Brass tacks and other bling

[Cattywompuss]

One of the greatest drool books of all time, an absolute must.

Indeed, I own many of his books. Shame that lubber was a lying snake in the grass. I don't usually speak ill of the dead, but being a pawn-broker who actually believes in being honest with people, what R.L. Wilson did is very troubling.

 

[Cattywompuss]

Here is an original from the Ambrose Antiques website:

View attachment 43164View attachment 43165

There is some evidence that at least a few guns were tacked before being sold. Henry Boller mentioned guns on the rack at the trading post where he worked, with tacks gleaming. Tack work on these old guns has always interested me, and in fact I wrote an article about it, published in Muzzle Blasts in the January 1981 issue. However, I think tacks need to be used judiciously. Tack work, like tattoos, can be easily overdone and hard to "un-do." Something simple, like the cross design shown above, can sometimes have a lot more appeal than more elaborate patterns. If there is even a remote chance that you might want to sell your gun in the future, you might think twice before tacking it. The design that is "big medicine" for you might look like defacing the gun to somebody else.

There have also been articles in Whispering Wind and the Museum of the Fur Trade Quarterly about brass tacks. I can look up the references if anybody is interested. For photographs of original tacked guns, R. L. Wilson's The Peacemakers is an excellent reference. You can find used copies online at very reasonable prices. Ryan Gale's For Trade and Treaty shows a few tacked guns, but not that many. I don't think they were as common as we like to think.

Notchy Bob

Used to be able to find his books at Barnes and Noble in the bargain aisle for $20 or so. Especially after his conviction.

 

[Cattywompuss]

tacks are like a fine whisky, you need an accuried taste for it.

My first taste of good whisky at 15 was enough to acquire me a taste for it. Churchill's Pub in the old spot on Bay Lane and Lincoln was less... shall we say... discerning about the age of patrons when old Will was keeping the bar. Of course, if I had tried to put tacks into that fine imported Walnut bar, Will woulda taken me to the cleaners.

 

[Notchy Bob]

Used to be able to find his books at Barnes and Noble in the bargain aisle for $20 or so. Especially after his conviction.

That would be in reference to R.L. Wilson, I think. His ethics aside, he put together some very interesting books. I've found a few historical errors in the texts of a couple of them, but the photographic work was uniformly outstanding. I always wondered how in the dickens he got access to all of those guns and artifacts.

Speaking of artifacts, here are a couple more old guns with tacks. I'm pretty sure this one is a Leman "Indian Rifle," although the curator just called it a "percussion plains rifle":

That rawhide on the wrist looks like a thong wrapped around and around, but if you enlarge the photo, you can see it's a solid piece, evidently stitched on the bottom side, with the stripes painted on.

This old Northwest gun has a very understated tack pattern, at least on the side that's visible. Just a few tacks outlining the butt, and a few on the forearm:

We note the actual buttplate is missing. Most museum curators will tell you the buttplate was removed "to make a scraper." Indians evidently used a lot of scrapers...

Both of these guns were previously in Frederic Remington's collection. I think I recognize the rifle in Remington's image of "The Old Trapper":

...and this might be the Northwest gun in his picture of "Gingras, the Trapper":

Both of the firearms are in the collection of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Here are links:

Leman Rifle

Northwest Gun

If you go to the link and click the double arrow above and to the right of the photo of the gun, it will bring up a larger image with additional navigation keys to enlarge it even more. You can really see the details that way. Maybe it's because I'm red/green and blue/green color blind, but clear black and white images bring out more fine detail than I can ever get from a color picture.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[Cattywompuss]

That would be in reference to R.L. Wilson, I think. His ethics aside, he put together some very interesting books. I've found a few historical errors in the texts of a couple of them, but the photographic work was uniformly outstanding. I always wondered how in the dickens he got access to all of those guns and artifacts.

Speaking of artifacts, here are a couple more old guns with tacks. I'm pretty sure this one is a Leman "Indian Rifle," although the curator just called it a "percussion plains rifle":

View attachment 115386
That rawhide on the wrist looks like a thong wrapped around and around, but if you enlarge the photo, you can see it's a solid piece, evidently stitched on the bottom side, with the stripes painted on.

This old Northwest gun has a very understated tack pattern, at least on the side that's visible. Just a few tacks outlining the butt, and a few on the forearm:

View attachment 115387

We note the actual buttplate is missing. Most museum curators will tell you the buttplate was removed "to make a scraper." Indians evidently used a lot of scrapers...

Both of these guns were previously in Frederic Remington's collection. I think I recognize the rifle in Remington's image of "The Old Trapper":

View attachment 115388

...and this might be the Northwest gun in his picture of "Gingras, the Trapper":

View attachment 115389

Both of the firearms are in the collection of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Here are links:

Leman Rifle

Northwest Gun

If you go to the link and click the double arrow above and to the right of the photo of the gun, it will bring up a larger image with additional navigation keys to enlarge it even more. You can really see the details that way. Maybe it's because I'm red/green and blue/green color blind, but clear black and white images bring out more fine detail than I can ever get from a color picture.

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

Well, as a consumate conman myself, I can say that the best way to con folks is to be an expert and Wilson was certainly an expert. Just a dishonest one. His knowledge and silver tongue garnered him access and wealth. He truly loved the guns. In that I see him as a kindred spirit. But he gave into greed.

That's some serious research you did there Notchy Bob. I began pouring over Wilson's books as a child 30 years ago. His Colt book was the most high quality coffee table book ever made. Fabric bound. My stepdads copy actually fell apart because I perused it so much. More like worshipped at the alter of firearms photography. That first tacked gun in your post is almost certainly a Leman. Looks like inspiration for Doc White's GRRW Lemans too... sort of.

 

[toot]

were the tack's just BLING for NATIVE AMERICANS or why did others put / used them on non NATIVE gun's? just what purpose did they do? and who installed them? the owners or the builders?

 

[COTNTOP]

Just finished watching the series Hawkeye with Linda Carter and a lot of the rifles had brass tacks on them.

 

[user 48702]

were the tack's just BLING for NATIVE AMERICANS or why did others put / used them on non NATIVE gun's? just what purpose did they do? and who installed them? the owners or the builders?

I think they were just bling that some liked. I can just visualize a brave, medicine man, or chief returning to the village after a shopping spree at the local trading post, with a tacked-up stock, drawing a crowd as all oohed and aahed over his latest acquisition. Kind of like in the 1950s, when Buick introduced their autos with the faux fender vents, "Three and Four Hole Buicks" as some called them. Some even pimped them up with a furry dash and fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror. They appealed to certain folks, others not so much.

 

[TNBandit]

I'm just here to steal ideas. I recently purchased a pair of antique guns from an online auction house that were being sold as a lot. It was the other one I wanted. But not being one to let anything go to waste I'm looking for ideas on how to "fix" this old Snider "Zulu" shotgun. The real story from what I've read was that these were never shipped to Africa or used by Zulus and in fact many went West to the Indians. So that left me wondering how they would have made this usable after one of them got drunk and left it too close to the fire. Any suggestions ? These don't have much value even in nice condition so I'm just wanting to do an interesting period type field repair. I still need to locate a hammer also. It's my understanding these started out as French muzzle loaders.

 

[tenngun]

were the tack's just BLING for NATIVE AMERICANS or why did others put / used them on non NATIVE gun's? just what purpose did they do? and who installed them? the owners or the builders?

Tacks come in handy but are easy to loose. Stick them in a gun stock pull them out when needed?

 

[toot]

I think they were just bling that some liked. I can just visualize a brave, medicine man, or chief returning to the village after a shopping spree at the local trading post, with a tacked-up stock, drawing a crowd as all oohed and aahed over his latest acquisition. Kind of like in the 1950s, when Buick introduced their autos with the faux fender vents, "Three and Four Hole Buicks" as some called them. Some even pimped them up with a furry dash and fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror. They appealed to certain folks, others not so much.

remember the saying-I don't care if it rains or freezes as long as I got my plastic JESUS. glued up there on my dashboard of my car. & I can go a hundred miles an hour , as long as I got the almighty's power. glued up there on my dashboard. something like that?!! 4 or 5 holes on a BUICK, you are showing your age!

 

[toot]

I'm just here to steal ideas. I recently purchased a pair of antique guns from an online auction house that were being sold as a lot. It was the other one I wanted. But not being one to let anything go to waste I'm looking for ideas on how to "fix" this old Snider "Zulu" shotgun. The real story from what I've read was that these were never shipped to Africa or used by Zulus and in fact many went West to the Indians. So that left me wondering how they would have made this usable after one of them got drunk and left it too close to the fire. Any suggestions ? These don't have much value even in nice condition so I'm just wanting to do an interesting period type field repair. I still need to locate a hammer also. It's my understanding these started out as French muzzle loaders. View attachment 115418View attachment 115419

one thing for sure, you can't hurt them. any thing would be an improvement!

 

[toot]

when they went west were they already converted to1 2 gauge shoot guns?

 

[TNBandit]

one thing for sure, you can't hurt them. any thing would be an improvement!

I have to clarify. Both pictures are of the same gun. The other is a pretty nice Snider Enfield and I didn't post it here because it's technically not a muzzle loader.

 

[toot]

OK! now that makes sence!

 

[TNBandit]

when they went west were they already converted to1 2 gauge shoot guns?

Yes. French muzzle loaders converted to breech loader in Belgium. A whole lot of them ended up being bought by Bannerman as I understand it and then sold to folks heading West who traded them with the Indians. Some were even issued to the Indian police like this example I found online.

 

[toot]

for what it is, it still beats carrying a muzzle loader. much quicker to reload!! thank's for the post. I did knot that INDIAN POLICE carried them. what reservation were they used on?

 

[toot]

Just finished watching the series Hawkeye with Linda Carter and a lot of the rifles had brass tacks on them.

you know that was a HOKEY SERIES. but I too watched every one of them they would grow on you like a rash. LOL!!

 

[TNBandit]

for what it is, it still beats carrying a muzzle loader. much quicker to reload!! thank's for the post. I did knot that INDIAN POLICE carried them. what reservation were they used on?

Here is a different one going by the placement of the tacks but it has the same shield. Says the Standing Rock Reservation Indian Police.

 

[TNBandit]

Here is another. Looks like they were pretty proud of this one.

Original French Tabatière Breech Loading Rifle Converted to Shotgun and Marked to Talequah Indian Police c.1880