Contemporary Makers: "The Best from the Best" For Sale from the Bob Roughton Collection

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

"The Best from the Best" For Sale from the Bob Roughton Collection

J. Robert (Bob) Roughton has been a collector of many things, antique cars, antique guns, Colt pistols, and contemporary longrifles and pistols. But, our focus here is on the latter. Bob is a charter member of the Contemporary Longrifle Association and has been a huge supporter of the art and artists of the longrifle culture. Over the years he has amassed a collection unlike any that has ever existed or will ever exist again. Bob collected the best pieces from the best artists/builders. Builders like Judd Brennan, Frank House, Allen Martin, Mark Wheland, Bob Harn, Jim Chambers, Mike Gahagan, Wallace Gusler, Mark Silver, and many others whom are still building. In addition, he collected pieces from many of the early builders who are no longer with us like John Bivins, Carl Pippert, William Buchele, and Hacker Martin. In all, there were over 100 pieces in the collection. Again, the best of and from the best.

Bob has been battling health problems for several years, and mid July of this year I received a call from him saying his health was not good. He ask if I would consider selling his collection for him. Realizing this would be a huge undertaking I had to think about it for a week or more. Finally, I called Bob and suggested he send the collection to an auction company to handle the sale. His answer was an emphatic NO. Again, Bob has been a huge supporter of the contemporary builders and feared that auctioning the whole collection at one time would seriously damage the market for contemporary work and lower the prices to the point of making it difficult for some of the builders to continue. Rather, he prefers the collection to be sold a few pieces at a time over several years. He has priced each piece at a fair market value, often less than he paid, but very fair for the secondary market.

Because Bob has been such a good personal friend and a good friend to all the contemporary builders I agreed to help him find new homes for as many pieces as possible and hopefully all of them.

Pair of Flintlock Pistols by Carl Pippert

Number	91
Name	Flintlock Pistol 1 of 2
Made by	Carl Pippert
Barrel Length
Caliber
Value
Purchased from
Private or Company	Private
Misc	Silver Hardware

Number	92
Name	Flintlock Pistol 2 of 2
Made by	Carl Pippert
Barrel Length
Caliber
Value
Purchased from
Private or Company	Private
Misc	Silver Hardware

Pair of Flintlock Pistols by Carl Pippert

PA style ("the famous Al Sullivan gun") by Carl Pippert (bottom)

Number	52
Name	PA style ("the famous Al Sullivan gun")
Made by	Carl Pippert, Feb 15, 1974 for Al Sullivan (president of KRA at the time)
Barrel Length	44"
Caliber	.42
Value	$17,000
Purchased from	Larry Forte
Private or Company	Private
Misc	Three silver flowers on patchbook Big silver inlay on cheek piece AS engraved on wrist "This gun is a piece of history" * Cf. NRA (Private) #79 / Blue Book = $25,000

PA style ("the famous Al Sullivan gun") by Carl Pippert (bottom)

PA style rifle by Carl Pippert (2nd from bottom)

Number	34
Name	PA style rifle
Made by	Carl Pippert
Barrel Length	46"
Caliber	.45
Value	$15,000
Purchased from	Larry Forte, Maryland
Private or Company	Company
Misc	"One of the best guns in this room - considered to be one of the finest guns Carl Pippert made." Side plate engraved: Danville, Ky Exotic, raised carve, silver inlay, inscription on the barrel: Made by C. Pippert for... Clem Caldwell Feb. 1970 *Unable to find match on NRA Schedule of Firearms (Company)

PA style rifle by Carl Pippert (2nd from bottom)

Copy of a George or John Armstrong by William Buchele (center)

Number	74
Name	Copy of a George or John Armstrong
Made by	William Buchele, circa 1960
Barrel Length	42"
Caliber	.45
Value	$4,500
Purchased from	Baltimore Gun Show
Private or Company	Private
Misc	12 silver inlays *Cf NRA Private #93 / Blue Book = $3,500

Copy of a George or John Armstrong by William Buchele (center)

Copy of an original Isaac Haines rifle by George Stanford (center)

Number	41
Name	Copy of an original Isaac Haines rifle
Made by	George Stanford
Barrel Length	48"
Caliber	.50
Value	$8,500
Purchased from	Larry Forte
Private or Company	Private
Misc	The original rifle is famous, hardly any use to it, beautiful, etc.

Copy of an original Isaac Haines rifle by George Stanford (center)

petit PA style rifle by Rudy Bahr for M. Stevenson

Number	73
Name	Copy of petit PA style rifle
Made by	Rudy Bahr for M. Stevenson, 1971
Barrel Length	42 1/8"
Caliber	.34
Value	SOLD
Purchased from	maybe Jimmy Alexander
Private or Company	Private
Misc	Silver inlay on cheek piece ~13 Silver inlays Lockplate signed WG Sutter, Ruffsdale, Pa *Cf NRA Private #82 / Blue Book = $7,500

petit PA style rifle by Rudy Bahr for M. Stevenson

A Set: 1 Kentucky Rifle, 1 Kentucky Pistol by Jud Brennan


Number	2
Name	Kentucky Pistol
Made by	Jud Brennan
Barrel Length	13"
Caliber	.50
Serial number	115B Done in the Winchester Virginia style
Valued at	SOLD

Kentucky Pistol by Jud Brennan

A Set: 1 Kentucky Rifle, 1 Kentucky Pistol by Jud Brennan

Number	2
Name	Kentucky Rifle
Made by	Jud Brennan
Barrel Length	44"
Caliber	.50
Misc	Serial #115A Lauck Winchester Virginia Style (a copy of a Lauck)

Valued at

SOLD

Kentucky Rifle by Jud Brennan

Kentucky Rifle by Jud Brennan (top)

Jerry W. Huddleston (bottom)

French or English High Art Smooth Bore by Jerry W. Huddleston

Number	72
Name	French or English High Art Smooth Bore
Made by	Jerry W. Huddleston
Barrel Length	42"
Caliber	.62 smooth
Value	$15,000
Purchased from	Jerry Huddleston
Private or Company	Private
Misc	All silver mounted Gold roses Tremendous amount of gold inlay work, incl gold roses

Jerry W. Huddleston

Winchester Style Kentucky Rifle by Jud Brennan (center) Number 7

Kentucky Rifle by Jud Brennan (bottom) Number 2

[Must be sold as a set with pistol]

Jerry W. Huddleston (bottom)

Winchester Style Kentucky Rifle by Jud Brennan (center)

Number	7
Name	Winchester style Kentucky Rifle
Made by	Jud Brennan
Barrel Length	44"
Caliber	.45
Value	$20,000
Purchased from	Charlie Kaufman
Serial number	50
Private or Company	Company ("I think")
Misc	All silver mounted, a milestone production *Unable to find match on NRA Schedule of Firearms (Company)

Winchester Style Kentucky Rifle by Jud Brennan (center)

(This should be signature on Number 7 if my photos are in order. JR)

Winchester, VA style by Jud Brennan (top)

Number	61
Name	Winchester, VA style
Made by	Jud Brennan
Barrel Length	44"
Caliber	.45
Value	$20,000
Purchased from
Private or Company	Private
Misc	All silver mounted signed Judson J. Brennan, no. 80

Winchester, VA style by Jud Brennan (top)

Winchester, VA style by Jud Brennan (top) Number 61

Winchester Style Kentucky Rifle by Jud Brennan (center) Number 7

Kentucky Rifle by Jud Brennan (bottom) Number 2

SOLD

Winchester, VA style by Jud Brennan (top) Number 61

Winchester Style Kentucky Rifle by Jud Brennan (center) Number 7

Kentucky Rifle by Jud Brennan (bottom) Number 2

SOLD

Iron Mounted Rifle by Monte Mandarino (bottom)

Number	53
Name	Monte Mandarino Iron mounted rifle
Made by	Monte Mandarino in 1979
Barrel Length	38"
Caliber	.54
Value	SOLD
Purchased from
Private or Company	Private
Misc	Iron mounted Banana lockplate Silver wire inlay Dated in patchbox 1979

Iron Mounted Rifle by Monte Mandarino (bottom)

Bench Copy of the Petite Lauck Rifle by Allen Martin (center with brass patchbox)

Number	11
Name	Winchester style Kentucky rifle, a bench copy of the petite Lauck rifle in collection of J.R. Roughton, Jr.
Made by	Allen Martin
Barrel Length	42 & 1/8"
Caliber	.50
Value	SOLD
Purchased from	Allen Martin
Private or Company	Private
Misc	Custom made for J.R. Roughton, Jr.

Bench Copy of the Petite Lauck Rifle by Allen Martin (center with brass patchbox)

Little VA Gun by Robert Harn (center)

Number	49
Name	Little VA gun
Made by	Robert Harn
Barrel Length	42 1/8"
Caliber	.50
Value	SOLD
Purchased from
Private or Company	Private
Misc	All iron mounted

Little VA Gun by Robert Harn (center)

Christian Springs Style by Mark Wheland (top)

Number	67
Name	Christian Springs style
Made by	Mark Wheland
Barrel Length	43 3/4"
Caliber	.58
Value	SOLD
Purchased from	Mark Wheland
Private or Company	Private
Misc	Banana lock plate Sliding wood patchbox Probably one of Dad's "imaginary" guns - a custom copy requested of a short barrel only using full length barrel

Christian Springs Style by Mark Wheland (top)

Sliding Wood Patchbox, English Style by Monte Mandarino (bottom)

Number	24
Name	Sliding wood patchbox, English style
Made by	Monte Mandarino (actually signed, usually cartouche)
Barrel Length	44"
Caliber	.50
Value	$8,000
Purchased from
Serial number	18
Private or Company	Private

Sliding Wood Patchbox, English Style by Monte Mandarino (bottom)

Early PA Style, Sliding Wood Patchbox by Robert Harn (top)

Number	44
Name	Probably an early PA style, sliding wood patchbox
Made by	Robert Harn of Florida
Barrel Length	44"
Caliber	.54
Value	$12,000
Purchased from	Don Getz in 2011
Private or Company	Private
Misc	Sliding wood patchbox Originally made for Don Getz (a famous barrel-maker himself) Getz barrel "The most beautiful Bob Harn rifle I've ever seen. I think it's the best one he ever built."

Early PA Style, Sliding Wood Patchbox by Robert Harn (top)

Jim Chambers with part of the Roughton Collection.

Bob has made a list with the maker's name, the style of the piece, the barrel length and caliber, and a brief description. I have that list available by email or hard copy, and I can email photos of any specific piece(s) that might be of interest to anyone. I can be contacted by email at chambers@flintlocks.com, by phone at 828-667-8361.

Photographed at the 2017 CLA Show by Jan Riser with copy by Jim Chambers. Descriptions by Bob Roughton.