Looking for JJ Henry rifle to purchase
- Thread starter KPL
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Pete G
76 Cal.
post in Wanted to buy section. You might get better response.
Thanks
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plmeek
40 Cal.
KPL,
Best to check the major auction houses such as Morphy Auction, Cowans, Rock Island, Poulin's Antiques, etc. on a regular basis. Prior to Covid19 they occassionally have a J Henry or JJ Henry gun offered in an auction. Things seem to have slowed down with Covid, but still worth checking future auctions.
Not sure what you mean by "Henry Arms". I don't know of any period they used that name or marked guns that way.
The Henrys were a multi-generational gun making family that began with William I of Lancaster who was in the gun making business before the F&I War. He was followed by his son William II of Nazareth. William II had two sons that went into the gun making business, John Joseph and William III. J. Joseph Henry first started up in Philadelphia and often worked with his father on government musket contracts. Around 1812, J. Joseph and William III formed a partnership and William III started building facilities for barrel forging/boring and lock making operations in Boulton while J. Joseph assembled muskets, pistols, rifles, etc. in Philadelphia. At the end of 1822, J. Joseph closed his Philadelphia facilities and moved to Boulton. Shortly after he bought out his brother who went into the iron smelting business. J. Joseph brought his son, James Henry into the business in the early 1830's. J. Joseph died in 1836 and James took over the business and operations in Boulton. He eventually brought his son Granville Henry into the business. They continued to operate until the end of the 1800's.
So five generations of the Henry family made firearms for about 150 years.
They made all types of firearms from military muskets and military pistols to civilian rifles and civilian pistols and fowling pieces. In the J. Joseph and James Henry years, they made rifles in several different patterns. J. Joseph and William III were born, raised and likely apprenticed in Nazareth which is in the Lehigh Valley. Many Henry rifles show the Lehigh Valley school traits such as the curved butt stock. They also made rifles in the Lancaster school pattern and of course in the Philadelphia school.
After they built the Boulton facilities, they made lots of barrels and locks that they sold to other gun makers. They also imported English locks that were stamped with their name and sold these to other gun makers. You may see a rifle or pistol with J HENRY or JJ HENRY on the lock and another name on the barrel. These are likely guns made by by the person whose name is on the barrel.
PLMEEK:
Thanks very much for the info. Agree my use of “Henry Arms” was not clear; just meant firearm made by any of them prior to JJ. Thanks very much for the info. I’m looking mainly because I just learned the other day that JJ is my 6th or 7th great grandfather so I’m definitely interested in the info you provided. Thanks again.
KIP
plmeek
40 Cal.
KPL,
Here are a number of articles about your ancestors and the guns they made.
https://journals.psu.edu/pmhb/article/view/60720
http://www.jacobsburghistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Henry-family-genealogy-JHS.pdf
https://americansocietyofarmscollec...-The-Henrys-Gunsmiths-and-Arms-Manufactur.pdf
https://americansocietyofarmscollec...-Lock-Stock-and-Barrel-The-Henry-Gunsmith.pdf
http://www.jacobsburghistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/March-2008-.pdf
https://preserve.lehigh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1526&context=etd
http://www.jacobsburghistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/William-Henry-and-Henry-Albrecht.pdf
The link below is to the website of the Jacobsburg Historical Society. There is a wealth of information here. The Society maintains a number of historical buildings as museums including J. Joseph Henry's 1832 mansion. It might be something you want to join.
Jacobsburg Historical Society
You may or may not be aware that JJ's full name was John Joseph Henry, but he went by Joseph his whole life. He often wrote his name J. Joseph Henry but marked a number of his guns simply as "J HENRY" for Joseph Henry. After his father's death, James Henry also used the "J HENRY" mark on his guns. This can cause some confusion. If the "J HENRY" is over "PHILA", that would be JJ. If the "J HENRY" is over "Boulton", that would most likely be James, but there were several years that J. Joseph worked at Boulton before James was old enough to be involved in the trade that he might have used "J HENRY" over "Boulton", too.
Here are a number of articles about your ancestors and the guns they made.
https://journals.psu.edu/pmhb/article/view/60720
http://www.jacobsburghistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Henry-family-genealogy-JHS.pdf
https://americansocietyofarmscollec...-The-Henrys-Gunsmiths-and-Arms-Manufactur.pdf
https://americansocietyofarmscollec...-Lock-Stock-and-Barrel-The-Henry-Gunsmith.pdf
http://www.jacobsburghistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/March-2008-.pdf
https://preserve.lehigh.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1526&context=etd
http://www.jacobsburghistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/William-Henry-and-Henry-Albrecht.pdf
The link below is to the website of the Jacobsburg Historical Society. There is a wealth of information here. The Society maintains a number of historical buildings as museums including J. Joseph Henry's 1832 mansion. It might be something you want to join.
Jacobsburg Historical Society
You may or may not be aware that JJ's full name was John Joseph Henry, but he went by Joseph his whole life. He often wrote his name J. Joseph Henry but marked a number of his guns simply as "J HENRY" for Joseph Henry. After his father's death, James Henry also used the "J HENRY" mark on his guns. This can cause some confusion. If the "J HENRY" is over "PHILA", that would be JJ. If the "J HENRY" is over "Boulton", that would most likely be James, but there were several years that J. Joseph worked at Boulton before James was old enough to be involved in the trade that he might have used "J HENRY" over "Boulton", too.
plmeek
40 Cal.
KPL, to follow up on my first post about the auction houses, here are some recent JJ Henry guns that sold at auction to give you some idea of what's out there and their relative value.
This is a typical Kentucky style rifle made after J. Joseph Henry moved from Philadelphia and before his son, James, started working for him. (Sorry for all the "white" space. This is the way the auction house formatted the photo.)
This is a link to the auction listing of the rifle above which shows more photos, a description of the rifle, and the final sales price.
Flintlock Full-Stock Rifle by J.J. Henry
This is another similar rifle.
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/52/3232/jj-henry-marked-kentucky-flintlock-rifle
This is a military style pistol.
RARE JJ HENRY, BOULTON FLINTLOCK HOLSTER PISTOL. - James D. Julia, Auctioneers
This is a civilian "Kentucky" pistol.
Lot Detail - (A) A FINE AND RARE J.J. HENRY BOULTON FLINTLOCK KENTUCKY PISTOL.
This is an example of a rifle built by Andrew Albright, a relative of JJ's by marriage, that was made with a "J.J. HENRY" marked lock. It has the lines of a Lancaster rifle and is very similar in style and characteristics to the rifles made for the American Fur Trade and used by trappers in the Rocky Mountains.
The auction company description makes it sound like JJ Henry's firm made the rifle, but they only made the lock or possibly had it made in England and marked with their name.
https://www.rockislandauction.com/d...ked-kentucky-flintlock-rifle-with-powder-horn
This is a typical Kentucky style rifle made after J. Joseph Henry moved from Philadelphia and before his son, James, started working for him. (Sorry for all the "white" space. This is the way the auction house formatted the photo.)
This is a link to the auction listing of the rifle above which shows more photos, a description of the rifle, and the final sales price.
Flintlock Full-Stock Rifle by J.J. Henry
This is another similar rifle.
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/52/3232/jj-henry-marked-kentucky-flintlock-rifle
This is a military style pistol.
RARE JJ HENRY, BOULTON FLINTLOCK HOLSTER PISTOL. - James D. Julia, Auctioneers
This is a civilian "Kentucky" pistol.
Lot Detail - (A) A FINE AND RARE J.J. HENRY BOULTON FLINTLOCK KENTUCKY PISTOL.
This is an example of a rifle built by Andrew Albright, a relative of JJ's by marriage, that was made with a "J.J. HENRY" marked lock. It has the lines of a Lancaster rifle and is very similar in style and characteristics to the rifles made for the American Fur Trade and used by trappers in the Rocky Mountains.
The auction company description makes it sound like JJ Henry's firm made the rifle, but they only made the lock or possibly had it made in England and marked with their name.
https://www.rockislandauction.com/d...ked-kentucky-flintlock-rifle-with-powder-horn
PLMEEK:
Thank you very much. I look forward to reading those articles and learning more. Might join that historical society as you suggest. Truly appreciate the time you’ve taken to supply such great information.
KPL, to follow up on my first post about the auction houses, here are some recent JJ Henry guns that sold at auction to give you some idea of what's out there and their relative value.
This is a typical Kentucky style rifle made after J. Joseph Henry moved from Philadelphia and before his son, James, started working for him. (Sorry for all the "white" space. This is the way the auction house formatted the photo.)
This is a link to the auction listing of the rifle above which shows more photos, a description of the rifle, and the final sales price.
Flintlock Full-Stock Rifle by J.J. Henry
This is another similar rifle.
https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/52/3232/jj-henry-marked-kentucky-flintlock-rifle
This is a military style pistol.
RARE JJ HENRY, BOULTON FLINTLOCK HOLSTER PISTOL. - James D. Julia, Auctioneers
This is a civilian "Kentucky" pistol.
Lot Detail - (A) A FINE AND RARE J.J. HENRY BOULTON FLINTLOCK KENTUCKY PISTOL.
This is an example of a rifle built by Andrew Albright, a relative of JJ's by marriage, that was made with a "J.J. HENRY" marked lock. It has the lines of a Lancaster rifle and is very similar in style and characteristics to the rifles made for the American Fur Trade and used by trappers in the Rocky Mountains.
The auction company description makes it sound like JJ Henry's firm made the rifle, but they only made the lock or possibly had it made in England and marked with their name.
https://www.rockislandauction.com/d...ked-kentucky-flintlock-rifle-with-powder-horn
Thanks very much. Nice looking firearms.
KPL, If you're looking for an original JJ Henry rifle, the information already posted should help. If you're looking for an authentic replica of a JJ Henry original, I suggest you check out [email protected]. It's a small company in Nevada and that's their only business. J. Henry Artificers is run by a gentleman named Larry Walker. Larry has studied, handled, measured, and photgraphed originals of all the J. Henry rifles he could locate and does a fine job of building replicas. I'm particularly fond of his Scrollguard Henrys, but there were probably more of the English style guns used during the Fur Trade Era. Let us know what you think please, and feel free to tell Larry that Tanglefoot says "Howdy."
