Rifle with percussion lock marked Leman, Lancaster, Pa. Plain brass mountings, set triggers, plain maple stock with artificial grain, and octagonal barrel marked H. Leman, Lancaster, Pa. Both round and elliptical patch boxes were used on this rifle
Rifle with percussion lock, full stock of maple with artifical grain, brass mountings, octagonal barrel 40 inches long marked H. Leman, Lancaster, Pa., Warranted. This type of rifle was probabl make early in Leman's career. The patch box, trigger guard, and toe-plate are attractively engraved. Much of the artifical grain remains on the specimen.
Rifle withflint lock, full stock of curlymaple, bass mountings, and octaonal barrel marked S. Miller in script letters on the top facet of the barrel.
The lock on this rifle indicates that it was made by S. Miller in the late flintlock period. One might reasonably expect to fined such a patch box on a rifle with a percussion lock. Miller is known to have worked in the percussion era.
Rifle with flint lock, full stock of curly maple, brass mountings, and octagonal barrel with P. Bellis engraved in the top facet of the barrel. The style of the patch box on this gun suggests a close connection with S. Miller who might be called one of Bellis' distant neighbors. His use of two rivets in the patch box lid also suggests that he was influenced by John Bonawitz of Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania. The rifle was probably made in the first quarter of the nineteenth century.
Rifle with flint lock, curly maple stock with "take down" feature, brass mountings, silver inlays, octagonal barrel 43 inches long with S. Miller engraved in script letters on top facet of barrel. The piercings in the side plates of the patch box and the toe-plate are attractive features of this rifle. The fish inlays on the cheek side of the rifle are a traditional Christian symbol. They are found on the walls of the catacombs near Rome.
Rifle with flint lock, curly maple stock with "take down" feature, brass mountings, silver inlays, octagonal barrel 43 inches long with S. Miller engraved in script letters on top facet of barrel. The piercings in the side plates of the patch box and the toe-plate are attractive features of this rifle. The fish inlays on the cheek side of the rifle are a traditional Christian symbol. They are found on the walls of the catacombs near Rome.
Rifle with percussion lock marked Leman, Lancaster, Pa., brass mounted with an attractive design engraved on the patch box, brass inlays, octagonal barrel marked H. Leman, Lancaster, Pa. Most Leman rifles with a half stock have round patch boxes and it is possible that this one was changed from a full stock to a half stock, however there is no evidence that a change was made in this gun.
