Rifle with flint lock. Stock of maple wood, octogonal barrel, brass mountings and patch box cover of wood. Marked Joel Ferree on top facet of barrel. Mid-eighteenth century.
Flintlock rifle, maple full stock, brass mounted, silver inlay on the cheek side, octagonal barrel, 48 inches long. Although this rifle has an unusually long barrel its most unusual feature is the signature of the maker, G. Weiker, on the lid of the patch box. On a few of his products he is known to have included the price on the lid of the patch box which was usually $15. Weiker was an expert in the technique of incised carving. His rifles are rare and usually command a high price because of his novel method of advertising.
From "Pennsylvania Kentucky Rifle" by Henry J. Kauffman, page 93: "A pair of such pistols, made by Fredrick Zorger of York, Pennsylvania, is exhibited in the Winterthur Museum, at Winterthur, Delaware. They are stocked in walnut, have silver mountings, and a very delicate pierced pattern in the lockbolt plate. The round barrels taper in the traditional manner and have "Yorktown" engraved on the top near the breech. The plain handmade locks are quite incongruous to the balance of the workmanship,
The invention of the percussion lock doubtless stimulated many craftsmen to improve on the early pattern. The function of this side hammer or "Mule ear" lock was satisfactory but it never was popular with gunners and few of them were made. Some of them were made by men who seem to have been experimenting rather than producing locks in quantity. A side hammer lock in Henry J. Kaufman's collection has the mainspring on the outside of the lock plate.
Although this lock is the only one known to the writer made by Drepperd of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, it is not surprising that he made one. He was a fine craftsman and it is reasonable that he would try his hand on this strange style. It also possible that he made it for a customer who specifically asked for such a lock. It is obviously the shape of a standard percussion lock and is beautifully engraved in the style and workmanship of a fine lock maker.
