GUN SPRING 2017
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, April 11, 2017.
EXCEEDINGLY RARE AND DESIRABLE CONFEDERATE RISING BREECH CARBINE (BILHARZ, HALL & COMPANY).BILHARZBREECH LOADING CARBINE8554Cal. 54. One of the great rarities in Confederate arms collecting and one of the most sought after long arms in the arms collecting field is this "Rising Breech Carbine" made in Pittsylvania Courthouse, VA by Bilharz, Hall & Company. There are only 16 of these guns known and this is among the very best of them. There are also two variant styles. Murphy and Madaus in their text Confederate Carbines & Musketoons differentiates this as a Type I where "the extreme rear end of the lever has an open loop comprising about 3/4" of a circle. The upper part of the loop has a small horizontal flange which locks into a groove on the upper part of the curved iron extension that completes the circle. This extension maintains latching pressure by means of an interior flat spring attached to the trigger plate". Type II carbines have latching mechanism consisting of a sliding loop attached to an iron block in a slot on the inner aspect of the lever. A plunger rod passes through the block and two integral brackets; a coil spring encircles the plunger rod and maintains pressure. In their text, Madaus & Murphy lists this gun as being the highest SN known.
Bilharz also produced a muzzle loading percussion carbine. Subject carbine is in .54 caliber SN 85, and fired a paper cartridge. The breechblock rises vertically when the trigger guard/lever is lowered. Iron mounted on a two-pc walnut stock, the round barrel measures 21" long and is secured by a single flat barrel band. There is a sling ring mounted on the left side of the stock. The SN appears on the frame, breechblock, inside the lever and on the underside of the buttplate and on stock behind baseplate. "CS" is stamped on the breech of the bbl and on the breechblock. Proof mark "P" is found above the "CS" on left bbl breech. The front sight is a pinched blade style with a three leaf graduated rear sight. The Bilharz, Hall & Company gun factory was built in what was a tin shop/foundry on Main Street in Chatham, Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Candidus Bilharz was the principal in the firm. Bilharz was an immigrant from Baden, Germany who was naturalized in Pittsylvania County in 1859. He was a harness maker, vintner/distiller, miller and mechanic who lived near Tanyard Branch in Chatham. It is amazing when you think about all of the German connected Confederate arms manufacturers. Bilharz's partner George Hall was a prominent businessman who owned a small tin shop along with extensive land holdings in the county. Col. Coleman D. Bennet was a silent partner in the firm and was presumably its chief benefactor. Bennett was a man of enormous wealth who owned vast tracts of county land plus a whole block of buildings on Main Street in downtown Chatham. Records show that thirty-eight people were employed by the gun works, and those fit for military service were given Confederate draft deferments due to their profession. Some of the names of the employees were as follows: G.C. Haden, A.C. Haden, R.L. Haden, John H. Shelton, Nathaniel Shelton, C.L. Mott, James Motley, B. Riddle, J.D. Reynolds, B. Reynolds, J.T. Abbott, C.P. Oakes, John H. Brown, M.B. Dickson, William Brown, Frank Compton, R.W. Hall, J. Beaver, J.H.C. Hutcherson, and Benjamin Dyer. Ages of the workers ranged from 18 to 40. Job titles included the following: Stocker, Rifling Hand, Polisher, Vice Hand, Band Holder, Helper and Mechanic. The 400 or so firearms of all types (mostly muzzle loaders) produced from August of 1862 through March of 1864 (when operations ceased) were manufactured under contract with the Confederate Ordnance Department. Records also show that the firm purchased thousands of pounds of "skelp iron" from the Confederate government for use in rifle bbls. Interestingly, the company also manufactured 1745 wooden stocks at a dollar each for other rifle factories. These carbines did not receive favorable reports from Confederate ordnance inspectors; nonetheless, they most certainly saw service in the arms strapped South. ONLY 100 of these Rising Breech Carbines are thought to have been produced with only a handful known examples in the collecting world and museums. Here we have a superb opportunity to obtain one of the rarest of Confederate long arms in excellent condition. PROVENANCE: Ex-Collection Col. Arthur Crego, 1960. CONDITION: Very good-fine overall. All metal surfaces are gray/bright with scattered areas of staining and pitting. Bore exhibits good discernible rifling. Markings including proofs "CS/P" and serial numbers are all crisp and easily discerned. Stocks are sound and solid with scattered small dings and nicks. Mechanically sound and functional. 51612-1 JS (40,000-60,000)