French-Style New England Fowler,

French-Style New England Fowler, mid-18th century. 64 1/4 in., .70 caliber octagon to round barrel, the left side of the breech marked 'NH/1751' with two ring transition at 15 1/2 and 18 3/4 in. and brass blade front sight; curved convex lock plate with pointed tail engraved '1743' and 'A/WALDREN' below the pan; cherry stock with relief carved stylized fleur de lys around the breech plug tang, Roman nose butt; iron furniture including an early French trigger guard with pointed finials, early French butt plate with lobed tang, flat 'S' side plate, three sheet iron rammer pipes and a sheet iron entry pipe; later steel rammer with button head. Overall lg. 80 3/4 in. Condition: Barrel toned to mottled gray/brown; lock toned to mottled brown and with underlying pitting; stock is restored from the entry pipe to the muzzle and there is a restored loss at the front of the lock mortice along the barrel channel, chip losses around the breech plug tang; furniture toned mostly brown. Footnotes: Provenance Property of the Eagle Valley Museum, British Columbia, sold when the museum closed. The Vince Nolte Collection. Literature Illustrated and described in Tom Grinslade, Flintlock Fowlers The First Guns Made in America, American Fowling Pieces from 1700-1820, (Pottsboro, Texas: Crazy Crow Trading Post, 2005), p. 36. Note Regarding the 'A/WALDRON' mark on the lock, Grinslade notes that in the 1930s a deceptive dealer named Kimball located near Boston has many locks engraved with spurious names by a gunsmith named Teff. Alexander Waldron is listed as a gunmaker in Kittery, Maine, from 1660-1676 which is too early for the style of lock upon which his name appears suggesting that this may be one of the guns falsely ascribed to an early American gunsmith by Teff. Saleroom notices: The Eagle Valley Museum from which this fowler was deaccessioned was located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, not British Columbia. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing

Saleroom Notice:
The Eagle Valley Museum from which this fowler was deaccessioned was located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, not British Columbia.