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Jonathan Browning
John M. Browning
LOT 1076
Historically Significant Harmonica Rifle Built by Jonathan Browning, Carried with Him During the Mormon Exodus, and Purchased from the Browning Family with Documentation - NSN, 45 percussion cal., 32 inch octagon bbl., bright finish, maple stock. According to renowned firearms expert and author Norm Flayderman, very few of these unusual rifles are known to exist, and they are “rarely seen or traded on the open market place.” This example is one-of-a-kind and was manufactured in the 1840s in Illinois, in either Quincy or Nauvoo. Its history can be traced back to members of the Browning family who stated that it was passed down from father to son for generations directly from Jonathan Browning, who carried the rifle with him while walking with the wagon train from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Utah due to the violent persecution of the Latter Day Saints sanctioned by state governments in the East. Browning was trained in gunsmithing and blacksmithing in Tennessee. He opened his own shop in Quincy, Illinois, and designed his “slide action” rifle in 1834. He was Quincy’s justice of the peace and personally knew Abraham Lincoln when he was still a young lawyer on the Illinois court circuit. He converted to Mormonism after personally meeting Joseph Smith and his followers in nearby Nauvoo. Hostility towards Mormons in Quincy caused him to sell
his property and join his fellow Latter Day Saints in Nauvoo in 1842. There he continued to build firearms that helped the Mormons protect themselves from violent persecution. Soon though, the violence escalated and Smith himself was gunned down. The remaining Mormons were driven from Illinois. Browning temporarily settled in Council Bluffs, Iowa, before joining the Mormon migration to Utah in 1852. During that migration, this rifle no doubt provided a sense of security during the dangerous journey of 1,000+ miles on foot. Once settled in Ogden, he and his sons repaired
the firearms of other settlers until he died in 1879. He was the father of the famed American firearms innovator John Moses Browning, famous for his numerous designs that led to the creation of many iconic firearms including multiple Winchester lever actions, the Browning Auto-5, Colt Model 1911, Browning Auto Rifle, Browning .50 caliber machine gun, and the Browning Hi-Power. As a young boy, John had worked in his father’s shop. The documentation states that gunsmith and firearms collector John Kontes had first seen this rifle and the single shot in the office of a Buick dealership owned by J. Ed Browning, a John M. Browning descendant, after learning of them while shining the man’s shoes. He stated that the rifles had been passed down from father to son for generations. When J. Ed Browning died without any children of his own, he gave the rifles to his younger brother who had twin sons: “Ed” and Merwyn. Ed received the harmonica rifle, and Merwyn received the deluxe single shot. Kontes purchased this harmonica rifle directly from Ed. A copy of the original check written to “J. E. Browning” for this rifle is included along with a hand written bill of sale signed “J. E. Browning.” The rifle has no identifying markings, but was clearly made by Jonathan Browning. There is a slight flourish of engraving on the top of the barrel at the breech, and it has blade and notch sights in the style often found on Kentucky rifles. The smooth walnut half stock also has a Kentucky style butt and furniture. The block has five chambers. Sling swivels are fitted on the middle ramrod pipe and the lower tang. The trigger has a grip extension that curls at the rear. A short wooden ramrod is included.
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