip point, this knife could easily decide the outcome of any hand to hand frontier contest, and as such its owner would have carried and relied on it as his primary side arm.

Finally, though not shown here, I want to mention that Billy Heck of Martin’s Station is forging us up a rifleman’s knife as well. Billy works as a professional and full time historical interpreter, and is very qualified to know what would be expected in an early nineteenth century knife from personal experience. Likewise, his experience at the forge allows him to make a knife that he knows  would serve a  frontiersman or militia volunteer well.

Whether you are a collector, a reenactor, a traditional hunter, or just a lover of American longknives, you wont want to miss out on a chance to see and bid on these. 

For more information about the auction or CLA membership please visit: Longrifle.

Text by TC Albert with images by H. David Wright.

Mitch Yates and the moderators over at American Long Rifles web site have made a very special rifle for the upcoming CLA fund raising auction. This Dickert style rifle was designed to pay tribute to the legendary “Hunters of Kentucky” and their expliots at the Battle of New Orleans under Andrew Jackson. The rifle has a special "Alligator Horse" silver inlay, and silver presentation plack affixed inside the bottom of the patch box. Starting with a stock from Dunlap Woodcrafts, a barrel made by the Getz Barrel Company, a lock from Jim Chambers, brass hardware donated by Reaves Goehring, and barrel inletting done by Mark Wheland, Mitch Yates built and finished this outstanding rifle. The board moderators at the A.L.R. web site also played a part, both in giving physical assistance and moral support to the building of this "show stopping" rifle. Tom Curran did the special engraving, Rich Pierce professionally polished the metal work, and the rest of the moderators purchased assorted materials. Photographs of the finished rifle were taken by Jim Filipski, and they say it all. You will not want to miss seeing this rifle at the show.

For more information about the auction or CLA membership please visit: Longrifle.

Photos by Jim Filipski and text by TC Albert. "Hunters of Kentucky. Or Half Horse and Half Alligator." 1815. The Filson Historical Society.

2012 CLA Live Auction: A Complete Rifle Accoutrement Tool Set and Quilled Storage Pouch by Larry and Zach Callahan

Every rifle needs some special custom tools to keep it firing well and in working order. Realizing that, artists Larry and Zach Callahan, a father and son team from Pevely Missouri, worked together to make a very nice and very complete set of rifleman’s accoutrements and the specially made brain tanned, quill decorated pouch to keep them in. We are very happy to include their set in this years upcoming CLA fundraising auction.

The set includes a bullet mold, a folding ladle, a worm, ball puller, small pliers, rod extender, and rifle tool, all hand made by Larry. Don’t worry if they are not the exact thread size or caliber that you might need because Larry said that he will exchange them for just what you want. Zach made and quill decorated the beautiful little brain tan bag that will hold everything safe and secure in your hunting pouch or haversack. This set is a treasure.

For more information about the auction or CLA membership please visit: Longrifle. 

Images and text by TC Albert.

2012 CLA Live Auction: Tecumseh's Pipe Ax by Brian Barker

This CLA fundraising auction item that This CLA fundraising auction item that was crafted by artist Brian Barker. He has researched and created a copy of a pipe ax once owned by the Shawnee chief Tecumseh. The exploits of Tecumseh during the war of 1812 are famous, and to have this hand forged, hand engraved, silver inlaid copy of his personal tomahawk in our auction definately demonstrates the level of research and dedication to craftsmanship that our CLA artists are willing to rise to in order to make this year’s event something very special. Remember, the auction will be held Saturday,August 18th during the 16th Annual CLA Show and Meeting in Lexington Kentucky.

For more information about the auction or CLA membership please visit: Longrifle.

Copy and images by TC Albert.http://www.longrifle.com/

2012 CLA Live Auction: A Traditional Quill Decorated Storage Box by Mariah Blake

CLA artist Mariah Blake has crafted a traditional Native American piece for the auction, a quill decorated birch bark storage box. This beautiful little lidded box is completely decorated with red, white and blue dyed porcupine quills. To do it, she patiently anchored the ends of each hand dyed quill into a tiny hole bored into the birch bark, creating a classic chevron pattern as she worked. The lid is similarly decorated and even its edge is fully wrapped in quills. Surviving original decorated boxes like this are very scarce, and contemporary pieces made in this style are equally rare. The CLA 2012 Live Auction committee is proud to have this special donation included in its offerings.

For more information about the auction or CLA membership please visit: Longrifle.

Images by David Wright and text by TC Albert.