Sunday, October 31, 2010

Guns at Auction







Items for auction at Stockholms Auktionsverk.

"Threads of Feeling" at the Foundling Museum

London's Foundling Museums started life as a hospital where children were left by mothers who were unable to care for their children. The hospital kept detail records of their charges. The registration documents often contained a token left with the hospitals as a means for the mother to identify her child should her circumstances change and she was able to reclaim her child.


This baby’s cap is made from linen material normally used for diapers, dating from 1753.

Sampler from 1759

Copy and images from Austen Only via Frontier Folk.

Living with a Collection: 18th Century Doll House Furniture

Collection of Karen Jones

Photo by P of KY.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Jan Zender Pipe with Quilled Stem




Photographed at the 2010 CLA Show by Jan Riser.

Kemper and Kemper

Top gun by Marvin Kemper, son of
Cornel Kemper whose gun is on the bottom




Photographed at the 2010 CLA Show by Jan Riser.

Jeff Bottiger Priming Horn



Photographed at the 2010 CLA Show by Jan Riser.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

James Rogers for Watkins M. Abbitt Jr.

This gun is built around an Ed Rayl 12 bore octagon to round barrel 6 feet long. The lock is a Chambers Late Ketland. It is stocked in worm tracked maple that started it's life as a rough cut of the "Feather" gun butt profile. It's a scraped finish with aqua fortis and linseed varnish.  The trigger,  plate, thimbles, and patch box cover are all handmade by me.  Jim Webb made the front thimble.  The patch pox cover is based off of 4 different original guns.  Many thanks to Frank Kobilis for helping locate some of the  examples. The trigger guard is off a Bess that has been cut way down in the rear, inletted and pinned in the front and surface mounted with screws on the rear extension. The butt plate is of thick vegetable tanned leather that has been wet formed and nailed on with square cobblers nails. The front sight is coin silver. 

The owner desired a mountain cobbled smoothbore with a six foot barrel. It was inspired by a reference to a shotgun with a six foot barrel being used for deer hunting in the 19th century by Charles Coale of Abingdon VA (1807-1879). Mr Coale wrote the Life and Adventures of Wilburn Waters, the famed 19th century hunter of Southwest Virginia and was editor of the Abingdon Virginian.  Coale was a member of the House of Delegates and my version/interpretation of the gun was made for my delegate. These super long guns were originally used as waterfowling pieces for use on the coasts and rivers and a few possibly found their way in the region for shooting passenger pigeons.













Copy and photos supplied by James Rogers.

P. R. Jones, Bookseller


Paul Jones now has a blog, P. R, Jones, Bookseller, which list his arms and armour books that are available. Paul has been dealing in gun books for almost 50 years and has many hard to find titles, extremely rare and out-of-print titles. It is divided into categories and the full listing of books is also posted. Below are some of the categories. New books are being added within each category so check back to see what is new. Photographs for each category are also being added.








Copy by Jan Riser with photos by P of KY.