Pennsylvania Longrifle
Shots Heard Around the State
He's from York County. The comment echoed through the onlookers like a gunshot in an Appalachian hollow. Alerted to his presence, the crowd pressed forward. Today would be a match worth watching. No one knew why these frontiersmen always appeared from the hills each spring, invading Harrisburg, but they did.
Detail of brass patchbox on Michael Edward's (1777-1876) signed Pennsylvania longrifle.
The cockscomb pattern. Michael trained under York County gunsmiths Conrad
Welshans (1761-1827) and perhaps Henry Pickel (1795-1811). Untouched condition.
Unannounced, they always attracted a crowd, their shooting competition unequalled. It wasn't just their marksmanship, it was also their rifles. The Pennsylvania Longrifle. Magnificent. Instruments of art. And few needed reminding, the best were handcrafted in York County, Pennsylvania.
Apfelschuss
Pennsylvania tiger maple longrifle, total length - 57½" . Octagonal barrel length - 42¼".
All was prepared. A wide bench and a long field were secured. On the benchtop the men placed pumpkins and apples. These, their targets of choice. The challenge was to split them in half, evenly. Each fruit was numbered on its side, useless as it was. Little evidence ever survived.
1843 US Liberty Head five dollar half-eagle gold coin. Many settlers heading west to seek their fortunes bought firearms from the York County gunsmiths.
As the men milled about, the York shooter approached the bench and dropped three apples onto the surface. From his pocket he retrieved three George III silver shillings. Grasping one apple at a time, he forced the coin edge into the stem, each coin protruding above the apples about one inch. When finished, he arranged them on the bench so the coin's surface reflected sunlight. Without a word he turned and started walking back across the field to the shooting spot, a split rail fence, one hundred yards away.
United We Mittelstand
German immigrants were drawn to Pennsylvania by William Penn's pledge of religious tolerance. Farmer and craftsman alike built successful communities throughout Lancaster and York Counties. With prosperity arrive the arts. Furniture, fraktur, and most appealing, gunsmithing.
Iron flintlock mechanism.
Brass trigger guard with spur end.
This manufacturing existed through a German system called Mittelstand. Still alive today, its roots reach to the Medieval Period. These are small businesses symbiotically linked to one another. Community-based, it is more than simply a product. Mittelstand reflects shared values and ideals, quality the expectancy, all linked under the umbrella of faith. The deity above. From their shops along the Conestoga Road, they enjoyed a thriving market in passing settlers heading west.
I Took the One Less Traveled
The shooters arrived at the split rail fence and took positions. Except for one. The York man kept walking. His counting pace could be heard. 76...77...78... as he disappeared into a distant glade.
Raised carving on Edward's stock.
Research likens Edward's work to stocks on gunsmith Samuel Grove's (Newberry Township, York County) longrifles. Grove's work can be viewed in Kindig, plate 151.*
He stopped, and turned. From this elevation, he could see his competitors, and better, his apple's crowns glistening. One-by-one, the men started shooting. Pumpkins and apples flew everywhere until only three remained. Finished, the men moved away from the fence and looked back.
And Then There Were None
Signed on top of octagonal barrel -
M [ichael]. Edwards. The rifle arrives to us from a York County family with deep roots in the community.
The shooter stood transfixed, studying the trees along the field. He tracked their leaf movement. A breeze from the west along the nearest trees crossed to a southern direction closest to his apples. Gentle, no gusts. The drop of the field stretching out before him angulated the bullet's descent. Aiming high would be minimal. His compensation for drift not more than three degrees.
He pulled the longrifle to his cheek. The warmth in the stock reassured him. The brass patch box kissed his elbow as he assumed stance. The barrel, now propped through a tree crotch, focused his attention. The barrel was true. He could feel it in its balance. As he pivoted his longrifle, sight adjusting the bullet's path, he saw them. Sunlight still played upon the King's heads. He held steady, still mindful of the tree leaves. He covered the trigger. Slowly, he thought. Ever so slowly. He took a short breath and held it. The flint sparked lighting the powder. BANG! The sound lifted birds from the trees. The spinning bullet swirled away from him. Farther and farther it traveled, over two hundred yards. Silence. And then, the crowd's cheering echoed back like the sound in an Appalachian hollow. The King had fallen, as would the following two. The King is dead. And then there were none.
A New Age target. English Victorian sterling pepper.
Birmingham, 1895, by John Bull, Ltd., 3" H.
Doors open at 8 AM. Auction starts at 9 AM PA AU 1265L [bb]
Private inspection welcome. 215 794 7630.
* Thoughts on the Kentucky Rifle in its Golden Age, Joe Kindig, Jr., George Shumway, Publisher, York, 1960.
Michael Edwards lived around 100 years. Member of the York Fire Company, he received the highest respect upon his passing. In 1800 he left York ending up in Washington County for a period, only to move on to what is now called West Virginia. In later years he returned home. Throughout most of his life he practiced gunsmithing. Of note, Edward participated in the local mock funeral for President George Washington in 1799. These celebrations were popular throughout the states as the Father of our Country was deeply revered...and still is.