by Heinz Ahlers Donald Shaver is donating a ladle inspired by an original 18th century piece. Don made this treenware ladle of Mulberry he harvested himself and dried for 2 years. He finished the ladle with bear grease bringing out the natural color of the mulberry.. The ladle has 4 sterling silver inlays. The two inlays on the back of the bowl have coin silver pins cut from a dime and the two heart shaped inlays bracketing the handle have...
by Heinz Ahlers The classic knife of the early American frontier, the single edged longhunters knife, was the working tool of the rifleman. Although these knives were often made from imported butcher knives, the longhunter frequently sought out the products of the skilled frontier smith for a knife that was a bit stouter and had a finer steel blade than the cheap butcher knives. The longknife and tomahawk were the everyday working tools of the frontier hunter and doubled as...
by Heinz Ahlers Joshua Crain has recreated one of those icons of the Mississippi River culture, the push dagger. This style was popular in New Orleans during the 1800s where it was known as a gimlet knife. One was involved in the Wilson - Anthony fight between elected officials in the Arkansas State Legislature in 1836. These knives have waxed and waned in popularity since the 17th century, this fine little rig of Joshua Crain's may bring them back. This hand...
by Heinz Ahlers The 2015 CLF Fundraising Auction is proud to present this beautiful Tansel styled horn. This horn was created by Steve Vance, Glenn Sutt, Scott Morrison, and Steve Skillman, all from the Northwest Horn Makers group. The horn has many of the features of Tansel family horns from the Indiana period. The Tansel family made horns from about 1795 through 1850. They are known to have worked in Scott County, Kentucky and Hendricks County, Indiana. At least one Francis Tansel...
by Heinz Ahlers The knife is a special piece of equipment; knives can be cooking tools or butchering tools, wood carvers or weapons. For a longhunter, the knife was expected to be all the-se things. This put a lot of demands on the knife, it had to be tough enough to split out a deer pelvis, sharp enough to cut hair, handy enough to whittle, useful for cutting meat and chopping turnips, and a killing edge when the rifle was...
Written by Heinz Ahlers Indiana gunmaker, Jerry Eitnier is a returning donor to the CLA fundraising auction. Jerry is no stranger to the muzzle loading sport and art. He has been involved for more than 40 years. He joined the National Muzzle Loading Association in 1973, and in 1987 he built his first longrifle. He became a charter member of the Contemporary Longrifle Association in 1991. Jerry is strongly influenced by Hershel House's work, he builds guns the style of "the...
This early iron mounted Southern longrifle was created by Marc Tornichio This rifle is not a copy of any one rifle but incorporates the architecture and features of several early iron mounted rifles of the western Virginia/Carolina Appalachian area from the 1790 to 1810 period. It shows the quality workmanship of a trained and talented gunsmith from 200 years ago or today. Marc says, "The rifle has a lot of characteristics of the GB rifle with a touch of...
By 1814 even in the far west of the Illinois country the frontier was changing, even so, many blood feuds kindled by earlier mutual antagonisms between the Red and White neighbors still smoldered. Born in just such a place during just such a time, Colonel John Moredock, the celebrated Indian Hater, first sought revenge against the Indians responsible for massacring his mother and stepfather and kidnapping his siblings, but he didn't stop there. The legend goes on to tell...
There are some antique flintlock arms that seem to epitomize a genre or "school" as well as capture the personality of the maker and the time and place in which it was created and used. The fine silver mounted "Death or Victory" pistol by Elisha Bull of Tennessee is just such a piece. Well known riflesmith Mike Miller of Paducah, Kentucky has graciously built and donated a near-bench copy of this famous pistol as one of the centerpieces for...
The hunting pouch is an icon of the American frontier. By the early 19th century pouches could show distinct regional variations, wide ranges in quality from home made to finest cordwainers work, and variations in size and shape based on use. This years auction presents a stunning range of bags and accoutrements. Bill Smith has donated a double bag of finely tanned deer skin with double internal compartments. Bill has been making bags for over 20 years and they are...
by Heinz Ahlers Tom Greco has donated a fine pouch and horn set with a matching belt pouch. The bag style is typical of Eastern Pennsylvania and is paired with a southern style horn suggesting an owner who moved down the Great Wagon Road as the frontier spread westward. Oil tanned buffalo hide is used in both the shoulder bag and belt pouch. Tom's craftsmanship and attention to detail are apparent in the pillow ticking lining, welted seams and double...
Maryellen Pratt lives in Adams County, Ohio with her husband Ian Pratt. Maryellen is a maker of premium hunting bags, knife sheaths, haversacks and sundry other items. She is meticulous in using period correct materials and techniques. And her careful antiquing processes are universally appreciated. Maryellen regularly conducts classes on the skills and methods of making pouches and advanced leather working at the Log Cabin Shop in Lodi, Ohio and other venues. Her products are regularly featured on the...
by Heinz Ahlers Bill Pritchard has been building rifles in Maysville since 1976, when he was motivated by the activities of the Bicentennial to try his hand at building flintlock longrifles. Bill was largely self taught, guided by Kindig, Thoughts on the Kentucky in Its Golden Age; Shumway, Rifles of Colonial America; and Recreating the Kentucky Rifle by Buchle. Bill estimates he has built about 75 rifles, 25 to 30 in the 5 years since he retired, and one or...
Chris Barker has donated a complete hunting rig. Chris designed the bag and constructed the rig, doing all of the leather work. We are proud to say that Chris is one of our repeat donors to the live auction. Several other artisans were involved in the project. The leather for the bag was donated by Joel Ketonen of the Dallas Muzzle Loading Gun Club, The accoutrements were pur-chased from noted artisans by Chris. The Southern banded horn and powder measure...
Rich and Jeanne McDonald are well known CLA Artists. Rich and Jeanne have been married over 29 years and live on a small farm in southern Ohio. They are part of the southern Ohio contingent contributing to this auction including Joe Seabolt and Maryellen Pratt. Rich bought his first muzzleloader at the age of 12 and has been hooked ever since. Rich started forging knives and and tomahawks in 1990 and now does it as a full time occupation He...
CLA artists Donald and Tina Shaver handcrafted this circa 1810 to 1825 hunting pouch and horn set for the 2014 CLA fundraising auction. The pouch is a classic beaver tail pouch with a carved buffalo powder horn. Donald Shaver's interest in American History began during his youth and he started reenacting about 30 years ago through the Boy Scouts. His first period of interpretation was the Rocky Mountain fur trade era of the 1830s, then 15 years ago he met...
Robert Pawling is a CLA artisan specializing in dyed porcupine quill embroidery of many kinds done on braintanned deerskins to produce 18th C. Northeast Native accoutrements. Bob has extended his style a bit in keeping with this years auction theme of westward expansion. Bob has produced a bag like the indians of the western plains and mountains were producing in the period of early contact. This bag has quillwork in the Wabanaki style of the upper Northeast Saint Lawrence region....
This is a Southern style banded horn of the type that would have been carried by militia or volunteers from the southern States in the War of 1812. This charming powder horn has been created by Ron Hess and the fine hand woven strap donated by Kris Polizzi. Ron lives in Georgia and makes powder horns and other items constructed of horn. He is a member of the Honorable Company of Horners and gives thanks to Art Decamp and Billy...
Cal Tanner is a maker of hunting pouches, haversacks, powderhorns and other items who is well known for his exceptional leather craftsmanship and quality. He has won numerous awards for his work, which, in Cal's own words, he approaches with the mindset of a professionally-trained eastern craftsman working with locally available materials after moving to the Ohio frontier at the end of the 18th century. Jim Hays and his wife Peggy are multi-talented artists with unique ability to capture...
Roger Sells is a well known contemporary builder and is a regular at the Lake Cumberland CLA Mini Show and at the KRA Show held at the Museum of Appalachia. He is noted for extremely well-made iron mounted Appalachian rifles and great Hawken rifles. Roger lives in an area of Tennessee where gunsmiths lived and worked during the 1800 to early 1900 time frame. Roger notes that he was exposed to iron mounted Southern rifles at the age of 12,...
By T.C. Albert Trekking across the Louisiana bayou two brothers rushed to get to the besieged port city before it was too late. Even though a decisive American victory had been declared, the pair was disappointed that the battle had ended and that they had missed the chance to share in its glory. The British had been "whooped"! And though Jim and his brother Rezin had just missed it, the other "Half Alligator-Half Horse" men that had followed Andrew Jackson throughout...
Joshua Shepherd created this piece. Titled "The Frontiersman" it is 21" tall and made of hydrostone with a hand-applied finish. This is number 14 of a limited edition of 50. (In honor of 1814 and in keeping with the theme of the auction.) The round hat, rifle, and hunting shirt are characteristic of the working frontiersman and the detail of the bag, horn, and belt are remarkable. "The Frontiersman" is a well done casting which catches the essence of the...
You may not have heard much about him yet, but Im sure you soon will. One of the youngest artisans of the Contemporary Longrifle Association, Joshua Crain approached us about donating a project to the 2013 War of 1812 fund raising auction, and then totally knocked it out of the park with this commemorative knife. We asked Josh if he might want to tell us a bit about himself and his project, and heres what he had to say: Hello,...
Written by Heinz Ahlers Todd Daggett is a carpenter by trade and a blacksmith for love of the art. He is an active member of the CLA and a member of the American Mountain Men since 1995. Todd strongly supports the CLA mission and says the Lexington Show is the only show he does all year. The plug bayonet is an early form of bayonet that is associated with use by the Canadian militia forces and native tribes during the French...
Ray Boessel Junior has graciously donated one of his Chippewa-style birch bark canoes as an auction item for the 2013 CLA show in Lexington. It is a scaled down version (model) of the larger size he makes at his canoe shop in Northern Minnesota, near the Big Fork River. It measures five feet long and almost a foot wide. The materials in its construction are the exactly the same as his large canoes. White birch bark is used for...
As the 18th century closed, treaties were signed and the frontier moved west. Among the Americans who volunteered from Kentucky in the War of 1812 were many veterans of the Revolution and the bloody frontier conflict that consumed the Ohio Valley and southern Appalachians for years afterward. Isaac Shelby served as a soldier in Lord Dunmore's War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. While governor of Kentucky, at age 63 he personally led the Kentucky militia in...
On the sleepy Indiana frontier, led by their War of 1812 veteran patriarch, a family of prolific hornsmiths carved their way into American folk art history. Francis Tansel and his sons John, Timothy and Stark produced such a consistent though uniquely decorated powder horn that today their work is instantly recognized and simply called the Tansel style. Though once only regionally appreciated as a mid-western powder horn, today top dollar is eagerly paid to own just an average Tansel carved...
By Guy Montfort Marvin Kemper has crafted a groundbreaking piece - a stunning, museum quality reproduction of an early 19th century longrifle in the style of the Bryan family of central Kentucky that he has graciously donated for the Contemporary Longrifle Foundation 2013 fundraising auction. By the time of the War of 1812 the "Kentucky Rifle" and the frontiersmen who used it had already captured the imagination of the American public. When the War grew imminent, the danger and perhaps...
Brian Anderson of Bristol Vermont is a well-known gunsmith, artist, teacher, and blacksmith, and he offered to put his skills to work for our 2013 CLA Fundraising Auction by making us a copy of the Squire Boone Pipe Axe. When you think of the Boones, you don't often think of their involvement in the War of 1812, and the little known story of Squires personal pipe ax is a good illustration of that point. Unlike their war service, it is...
Brooklyn, Michigan residents Wayne and Marilyn Holcombe are silversmiths by trade and operate XX TRADE SILVER. XX Trade Silver began 10 years ago when their close friend, Chuck Leonard, a premier silversmith taught them the art of silversmithing. Wayne chuckles when he relates how it all started. "I was involved with competition black powder shooting and Marilyn accompanied me to a lot of shoots through the years. One day Marilyn mentioned to Chuck Leonard that she got bored at the shoots...
CLA artist Donald Shaver handcrafted this circa 1810 to 1825 hunting pouch and horn set for the 2013 CLA fundraising auction. The pouch is based on the one seen on page 25 of Madison Grants book The Kentucky Rifle Hunting Pouch. He crafted the traditional deep D shaped pouch itself from bark tanned cow hide and like the original that had a strap made of old time listing, Donald used an old woven strap that he had on hand,...
Pushmataha is the most famous chief of the Choctaw nation and was the primary Choctaw war leader during the War of 1812. Pushmataha died in 1825 on a diplomatic mission to Washington DC and is buried there in the Congressional Cemetery as Brigadier General Pusnmataha. When CLA member Matt Fennewald heard the theme of the CLF auction was the War of 1812 he was enthusiastic about changing his original donation proposal of a horn and bag to a Choctaw bow....
Tim Crosby and TC Albert teamed up to make this copy of a Daniel Boone horn and pouch set. The set is based on images of a pouch and horn known to have once been owned by Daniel Boone, and traded to a neighbor along the Big Sandy River in the late 1790s. In the book, My Father Daniel Boone, his son, Nathan Boone relates some of the events taking place during this time period, when for several years the Boones...
A few years after the Boone family settled along the Femme Osage in Missouri, the War of 1812 broke out. Soon war parties of Native Americans loyal to the British began attacking American settlers up and down the Mississippi River. Though he wanted to serve, Daniel Boone was deemed too old to serve and stayed home to guard and protect the family. His son Nathan on the other hand, was ordered by William Clark to raise a company of...
Nationally renowned artist Pamela Patrick White has donated one of her exquisite works of art for this years CLA Fund Raising auction. Wiki Up shows a group of Woodland Indians lounging around the fire in the interior of a wiki-up, hence the title for the painting. The original pastel is framed in a handsome hardwood frame and measures a generous 34 x 29. This wonderful work of art by one of Americas foremost historical painters will make a beautiful...
By Heinz Ahlers Indiana gunmaker, Jerry Eitnier has been involved in the sport of muzzleloading for more than 40 years. He joined the National Muzzle Loading Association in 1973, and later became a charter member of the Contemporary Longrifle Association in 1991. In 1987 he built his first longrifle. Influenced by Hershel House's work, he builds guns as he terms them in the style of "the Hershel House Woodbury School" with iron mounted guns being his specialty. Jerry wryly comments, "Sometimes...
By Mark Sage(Reprinted by permission of Muzzle Blasts) On the morning of January 8, 1815, 2000 English Soldiers lay dead or wounded on a soggy, marshy battlefield six miles downriver from New Orleans. In a fight that lasted less than an hour, the Americans under Andrew Jackson had done the impossible and beaten the proud and powerful British army, touted to be the best in the world at that time. The Brits were well equipped, better supplied and had just...
Brooklyn, Michigan residents Wayne and Marilyn Holcombe are silversmiths by trade and operate XX TRADE SILVER. XX Trade Silver began 10 years ago when their close friend, Chuck Leonard, a premier silversmith taught them the art of silversmithing. Wayne chuckles when he relates how it all started. "I was involved with competition black powder shooting and Marilyn accompanied me to a lot of shoots through the years. One day Marlyn mentioned to Chuck Leonard that she got bored at the shoots...
Darrell Brandenburg was born 1941 in the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. He was raised on a farm some 30 miles distant from Alpena, the nearest large city. All of his life Darrell has been interested in American history, hunting, primitive skills, camping and being outdoors. These interests have been logged in over 30 years of historical reenactment. During that time Darrell made the majority of the accoutrements he needed for portraying various persona, developing the...
By Heinz Ahlers Indiana gunmaker, Jerry Eitnier has been involved in the sport of muzzleloading for more than 40 years. He joined the National Muzzle Loading Association in 1973, and later became a charter member of the Contemporary Longrifle Association in 1991. In 1987 he built his first longrifle. Influenced by Hershel House's work, he builds guns as he terms them in the style of "the Hershel House Woodbury School" with iron mounted guns being his specialty. Jerry wryly comments, "Sometimes...
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...
(Reprinted by permission of Muzzle Blasts, June 2013 issue) "Andrew Jackson's Dueling Pistol" By T. C. Albert An important firearm made by a renowned gunmaker for a renowned United States President now resides in that President's historic home. The gunmaker: Phillip Creamer The President: Andrew Jackson This distinguished firearm, a dueling pistol once owned by the illustrious President Jackson, currently resides at "The Hermitage", a historical landmark and museum located at Jackson's restored plantation home near Nashville Tennessee. Jackson was lauded as a national hero...
Old Hickory Salt Horn" by Harris Maupin During the War of 1812, the extraordinary acts of heroism and bravery of many American patriots became legendary and their names were entered into the pages of history. For many, even after the war, these deeds served to advance their careers in ways they probably never dreamed of. The feats of General Andrew Jackson, especially at the Battle of New Orleans, successfully propelled his political career to the very heights of presidency the...
War of 1812 Midshipmans Dirk by Glenn Mock The war of 1812 was ignited over our right to free trade and unrestricted shipping. To demand these rights, our fledgling maritime force had to square off with the Kings own royal Navy. Britannia prided the ability to rule the seas, and her fighting ships and the sailors that manned were some of the best disciplined and equipped in the world at that time. That didn't stop us from taking them on...
JACK HUBBARDS BATTLE OF HORSESHOE BEND POWDER HORN Though the War of 1812 was a nationwide war, most battles were fought in the Northeast, on the high seas and on the Great Lakes. But in the South turmoil among the Indians was promoted by the British and their Indian allies. The Creeks, known as the Red Sticks, armed by the British carried the war to the white settlers living on the frontiers, including forays into Tennessee. In August 1813, Red...
[Pictured above is Larry Spisak's copy of the Tecumseh Gun with the original below.] Dear readers, as promised, here is the first of the CLA live auction items. Some of you may have recognized the British Indian Department brand from the last CLA auction post. It is the brand applied to guns that the British gave to their Indian allies during the war of 1812. This year's live auction includes a copy of the gun once owned by Tecumseh, and...
A War of 1812 Militiamans Cartridge Box by Frank Barker In 1812, America's standing army numbered less than 12,000 men. Because of this, President Madison called upon local and state militia units to carry the day. They were simply asked to invade and capture Canada, which would quickly force the British into negotiations or even surrender. Things didnt prove quite so easy, but Madison was correct in assuming that a large burden of the fighting would indeed fall upon local...
An 18th CENTURY CAMPAIGN HORN and discharge papers By Scott and Cathy Sibley If you know anything about contemporary powder horns, then you know about the husband and wife team, from Wyoming, that have long been recognized as two of the nations premier horn makers. I am proud to tell you that for our 2012 live auction, Scott and Cathy volunteered to craft a beautiful war of 1812 themed campaign horn, but not satisfied to stop there, they took this special...
A Traditional Quill Decorated Storage Box Made 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...
In 1811, the Shawnee chief, Tecumseh, conducted a mission to the Creek Nation in Alabama. He urged the Creeks to throw off the white culture that many had adopted and return to the ancient traditions of their people. Many Creeks heeded Tecumseh's call, while others resisted. A civil war broke out among the Creek Nation in 1812, almost the same time the war between the United States and Great Britain began. The traditionalist faction, known as the Red Sticks,...
