Shell Carved Club Butt Fowler,

Shell Carved Club Butt Fowler, c. 1770. 39 in., .72 caliber octagon to round barrel with brass blade front sight; flat lock plate with double line border engraving and pointed tail engraved 'GRICD' and with an engraved crown below the pan; walnut stock with bold shell carving on both sides of the butt and around the breech plug tang, raised carving around the lock mortice and side plate plateau and concave carved fore stock; brass trigger guard with pointed finials, brass butt plate with long pointed tang, flat brass side plate with applied silver 'wings,' two sheet brass rammer pipes and a sheet brass entry pipe, with unusual long brass nose cap; steel rammer with flared tip and coarsely threaded jag end. Overall lg. 55 1/4 in. Condition: Barrel toned to deep brown with pitting at the vent area; lock toned mostly to brown with underlying pitting; stock has sliver losses along the barrel channel, old repair on the left side of the breech plug tang, old sheet brass patch behind the entry pipe; brass toned to yellow. Footnotes: Provenance Acquired from Norm Flayderman. 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. 101 and color plate p. 113, 116-117. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing