@AZ Muzzleloaders ,
I looked through my books, and I have not found anything yet. However, I checked
The Database of USA Gunmakers and it showed the following:
CALVERT, W. H.
Beloit, Wis. Mostly percussion hunting rifles. Made guns from 1857 until after the Civil War, but operated a sporting goods shop until 1909.
I've done a couple of Google searches using "
w.h. calvert rifle" as a search term, and turned up quite a lot. There have been a bunch of Mr. Calvert's rifles up for sale on the various auction sites, with at least two on the Rock Island Auction (RIA) alone. One of these was a very fine cased rifle with accessories, serial number 185. The write-up on this rifle included some biographical information about Mr. Calvert. Most of the listings used the same information that was posted in The Database of USA Gunmakers (above), stating that Mr. Calvert "Made guns from 1857 until after the Civil War...," but this particular RIA listing went into a little more detail, and stated he was building guns "...from the 1850's...," which could include the 1855 date on the rifle which is the subject of this thread. Check this one out at
American Percussion Rifle at RIA
Of the rifles I found online, I think the rifle you showed (No. 12) is the earliest. The next earliest was No. 123 (which was not pictured), followed by No. 149, No. 207 and No. 209. I thought I found one this morning that was numbered 239, but I can't locate it again at the moment. In looking at and comparing the rifles that were pictured, you can see the evolution of this gunsmith's production. No. 12 (the subject rifle) is very plain and unadorned... a working-man's rifle. The others show more embellishment, such as checkered wrists, and overall refinement. However, all of the rifles which were pictured had some common features: percussion half-stocks with very heavy barrels, back action locks, the scroll triggerguard with the spur (common on the "California" rifles of the era), and that odd, New York styled wrist-to-buttstock transition. One of the RIA entries acknowledged this New York style, and suggested W.H. Calvert may have moved to Beloit, Wisconsin from New York, and there were other gunmakers named Calvert in New York in the same general time period. in any event, Mr. Calvert evidently developed a design or style of rifle that he and his clients liked, and he stuck with it.
At least one of the rifles was noted to have a gain twist, and the cased set noted above had some moulds and conical bullets in the case with the rifle.
Finally, that same Google search included a link to a thread on the American Longrifles Forum concerning Wisconsin rifles. Calvert's name was mentioned, but there was no other information about him. However, both Ray Nelson and Curtis Johnson replied to the thread. Mr. Nelson is probably the foremost authority on Wisconsin guns. Curtis Johnson's focus is on Illinois gunmakers, but he is very knowledgeable with regard to rifles made in the upper midwest. I think you are a member of the ALR forum, and you could probably contact those fellows by private message to discuss the rifle you have. I believe Muzzleloading Forum rules prohibit posting a direct link to another forum, but you should find that thread with a simple Google search with
w.h. calvert rifle as your search term.
So, that doesn't give much solid information for you, but I hope it might help a little. I hope you will tell us more about "Old No. 12" after you have had a chance to examine it.
Best regards,
Notchy Bob
