Product Description
CHAMBERSBURG SCHOOL PENNSYLVANIA LONG RIFLE ABRAHAM SCHWEITZER .50 Antique
Franklin County, PA Striped Maple Stock Silver Eagle
Here we present an antique Abraham Schweitzer Long Rifle, made circa the 1820s in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Abraham Schweitzer (1769-1831) was a gunmaker in Pennsylvania in the late 18th century and early 19th century. In the late 1700s it appears he was based in Lancaster County and located in the Antrim Township in the late 1700s to around 1804, and Chambersburg in Franklin County beginning in 1805. In Chambersburg he was located at the intersection of Front and King Street and he is considered by some to be the founder of the Chambersburg School of gunmaking. Schweitzer was married to the daughter of Jacob Fordney and sister of renowned Pennsylvania rifle maker Melchior Fordney; there are noted similarities in some of their work that hints at how they may have influenced each other. Other notable gunsmiths, George and Frederick Biddle, apprenticed under Schweitzer.
This rifle features a half-length striped maple stock with an octagonal barrel in .50 caliber. Nice, deep rifling. The muzzle flat has some punchdot decoration the full circumference of the barrel. The top flat of the barrel is signed “A. Schweitzer”. The lock is marked “R.B.” within a banner. The nosecap is pewter cut in the shape of a heart on either side so that the maple stock shows through. The brass patchbox has a pierced finial on the right side and a silver oval on the left side on the cheek piece with Schweitzer’s characteristic engraved eagle. The patchbox door release is located on the underside of the toe of the stock where there is a small metal plate with a rounded finial. Double set triggers. The initials “IF” are engraved on the front of the trigger guard.
The overall condition is very good. Original finish/patina. The action is excellent. The bore is in great shape with sharp rifling. The maple stock shows two old cracks, one in front of the lock and one in front of the trigger guard; both are stable.
Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.
Barrel is 41-1/8 inches.
Caliber: .50 Percussion
Overall condition as seen in photos.
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$4400
#230883