Internet Antique Gazette » firearms & edged weapons

Cartouche – Definition

hcst — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 14:23:40 +0000

Cartouche – Definition

The decorative arts world has many “squishy” and vague vocabulary words, but few are “squishier” and vaguer than cartouche. Originally, the term comes from Egyptology and is used to describe a oval enclosing hieroglyphics and having a horizontal line at one end. (The line denotes royalty.) The oval had significance not unlike that of a closed circle, in that it was believed that an oval around a person’s name provided protection to that person. The strong association with the god-like royalty of ancient Egypt and the “good luck charm” nature of the symbol meant that it was eventually co-opted by the rest of the population and, as a result, it appears on all manner of structures and objects from the era.

Centuries later, when Egypt was a land divided constantly by conflicts, soldiers, seeing these ovals everywhere, are said to have found them to resemble the paper cartridges used in muskets. The French word for cartridge is cartouche and thus it became, in its original use, the term applied to this particular hieroglyphic element.

A Civil War-era example of a paper cartridge. (p4A item # D9865000)

Before long, however, the word cartouche began to be applied to any “ornamental enframement” as the Getty’s Art and Architecture Thesaurus puts it. That resource defines the term as being used to denote a space for “an inscription, monogram, or coat of arms, or ornately framed tablets, often bearing inscriptions,” and cartouche is often applied in this sense for the ornamentation surrounding a monogram or inscription on a piece of silver. The piece pictured here has a classic example of a “blank cartouche.”

Sterling silver vase with blank cartouche. (p4A item # E8906323)

While to most people the most accurate definition continues to apply only to this ornamental frame around an open space, it is also often used for objects like oval mirrors, which might be described as cartouche form if they have a heavily ornamented and decorated oval frame. In its most diluted “area of ornamentation” usage however, cartouche has also become the term for the central decorative ornamental element at the top of forms like a desk-and-bookcase or a high chest, whether they are oval in shape or not.

Spiller & Burr Revolvres

hcst — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 22:56:23 +0000

Spiller & Burr Civil War Confederate Revolvers

Courtesy of James Julia Auction Company, presented in conjunction with the sale of Spiller & Burr revolver, serial number 129 (p4A item # D9737705)

David J. Burr, of Richmond, Virginia, was an enterprising gentleman whose company had built a locomotive (1836) and a steam packet named, “The Gov. McDowell”, which navigated the James River and the Kanawha Canal (1842). In 1860, he is listed in the Richmond Directory as a commission merchant. Also an entrepreneur-commission merchant, but from Baltimore, was one Edward N. Spiller, a native of Rappahannock County, Virginia. He was a true Southerner at heart, and when Lincoln was elected in 1860, followed by Virginia’s secession from the Union, Spiller moved back to Virginia, settling in Richmond in the summer of 1861.

Spiller and Burr joined forces with James H, Burton, a Lt. Col. in the Confederate Army, to manufacture revolvers for the Confederacy. The revolvers were to be of the Whitney pattern, copied from those made by the Eli Whitney in New Haven, Connecticut. Unlike the Colt, first considered, the Whitney had a solid frame and was not open at the top, over the cylinder. James H. Burton was born in Virginia and educated in Pennsylvania, then apprenticed in a Baltimore machine shop. In 1844, he went to work at Harper’s Ferry Arsenal, becoming a foreman a year later. Truly a mechanical genius, he was soon elevated to the position of Master Armorer (1854). He travelled to England where he became Chief Engineer at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield, where he remained until 1860. He returned to Virginia where he was commissioned a Lt. Col. in the CSA Ordnance Department, and placed at the head of the Virginia State Armory.

With the capture of Harper’s Ferry Armory in mid April of 1860, Burton took charge of the removal of the rifle and musket making machinery, and of all the then-in-progress stands of unfinished arms, and moved it all to the site of the old Virginia Arms Manufactory, which became The Richmond Armory. Rifle muskets were fabricated using parts captured at Harper’s Ferry, then manufacture of the same weapons began shortly thereafter, using the newly reassembled machinery from the Harper’s Ferry works.

Spiller, Burr and Burton: partners, with the latter securing a contract with the Confederate Government for the manufacture of 15,000 revolvers (“of Navy size”), intended to set up operations at Richmond, but after its establishment as ‘The Richmond Small Arms Factory’, and after the manufacture of much of the necessary machinery, the operation was moved to Atlanta, away from the Union threat against Richmond. On June 9th, 1862, Spiller signed a lease for the rental of ‘Peter’s Mill’ the site of the new Spiller factory. Unpacking all the machinery and refitting the old mill, installing overhead shafting, etc. was extremely time consuming, and problems with the inadequacy of a supply of skilled workers and materials caused much delay,

The first pistol was completed and tested on the morning of December 15th, 1862. Twelve more were tested by Christmas of 1862, and strongly’ approved. Burton was desirous of making the barrels out of steel, rather than the iron used in most of the other Confederate weapons: the factory had enough steel stock on hand to accomplish this, but Spiller wished to sell the steel stock at the then existing high prices, and make the S&B barrels out of iron. Burton won out on this score, because all of the S&B barrels were made of steel; the only Confederate revolver entitled to make that boast. Production delays were caused by many contributing factors, so that the Spiller factory at Atlanta, hard-put to find an adequate skilled work force, was sold by Spiller & Burr to the Confederate Government and moved to Macon, Georgia, in January of 1864.
About 854 pistols were made in Atlanta. At Macon, incomplete pistols were finished from parts made it Atlanta, new parts were made for Atlanta made rejects, and some new revolvers were made. Through November of 1863, some 600 pistols were sent to the ordnance depot in Dalton, Georgia, for Confederate Cavalry (most probably went to Wheeler’s Cavalry). At Macon, pistol cylinders were also beginning to be made from steel starting during the last week in June of 1864, and by July 9th, no more iron cylinders were being made. September 2nd, 1864, saw the surrender of Atlanta to Sherman and Burton ordered the Macon pistol factory taken down and shipped to Savannah. Everything was placed in crates, ready for shipment when transportation became available.

Savannah never materialized: then North Carolina was considered, and dropped. With Sherman occupied in north Georgia, the crates were unpacked again, so as to resume production. Operations resumed in October, 1864, but by November 16th, the factory shut down because Sherman had started his ‘March to The Sea’, moving in the direction of Macon. Burton planned to ship the pistol making machinery to Columbia, South Carolina, and set up Operations again, but the Georgia Central Railroad was cut off by Union troops. Some work continued in Macon while some of the machinery was sent to Columbia. Burton would not give up; he then tried to get the machinery back to Macon to get back into operation, and he strove to accomplish this task until March 29, 1865, long after Columbia had been burned by Sherman’s men.

Macon had been making pistol parts right up until then. Work at the pistol factory halted forever on April 20th, 1865, eleven days after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox.

Bakelite

hcst — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 22:56:23 +0000

Bakelite

Scandal & the Story of Bakelite

Bakelite hit the market in 1907, heralding the arrival of the modern plastics industry. Bakelite was the first completely man made plastic, as until then, plastics such as celluloid, casein, and Gutta-Percha all had as a base a natural material. It was developed by Belgian-born chemist Dr. Leo Hendrick Baekeland who started his firm General Bakelite Company to produce the phenolic resin type plastic. Bakelite was inexpensive to manufacture and extremely durable, and made its inventor a wealthy man. In subsequent generations, however, the Baekeland’s family story was one of tragedy rather than triumph. In 1972 the schizophrenic great grandson of Dr. Baekeland stabbed his mother to death. Savage Grace, by Natalie Robbins and Steven M.L. Aronson, a book about the family and the murder, was a best seller when it was published in 1985.

Bakelite for Appliances & Jewelry

Early Bakelite was used almost exclusively in the manufacture of radios, appliances and electrical components because it was lightweight, inexpensive, durable, moisture-resistant and non-flammable. The limited color range of black, brown, and the occasional burgundy and dark green was appropriate for use as radio cabinets, vacuum cleaner parts, and electrical elements, but eventually, formulas were developed to produce the plastic in a range of appealing colors. Its ability to be carved and molded made it ideal for inexpensive jewelry. Early jewelry attempts to mimic more expensive materials like ivory amber, onyx, and jade, but by the 1930s, consumers began to appreciate the plastic for own qualities and Bakelite jewelry made its appearance everywhere from Sears Roebuck to Sacks 5th Avenue.

Colorful Art Deco Bakelite Gems

Artists and designers discovered the beauty and workability of Bakelite (and Catalin, a competitor who also produced a phenolic resin plastic). New technology created additional colors, and the plastic became available in scarlet, green, amber, brown burgundy, red-orange, and Kelly green and black and marbled. By 1934, yet another plastics company had produced a formula for Bakelite in pastel colors including willow green, light blue, pink and yellow. Due to the unstable nature of the chemicals used in the pastel colors formula, these pieces are hard to find, and as such, are among the most costly of Bakelite jewelry.

Bakelite Jewelry & Values

Bakelite could be molded, carved, or laminated, and designers and turned to the material for brightly colored, inexpensive flights of fancy to adorn everything from wrists to waists. Necklaces featured beads in a variety of sizes and colors, sometimes terminating in carved or laminated pendants. A popular choker style necklace consisted of pairs of bright red cherries on celluloid stems and leaves dangling from a celluloid chain (today $150-300.)

Bakelite Bracelets

Bracelets were stretchy, cuff, charm, wrap or tank-track styles. Stretchy bracelets consisted of beads or lozenges strung on elastic. Cuff styles could be wide and deeply carved, or narrower bands intended to be stacked together. The band could be smooth, molded (usually in a geometric pattern), carved, or pierced. Wrap bracelets were beads strung on wire, and tank-track bracelets featured overlapping semi-circular links. A quick check on eBay turned up bracelets on offer in prices ranging from $50-300. Deeply carved, wide red cuffs seem to fetch the highest prices, followed by amber, then green.

Bakelite Pins

A variety of pins were produced, either whimsical figurals or geometrics. The Art Deco love affair with the Scottie Dog was evident in the jewelry on offer. Horses also had a strong presence, but pins of elephants, penguins, marlins, and cherries are also available. Pins range in price from $118 for a lovely carved leaf, $130 for a carrot, $102 for a red horse head, and an almost shockingly low $18 for a classic Scottie in red.

Bakelite Jewelry Affordable (Again)!

Prices reached almost ludicrous levels in the early 1990s, and the jewelry became so popular that other Bakelite pieces such as poker chips, Tootsie Toys and Mah Jong tiles were frequently fashioned into jewelry. The market seems to have cooled, meaning that it’s once again possible to buy a fine Bakelite cuff bracelet for less than a gold one.

Reference note by p4A Contributing Editor Susan Cramer, August, 2011

Bakelite

Bakelite is named after its inventor, Belgian-born chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland (1863-1944). After emigrating to the United States in 1889, Baekeland dabbled in photography. In the late nineteenth century, photographic paper was so insensitive to light that prints had to be exposed outdoors in sunlight. Baekeland invented a more sensitive paper that he called Velox. He sold the rights to George Eastman in 1899 for a million dollars.

Now independently wealthy, Baekeland bought a farm near Yonkers, New York and set up a laboratory in the barn. He wanted to develop an insulating coating for copper wire, the kind of wire used to wind solenoids and motors. In those days wire was coated with shellac, which was laboriously made from the shells of the lacca beetle that inhabited southeast Asia. Shellac was expensive and in short supply. Could Baekeland develop a synthetic substitute?

In 1907, he prepared a mixture of phenol, formaldehyde and lye which had the color and the consistency of honey. Unexpectedly, the mixture hardened in its container, producing a solid whose surface faithfully duplicated the shape and the texture of its container.

It occurred to Baekeland that his mixture could be heated in molds to create objects of any desired shape. Thus was born Bakelite, the world’s first synthetic plastic. Baekeland founded The Bakelite Corporation to manufacture his material.

Bakelite is known by several generic names. It is referred to as phenolic because phenol (C6H5OH) is the main ingredient. Phenol is the preservative that is responsible for the “mediciney” smell of preschoolers’ paste and is the “mediciney” ingredient in antiseptic mouthwash.

It is also known as thermosetting because the chemical reaction that creates the solid actually occurs while the molding compound is being heated in the mold. Once the solid object has been formed, it cannot be softened again, unlike thermoplastics such as polystyrene that can be melted and re-used. This property makes thermosets useful for objects that might become warm, such as housings for electrical devices or even handles for kitchen pots and pans.

A Manning-Bowman coffee pot with bakelite handle, base and spigot handle. (p4A item # D9810832)

Baekeland’s competitors also made thermosets, and the word “bakelite” (small b) became a generic term denoting phenolic from any manufacturer. To further complicate things, The Bakelite Corporation later became a distributor of polystyrene, which was sold under the trade name Bakelite.

The original lump of Bakelite was a transparent amber-colored solid whose appearance Baekeland described as “frozen beer”. A few products were actually molded that color, notably ladies’ combs that were meant to simulate hand-carved tortoise shell.

Most Bakelite was made with additives that altered its appearance or mechanical properties.

Flock (short cotton threads) was often mixed with molding compound so that the threads would become embedded in the finished product. The fibers improved Bakelite’s mechanical strength, much as steel reinforcing rods strengthen concrete.

The most common appearance for a Bakelite object was opaque black, which was produced by incorporating carbon black into the molding compound. The ubiquitous black rotary-dial telephone was manufactured of black Bakelite.

A Henry Dreyfuss bakelite telephone. (p4A item # B126428)

In the 1930s it became possible to make Bakelite in colors other than black by adding suitable pigments before molding. This led to the use of phenolic for costume jewelry and other decorative items.

A bakelite “bow tie” pattern bangle bracelet. (p4A item # D9769092)

Bakelite objects are manufactured by a process known as compression molding. A pre-measured amount of molding compound is placed between two halves of a mold, which are then closed together. Initial heating softens the compound to the consistency of putty. High pressure forces the compound into every nook and cranny of the mold. Continued heating promotes the chemical reaction that produces the solid object. Automated molding presses could operate unattended, producing a finished object every 1-2 minutes.

Bakelite’s popularity began to decline in the 1940s as thermoplastics became more readily available. The first major thermoplastic was cellulose acetate, which was made from a byproduct of the cotton gin. Intricately-shaped objects can be fabricated by injection molding. Molten plastic is forced into a mold under high pressure, where it cools and solidifies. Since cellulose acetate was derived from an agricultural product, supply could not keep pace with the growth of demand. After World War II, polystyrene (made from petroleum) quickly became the most popular thermoplastic.

The days of manufacturing collectible jewelry from Bakelite are over, but phenolics continue to be used for applications where heat resistance is required, such as electrical equipment or cookware.

Reference note by p4A Contributing Editor Joseph H. Lechner, Ph.D.

Leech & Rigdon

hcst — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 22:56:23 +0000

Leech & Rigdon, Confederate Arms Manufacturers

Courtesy of James Julia Auction Company, presented in conjunction with the sale of Leech & Rigdon percussion revolver made in Greensboro, Georgia, SN 836 (p4A item # D9737741)

Thomas Leech first comes to notice in the Memphis City directory in the mid-1850s, as a cotton broker, and is also listed under “Guns, Pistols, Leech, Thomas, of Leech, T & Co.” Leech was probably an agent for a gun manufacturer, rather than a manufacturer at that time. Charles Rigdon, meanwhile, was listed in the St. Louis City directory as “C. H. Rigdon, Engineer”. It is believed that Rigdon and Abel Shawk were close friends, and that Rigdon rented his machinery to Shawk & McLanahan for their production of the Shawk & McLanahan percussion revolver.

Next, we find Rigdon moving to Memphis, several blocks away from Thomas Leech’s Memphis Novelty Works, which he had established, and which was busily engaged in the manufacture of military cutlery and brass castings of all kinds: such items as cavalry sabres, infantry swords, artillery swords and Bowie knives of every description. Rigdon and his machinery had obviously joined up with Thomas Leech, and together they formed a partnership, still under the name and style of Memphis Novelty Works.

In March of 1862, they bought 1.25 Acres of land in the heart of Columbus, Mississippi, and still advertising in the Memphis Appeal, “Swords! Swords! Swords!,….Large lot just received from our manufactory in Columbus, Mississippi, for sale at Novelty Works, (dropping the ‘Memphis’, for the first time). A later ad in May of 1862 in the Memphis Appeal: “Notice! Swords! Swords! … for sale cheap if application is made today …. we are going to start for Columbus, Mississippi, Friday morning … Leech & Rigdon Novelty Works” (the first time Rigdon appears in the company name). There was a very small production of revolvers at the Columbus location, one gun being found with “Leech Rigdon, Novelty Works, CSA”, which was a standard Leech & Rigdon made at Columbus.

Late in 1862, with Columbus, Mississippi being threatened by the Union Army, Leech & Rigdon moved to Greensboro, Georgia, and shortly thereafter, submitted a brace of Colt-type revolvers, which had been made at Columbus, to the Confederate Government, for the purpose of obtaining a manufacturing contract.

In March of 1863, about a month after purchasing the Old Greensboro Steam Factory, Leech & Rigdon contracted with the Confederate Government for the furnishing of 1500 Colt type revolvers. They apparently ceased the manufacture of edged weapons at this time, and making revolvers was the major activity at Greensboro. Mid-December of 1863 saw the dissolution of the Leech & Rigdon partnership, with Rigdon taking his gun making machinery and moving on to Augusta, Georgia, where, operating with a new partner, Jesse Ansley, under the firm name of Rigdon & Ansley, completed the Leech & Rigdon contract, and went on to manufacture the Rigdon & Ansley revolver.

Chief Sitting Bull – Sioux – Tatanka-Iyotanka

hcst — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 22:56:23 +0000

Sitting Bull, Sioux Chief (circa 1831 to 1890)

Sitting Bull, the man who would later become the Hunkpapa Sioux chief, was born in South Dakota, near the Grand River. His Lakota name was Tatanka-Iyotanka. In his thirties, he began to build his reputation as a warrior, leading war parties in Red Cloud’s War against a number of Dakota Territory forts. Although the U.S. negotiated with the Sioux in order to end the war and although Chief Gall signed the Treaty of Fort Laramie in July of 1868, Sitting Bull, who never trusted the government’s promises, refused to acknowledge the treaty and continued to lead raids in the area into the 1870s.

It is, however, the events of June, 1876 for which Sitting Bull is known: leading a large band of warriors (historians debate the numbers, but estimates range from 900 to 2000) against roughly 650 officers, troops and scouts, annhilating the advance troops. Of course, public outcry brought even more troops and scrutiny to the Sioux, and Sitting Bull was forced to retreat with approximately 200 Sioux to Canada during the spring of 1877. For several years Sitting Bull refused to surrender and offers of a pardon, but by 1881, the combination of the weather, hunger, and dwindling numbers forced him to return. After surrendering at Fort Buford, Sitting Bull and his band were transferred to Fort Yates, and later to Fort Randall, where they were held for nearly two years.

An O.S. Goff cabinet card portrait of Sitting Bull. (p4A item # D9994743)

By spring of 1883, Sitting Bull returned to the Standing Rock Agency, and by 1885, he received permission to begin traveling with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, which lasted for four months. For $50 a week, he performed as part of the show, gave autographs, and met admirers, before returning to Standing Rock with a new attitude toward relations with whites. While living in the Dakotas, Sitting Bull had only seen small settlements with frontier technology and small groups of whites, but during his travels, he gained a much better sense of how large America was, the number of whites, and the technological advances being made. Although only gone a short time, he returned home convinced that the Sioux would be destroyed if they continued to fight.

Sitting Bull’s autograph on an autograph album page. (p4A item # D9961940)

For the next four or five years, Sitting Bull lived a fairly peaceful life on the Standing Rock Agency, continuing to make money from selling his photograph or autograph, but in 1890, the Ghost Dance movement began. The fervor with which the Plains Indians embraced the Ghost Dance movement alarmed whites, who were nervous that after years of reduced tensions, the Ghost Dance would reignite the violence of the Indian Wars.

In the late fall of 1890, James McLaughlin, the U.S. Agent in charge of Standing Rock, became concerned that the Ghost Dancers were about to leave the agency and that Sitting Bull might accompany them, potentially become a roving band with a prominent figure to promote rebellion. McLaughlin decided to send men to arrest Sitting Bull on December 15, 1890. Perhaps worried about not appearing in control, 43 men arrived just around dawn to arrest Sitting Bull. Some of Sitting Bull’s people encouraged him to resist, and perhaps concerned that the situation would get out of hand, members of the police began to attempt to use force. Members of Sitting Bull’s community were outraged. Catch-the-Bear, a Sitting Bull supporter, shot Bullhead, one of the policemen, setting off a round of gunfire that left Sitting Bull and six policemen dead along with seven Sioux. Two policemen would die later of wounds.

Sitting Bull’s body was taken to Fort Yates for burial. In 1953, his Lakota family had his body exhumed and moved so that he could be reburied closer to his place of birth, but there is some discussion that the body moved was not that of Sitting Bull.

Hollie Davis, p4A Senior Editor, January 29, 2010

James, Jesse – Revolver Provenance

hcst — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 22:56:23 +0000

The Revolver and Holster Rig of Jesse Woodson James, American Outlaw

The James family history regarding this Colt Model 1860 revolver, belt & holster rig is mostly well-documented. When Jesse James was killed his wife Zerelda notified his cousins Rufus, Babe & Lamartine Hudspeth who were living near Lake City, Missouri, of Jesse’s death and asked them to come assist with the funeral. They immediately drove to St. Joseph, Missouri to help Zerelda and were called on to identify the body. After the funeral Zerelda told the Hudspeth Boys that “Jesse’s trunk was hid in the attic and that Jesse would want them to have it”, that there were some of Jesse’s things in it.

When they returned to Lake City they looked into the trunk (p4A item # D9737834) and discovered this Colt revolver, belt & holster rig. Consignor states that he recalls that he was told that Jesse’s old Confederate uniform was also in the trunk but that it was moth-eaten and unusable so it was thrown away. Babe Hudspeth took possession of the Colt, belt & holster rig with Rufus taking the trunk. Rufus died in 1895 and the trunk was passed down through his family eventually to consignor’s niece who has consigned it to be sold following the Colt.

Before Babe Hudspeth died he gave the Colt, belt & holster rig to consignor’s grandfather, Robert R. Elsea, who passed away in 1924. In about 1938 consignor’s father asked consignor’s grandmother if he could have Jesse’s gun to which she agreed. Consignor states that he remembers as a child, often seeing “the gun” in a bedroom dresser drawer was told “don’t you boys touch Jesse James’ gun”.

In 1938 when consignor’s father took possession of the Colt he was living in Wetumka, Oklahoma and removed the Colt to that town with him. In about 1940 consignor’s father moved to Henderson, Nevada where he lived for the next thirty years or so working at a defense plant during the war and later as a deputy sheriff. He also owned ‘The Victory Club’ in Henderson, NV which he sold in 1969. Consignor states that Jesse’s gun & rig were displayed in the club until too many customers insisted on buying it, so his father removed it and put it into a lockbox in the Bank of Nevada.

In 1969 consignor’s father moved to Independence, Missouri and left Jesse’s gun & rig in the bank vault in Nevada. In 1973 he moved back to Wetumka, OK and in 1974 asked his stepdaughter and her husband to bring Jesse’s gun to him. They complied, which is attested to by sworn affidavit, and he put the gun & rig into the vault in Holdenville, OK. Consignor’s father passed away in March 2002 with the gun & rig still in the vault in Holdenville.

In 2005 consignor’s stepmother Rozelle Elsea, after serious illness had given power of attorney to her eldest daughter, Jodell Kilcrease. While visiting his stepmother in a nursing home in 2005, Jodell said “Jesse’s gun was still in the vault and that it rightfully belonged to me”. She said the next time I was back there I could pick it up from the bank vault. Consignor states he took possession of the Colt & rig in November 2006 and that it has remained in his possession until being consigned to this auction.

Also accompanying this lot is a signed notarized statement from Jodell Kilcrease identifying herself as the stepdaughter of Robert R. Elsea (and therefore the stepsister of consignor) and states that on Nov. 8, 2006 she and consignor went to the bank vault in Holdenville, Oklahoma and she relinquished possession of this Colt revolver, belt & holster rig, which she identified by serial number. She also gave a brief statement regarding the history of the items which coincides with the history above. Another notarized affidavit is from Roberta Ruth Elsea of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, wherein she states that she owns a Hudspeth family Bible dated 1868 which was given to her by Frances Miller Elsea, consignor’s mother on Dec. 25, 1984 and that the original picture of Babe Hudspeth and his cousin, Oscar Thompson was in the Bible when she received it and that on Aug. 20, 2007 she gave this picture to consignor.

Additionally accompanying this lot is a 3-ring binder containing a large volume of historic and family genealogical information proving beyond any reasonable doubt that the consignor is a direct descendant from the Hudspeth family and is directly related to Jesse James through his mother, Mary Frances Miller, through the Massie Woodson and Mims (or Mimms) line and through his father, Robert R. Elsea, who was the son of Robert R. Elsea & Mary Amanda Hudspeth who helped to raise consignor. Consignor states in part of his family narrative that there is a family photo that he currently cannot locate, which shows consignor’s father as a baby sitting on Frank James lap. Consignor states that the photograph was taken in the house where he was born and that the house still stands.
This lot, most importantly is accompanied by the original CDV-sized photograph of two men in period clothing with one having a beard and wearing a frock, coat who can clearly be seen wearing this exact belt, with holster mounted backwards. The reverse of the photo is inscribed “Cousin Oscar Thompson” on one side behind the gentleman on the right in the photo and the other side is inscribed “Uncle Babe Hudspeth”. The photograph was taken at Winans’ Photography Rooms, Independence, Missouri and is so printed on the back.

Given the absolute historical family connection to the James family with this set never having left possession of the Hudspeth descendants, there can be no doubt whatsoever that this is an authentic Jesse James owned and used Colt, belt & holster rig and the following facts combine, clearly, to prove this:

1) The order of descendancy from Jesse James to the consignor:

2) There is an extraordinary photograph (or CDV) from approximately 1886 of Babe Hudspeth wearing this exact belt & gun, identifiable in the photograph.

A) Jesse James’ widow Zerelda, gave Jesse’s trunk containing this Colt, belt & holster to Rufus & Babe Hudspeth, Jesse’s cousins, immediately after Jesse’s funeral. Rufus kept the trunk and Babe took the Colt, belt & holster rig.

B) Before Babe’s death in 1907 he gave the Colt, belt & holster rig to consignor’s grandfather, Robert R. Elsea who was married to Mary Amanda Hudspeth, Babe’s favorite niece.

C) Consignor’s father, also named Robert R. Elsea, received the Colt, belt & holster rig in 1938 from his mother after consignor’s grandfather had died in 1924.
D) The Colt, belt & holster rig were stored by consignor’s father, first displayed in his father’s “The Victory Club” in Henderson, NV, then in the Bank of Nevada.

E) Consignor’s father’s step-daughter, Connie J. Morris, and her husband, Delmer Morris, In June 1974 removed the Colt, belt & holster rig and transported it to consignor’s father in Wetumka, Oklahoma as is attested to by a notarized statement from Connie J. Morris. Colt, belt & holter rig were then placed into the bank vault in Holdenville, Oklahoma.

F) Consignor took possession of the Colt, belt & holster rig on Nov. 8, 2006, as is attested to by a notarized affadavit of Jodell Kilcrease, who is the stepdaughter of consignor’s father, dated April 17, 2008.

3) Jesse James’ full signature which is scratched on belt tab and belt keeper.

4) A signed & notarized statement from current owner and direct descendant of Babe Hudspeth dated May 8, 2009.

James, Jesse – American Outlaw

hcst — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 22:56:23 +0000

Jesse Woodson James, American Outlaw

Courtesy of James Julia Auction Company, presented in conjunction with the sale of Jesse James’ personal Colt revolver and holster rig (p4A item # D9737835)

Jesse Woodson James was born Sept. 5, 1847 in Clay County, Missouri. He had an older brother, Frank and a sister. His father, a minister, left soon after Jesse was born to go to California to “minister” to the 49er miners. He died in California when Jesse was three. His mother, Zerelda, remarried to Ruben Samuel with whom she had four more children. At the outbreak of the Civil War the James/Samuel family sided with the Confederacy with Frank soon joining on the Confederate side. Frank became ill early on and returned to Missouri where, after he recovered, he joined a small guerrilla band operating in their neighborhood.

Sometime in 1863 to 1864 the Union Army sent a force to try to capture Frank’s group and came to the Samuel farm searching for them. They briefly hanged Mr. Samuel and allegedly whipped Jesse, to no avail. Frank escaped and in 1864 he and 16 year old Jesse joined the notorious Confederate raider and guerrilla fighter Bloody Bill Anderson. Apparently they didn’t stay with Anderson very long before joining the more notorious William Quantrill. The James Boys, along with three of their cousins, Robert Hudspeth, Rufus Hudspeth & William Napoleon “Babe” Hudspeth all rode with Quantrill until at least January 1865. It is unclear when the James Boys returned home but it is known that in January 1865 the three Hudspeth boys left Quantrill and returned to Missouri. Another cousin, Lamartine Hudspeth maintained a farm in the area of the James/Samuel place and was later to play a role in supplying them with horses and sanctuary.

Frank & Jesse James and Babe & Rufus Hudspeth were with Bloody Bill Anderson at the battle & massacre at Centralia, Missouri on Sept. 27, 1864. That morning Anderson led about 80 guerrillas, some dressed in stolen Union Army uniforms, into Centralia to cut off the North Missouri Railroad. The guerrillas looted the town, blocked the rail line, stopped an approaching train and overran it. There were about 125 passengers on board which were separated into civilian and soldier groups. The soldiers were stripped of their uniforms and when Anderson called for an officer, Sgt. Thomas Goodman bravely stepped forward, expecting to be shot. Instead, Anderson’s men ignored Goodman and shot the others, then mutilated and scalped the bodies. The guerrillas then set fire to the train and sent it down the tracks after which they torched the depot and rode out of town. About 3 p.m. that same afternoon, 155 men of the newly formed 39th Missouri Infantry Regiment (mounted), rode into Centralia in pursuit. This force soon encountered the guerrillas and decided to dismount and fight on foot. The Federal recruits with single-shot muzzle loaders were no match for the guerrillas with their revolvers. Of the 155 Union soldiers in this regiment, 123 were killed that afternoon. According to well-known history, in addition to carbines & shotguns, the guerrillas usually had at least two revolvers and some with as many as four or five on or about their persons most of the time and would have been able to present a formidable wall of lead.

When the Confederacy surrendered Jesse was still riding as a guerrilla under the command of Archie Clement, one of Quantrill’s lieutenants, while Frank had ridden to Kentucky with Quantrill. Clement’s group was apparently trying to decide their next course of action when they encountered a Union patrol and Jesse was severely wounded with two bullets in the chest. Jesse was returned to his uncle’s boarding house where he was attended by his cousin, Zerelda Mimms, who was named after Jesse’s mother. Jesse & Zerelda were later to marry. Jesse recovered from his wounds and, as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Jesse & Frank and the Younger Boys with various other occasional members formed a gang and robbed trains & banks over the next sixteen or so years. After the fiasco at Northfield, Minnesota where the gang was badly shot up with three being killed and the others wounded, only Frank & Jesse escaped the law and the gang was never the same afterward, with the new members they recruited. During the course of the criminal career of Frank & Jesse and various members of their gang, they would frequently stop by various family members’ homes for food, rest or horses. Family history relates that Lamartine Hudspeth, cousin to Jesse & Frank, who owned a farm in the area, always kept fresh horses in the stable should they be needed. Frequently he would come out in the morning to feed the animals and find the fresh horses gone and hard ridden, tired horses in their places. Other members of the James/Hudspeth/Samuel extended family were also frequently called on for food, shelter or horses for members of the gang. As in all things there is an end and so it is with Jesse & Frank James. Jesse was assassinated by Bob Ford on April 3, 1882 in his own home.

Buffalo Bill Cody

hcst — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 22:56:23 +0000

William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody

The year 1883 neatly divides William Cody’s former life as a hunter, scout and guide from his later career as a showman. He was 37 in this year of transition.

The early life of William Frederick Cody (1846 to 1917) was colorful, adventurous and, thanks to Dime novels, exaggerated. He fought for the Union Army in the Civil War at 18. By 21, he earned his lifelong nickname by hunting buffalo and supplying the meat to the Kansas Pacific Railroad. At 22, he helped locate Tall Bull’s camp at Summit Creek, Colorado, and killed a number of Cheyenne in the battle. Eight years later he killed and scalped Yellow Hair (mistranslated as Yellow Hand even in a document in this data base), a Cheyenne chief at the battle of War Bonnet Creek, Colorado. He later regretted the murder and campaigned for Indian rights. He probably also rode for the Pony Express for a few months. He was an accomplished Indian scout, buffalo hunter, guide and marksman.

Cabinet card photograph of Buffalo Bill Cody. (p4A item # D9877572)

In 1883, he formed Buffalo Bill’s Wild West, a show featuring living legends of the Wild West. The show toured the country and England reenacting battles and events. At various times, the show included Will Bill Hickok, Bronco Billy, Texas Jack, Sitting Bull, Tim McCoy and Annie Oakley. Wild West was a success for 30 years. Nebraska Governor John Thayer commissioned Cody an honorary colonel in 1886. Cody revered the title and used it in his show’s publicity and throughout the rest of his life.

Program from an 1891 performance of Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show. (p4A item # A079740)

Beginning in 1910, Cody began a series of Wild West farewell tours that ended in Denver, Colorado, in 1913 where the show went bankrupt. All of the tents, seats, animals, wagons and his prized phaeton coach were sold at auction. Cody followed that loss with a role in a film that recreated his exploits.

Throughout his life, Cody invested in mining, live stock, ranching, coal and oil developments, film making, tourism and publishing. In 1895, he and others developed land around Yellowstone National Park into the town of Cody, Wyoming. Although his boyhood home near LeClaire, Iowa, was moved to Cody in 1933, Buffalo Bill and his family lived primarily in North Platte, Nebraska and Rochester, New York. He is buried on Lookout Mountain, Colorado.

Reference note by p4A.com Contributing Editor Pete Prunkl.

Shakudo Definition

hcst — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:56:30 +0000

Shakudo – Definition

Shakudo is the Japanese term for a copper and gold alloy consisting of 2% to 7% gold and the remainder copper. This alloy can then be treated to achieve a blue-black color sometimes resembling lacquer. It was historically used to make and/or decorate Japanese swords. Contemporary jewelry makers have revived the use of shakudo for its unusual and beautiful coloring.

p4A editorial staff, March 2013

The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. James Grievo – Provenance-Pook May 2012

hcst — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 16:51:58 +0000

The Collection of Mr. and Mrs. James Grievo, Stockon, New Jersey

It all started around 1971. Just home from college and having a difficult time finding a job, I started going to house tag sales where I would find small interesting things to sell to antique dealers. It was something I really enjoyed doing, and 1 was amazed I was making real money for the first time. I soon realized that this was what I wanted to do with my life.

I began traveling to local auctions where I became friendly with a man named Joe Bazata. For several years we bought and sold together. I gained a great amount of knowledge from Joe about redware and slipware Pennsylvania pottery, and it was that knowledge that helped launch my wonderful collection.

In the summer of 1972, I made my first big antique trip to Brimfield, Massachusetts, to what was then only Gordon Reid’s Market. I was absolutely in awe of all the dealers and great merchandise available there. I will always remember this little guy running up and down the aisles with a knapsack strapped (0 his back. Sticking out of this sack was a long stick with something hanging off of the end of it, swinging back and forth. I tracked him down, introduced myself, and asked about the strange contraption he was toting around. He replied that it was a Betty Lamp. I wondered what the hell a Betty Lamp was. And that was the beginning of a lifelong friendship with Frank Gaglio, my most loyal and dear friend who has always been there for me through the good times and the bad.

Brimfield, though, was just the beginning of my travels. Over the years I continued to buy many wonderful objects in Brimfield, but knew I had to expand my search to find other amazing things. Through my journeys, my real passion, a love of weathervanes, started. I began buying and selling them in the early 70′s. To me, there was something so wonderful about the surface of a weathervane. It always amazed me that these utilitarian objects withstood the extreme and relentless pounding of their environment year after year. Every weathervane tells a different story of how time and location impacted its appearance. Weathering from the top to the bottom, some present a crusty surface while others are simply an untouched weathered surface that takes at least seventy-five years to create. As with anything you look at, when you study a good surface, it speaks for itself. As years went by, I tried to purchase objects that were very special to me in some way. Maybe it was the vibrant colors or the way it was carved that called to me. Sometimes it was just a great untouched surface on a piece of furniture. I always tried to buy the very best I could afford to buy, and sometimes way more than I could afford to buy, which reminds me of a story.

One Saturday I traveled to county sale outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was a local farm house. When I arrived, all the items were in the back yard. I walked around but did not see anything I wanted to buy. Just then, I saw two men carrying a yellow drysink from the house. When I saw it up close, I knew I had to own it. I patiently waited all day, and finally they put it up. I was nervous, but I was sure I could buy it for around seven hundred dollars. Drysinks at the time were selling for around two hundred and fifty dollars. The bidding began and stopped around three hundred. I started bidding against a farmer standing in the back of the sale. We went back and forth: $1,200, $1,500, $1,800. I had waited all day, so I didn’t want to stop. Finally, at $2,250, he backed off and I bought it. Caught up in the pursuit of this sink, I completely lost track of reality. I didn’t even know if I had that much money in my checking account. Afterwards, the farmer came up to me, congratulated me on the drysink and introduced himself. I didn’t know who he was, but I was glad I grabbed the piece from him. On my way home I stopped at my good friend Dick Machmer’s house to say hello. He asked what I bought, and I showed him the drysink. He asked who bid me up so high. I replied, “a farmer named Bill Koch.” Dick said he had never known someone to outbid Bill. Well, I had done that. And that was how I started a friendship with Bill and got the drysink that is in this sale.

On another Saturday morning, I was driving around in Bernardsville, New Jersey, looking for garage sales. There was a sign out at the end of a long driveway that read “SALE TODAY”. I drove down and saw this early stone farmhouse and out in front of the house I spotted this wonderful green two-door cupboard with a white piece of paper taped to it that said “$50.00″. I bought it immediately and then thought to myself, how in the world am I going to get this 5′ wide 6′ high cupboard home when I’m driving a 1968 Volkswagen Beetle?

I found some rope in the barn and began lacing the cupboard to the roof of the car. The entire time I was thinking this was like a grade school science project where you had an egg and you had to throw it off a roof without it breaking. Only I was trying to tie a flat cupboard on a round egg. Down the highway 1 went, stopping every ten minutes as the cupboard slid left and right and then forward so I couldn’t see where I was going. But I made it home safe and the cupboard made it to this sale. As with many of the objects I bought throughout the years, there are many wonderful and memorable stories.

All through the 80′s and 90′s, I pursued the business of antiques with relentless passion and extreme diligence. In 1990, I bought Secret Meadow Farm and sold my redware pottery collection to my very dear friend and collector, a gentleman in every sense of the word, Paul Flack. These forty years flew by and I was very fortunate through the years (0 be able (0 go out and find, with the support of my wife, several very special pieces. In search of things every day, I traveled over 40,000 miles a year in search of the best I could afford to buy. Every day there was a destination, but it was not the destination that was important to me, it was the journey, a 1,600,000 mile journey. Even though I was able to amass great treasures on my adventures, it was truly the journey itself that was priceless because it gave me the opportunity to meet wonderful people and build lasting friendships. I know I wouldn’t be where I am or have what I have without my friends and colleagues, and it was my daily treks for treasures that led me to them. It will continue to be a remarkable journey, but now my priorities have changed, and I am at a point in my life where I would like to simplify a little bit, help my children out more, and do some different things. I will always stay in the business, but not in the same way I have these past forty years. Still, I will always have my wonderful memories and friendships.

As the years go by, our lives change and so do our priorities, I have had some good things occur as well as some bad. It’s these times that make you realize what’s important, like your loved ones and the friendships you’ve made. I have to mention David Wheatcroft a brilliant man and one of my best customers. Whatever he bought and sold, we always would see with the same eye. And there is Fred Giampietro, who I’ve known forever, and I always in my eye sold him
wonderful things. He has always been way ahead of everybody else. Sam Herrup, my good friend, is the most dedicated and honest dealer I know. My good friends Susan and Sy Rappaport were the ones who introduced me to Susan and Jerry Lauren, two people with impeccable taste. James and Nancy Glazer need to be mentioned. The Glazers are two of the most gracious people anybody could possibly know. And last but not least, I can’t forget my dear friends Helen and Scudder Smith who never miss covering a great auction or show. The antique business would not be the same without them. I mention these friends because they all have had some impact on my career throughout the years. There are way more I would like to mention, but I would have to go on for an eternity.

How many people wake up every morning excited to go to work? Well, for the past four decades I have. The career path that I stumbled upon not only provided enough for me to support my family, but it also presented me with opportunities to see beautiful and wonderful objects, to appreciate extraordinary craftsmanship, and to revive the souls of artists forgotten long ago. The path that I chose gave me the chance to build lasting friendships with individuals who shared my passion for collecting antiques. I spent years building a collection of pieces that spoke to me, and now I would like to share these pieces with the world again.

It is with great sadness and great pleasure that I turn over my things to my good friends Ron and Debbie Pook to sell at auction without reserves.

Have fun, Jim