US$2,500 - US$3,500
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Christopher Fox
Director
1797 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Contract Musket Attributed to John Foundersmith,
Lancaster, County, Pennsylvania, c. 1797-1801.
Lancaster, County, Pennsylvania, c. 1797-1801.
Overall lg. 59 5/8 in.
Footnotes
Provenance
The David Steward Collection, #380.
Literature
This musket is illustrated in David A. Stewart and William M. Reid, Pennsylvania Contract Muskets: 1797 Arms Procurement Act, (American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin No. 91, 2005), p. 91/26, Figs. 29, 30.
Note
The musket is attributed to Foundersmith's contract under which 500 arms were produced for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lock interior is stamped "IFS" which may be John Foundersmith of Lancaster County. The interior lock mark could simply be Foundersmith's identification as lock maker. The barrel is marked "IK" probably for John Kerlin of Berks County. If Foundersmith only fabricated the lock, the musket may be one of Kerlin's contracts.