Kentucky Rifle Auction

[rev214]

Over 200 Kentucky rifles will be auctioned this week in Lancaster County, PA.

Philly Inquirer:

A private collection of Kentucky rifles, those frontier firearms that actually were made in Pennsylvania and Virginia, will be a highlight of Dan Morphy's three-day sale next week, the biggest in the five-year history of the Lancaster County auction company.
The more than 220 long rifles from the collection of the late Joanne and John Holman will be offered at 10 a.m. next Friday at the second session of the sale at Morphy's gallery (2000 N. Reading Rd., Denver, Pa., www.morphyauctions.com) not far from the huge Adamstown antiques and flea-market complex. Like so many these days, the auction also is being carried online at LiveAuctioneers (www.liveauctioneers.com).
Developed in colonial America before the Revolution, the long rifle offered greater accuracy at a longer range than the shorter-barreled, smooth-bore musket imported from Europe. The rifle was introduced by German gunsmiths who immigrated to new settlements in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Many of the rifles in the sale are expected to bring three-figure prices, and at least two, five figures. One, made around 1790 by Pennsylvanian John Phillip Beck, who worked in the Cornwall area of northern Lancaster County, carries a presale estimate of $15,000 to $25,000. It won a blue ribbon at the 1999 Kentucky Rifle Association meeting in Carlisle.
A later model, made around 1815 by Peter Berry of Dauphin County, has a presale estimate of $10,000 to $15,000, even though it underwent restoration, including reconversion to flintlock.

[Willtallica]

Oh, I could just about cry! What I would do to have this thing moved a month over. A kentucky long rifle, is my dad's childhood dearest dream.

[rev214]

Kentucky rifles top $500K in SRO session of Morphy's $2.5M sale

DENVER, Pa. - More than 1,000 antique firearms enthusiasts attended Dan Morphy Auctions' preview prior to the standing-room-only Aug. 14, 2009 sale of the late John Holman's collection of 220 antique Kentucky rifles and powder horns. The selection of handmade rifles - many of them crafted by German immigrant gunsmiths of the 18th and 19th centuries - broke the half-million-dollar mark in Morphy's $2.5 million Aug. 13-15 auction event.

"People came from all over to bid on these guns - Connecticut, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina and, of course, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They filled two overflow parking fields," said the auction company's owner, Dan Morphy. "The preview was so busy, we had to hire two extra employees to help out."

The top-selling rifle, at $20,700 inclusive of 15% buyer's premium, was a 1785-1790 J.P. Beck (northern Lancaster County, Pa.) rifle with exceptional rococo carving. It previously had won a blue ribbon for "best relief carving" at the Kentucky Rifle Association's annual show.

"Even though we knew the guns would fly, we weren't expecting so many of them to go two and three times their estimate," said Morphy. "There were 30 guns estimated at $1,200-$1,500 that at least doubled their high estimate, with some selling for as much as $7,000."

Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers added incredible punch to the final tally. Over the three-day auction period, 714 lots sold through LiveAuctioneers, with an average daily online sell-through rate of 23.7%.

[DeHuff]

Hello, my name is Bill and I am the step-son of Philip DeHuff who is 91 years old. Philip Is the decendant of Henry DeHuff who was a gunsmith and made the "Kentucky Long Rifle" for the Conestoga Indians back in the early to mid 1700's. He is desperately trying to locate one of these guns to purchase before he passes on to have for his legacy and to hand down to the relatives in his will. are there any of these guns out there for sale that he can purchase? He can be best reached by phone at 412-835-3162. He is not computer literate so I signed up for this forum for him. Please get back to either of us immediately before the good Lord takes him away from us.
Thank You! my email address is: billychrist2001@yahoo.com

[Miltonvondamm]

Hello Bill. I hope you see this reply. I am writing an article about a group of Lancaster rifle makers in the early 1800's that was formed to make military guns for the war of 1812 and Indian rifles for the US Indian Department. The group was called Dickert, DeHuff & Co. and consisted of Jacob Dickert, Henry DeHuff, George Miller, John Bender, Christopher Gumpf and Peter Gonter. I need information about Bender, DeHuff and Miller. If anyone can help it would be appreciated. Milt
My e-mail address is mvdamm@sbcglobal.net

[tdyoung58]

Hello Bill. I hope you see this reply. I am writing an article about a group of Lancaster rifle makers in the early 1800's that was formed to make military guns for the war of 1812 and Indian rifles for the US Indian Department. The group was called Dickert, DeHuff & Co. and consisted of Jacob Dickert, Henry DeHuff, George Miller, John Bender, Christopher Gumpf and Peter Gonter. I need information about Bender, DeHuff and Miller. If anyone can help it would be appreciated. Milt
My e-mail address is mvdamm@sbcglobal.net

might want to contact Bender here on the forum, usually found in the Lebanon section

[Miltonvondamm]

Thank you. I wonder if Mr. Bender is relatded to the kentucky riflemaker John Bender? Milt