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LOT 212
American W. Matheson Signed Flintlock Pistol - NSN, 65 cal., 13 1/4 inch part octagon bbl., bright
finish, hardwood stock. The well-known Rhode Island gunmaker Welcome Mathewson (b. 1778) was
active in the early 19th century in Burrillville, Rhode Island, but the elegant style of this pistol, including
the lock and furniture, is stylistically appropriate for the first half of the 1700s suggesting this pistol was
from an earlier maker, perhaps his great uncle Winchester Mathewson (1721-1778) who moved to the
Wyoming Valley and where his son Nero died in the Wyoming Massacre. Another son, Constant, was
killed at the Battle of Mud Fort, and his third son, Elisha, survived the war and was discharged after
seven years of service in 1783. The smoothbore, octagon to round barrel is signed “W MATHESON” and
has simple incised bands at the transition point and no sights. Changes in the spelling of names in the
period were common, and the block letter style markings are more common on earlier firearms. It is
built with an early bridle-less lock with stepped tail and “banana” profile. The furniture is mostly brass
aside from the lightly engraved silver thumbpiece attached by delicate nails and showing the faint
dotted marking “IC”. The ramrod entry pipe has some nice engraving on the finial, and the trigger
guard has a shell finial. The stock appears to be cherry and has a gracefully sculpted hexagonal
wrist, nice molding, raised floral carving by the upper tang. The wood ramrod tapers to the
rear. Comparisons have been drawn between this pistol and the Matthew Sadd pistol shown
in Merrill Lindsay’s “The New England Gun” that is estimated to date to the mid-1700s, but
American pistols of this vintage are very rare making wider comparisons very difficult.
CONDITION: Good with light gray patina and minor pitting on the lock and barrel, aged
patina on the brass furniture and silver escutcheon, distinct designs, and moderate wear.
The stock has a repaired crack visible in the wrist, distinct carving and molding, and
general mild wear. Mechanically functions.
Estimate: 7,000 - 11,000
LOT 211
Historic Relief Carved Ivory Lion’s Head Pommel
Hanger Sword Documented as Found in
the Attic of the Gansevoort Mansion
and Attributed to General Peter
Gansevoort, Revolutionary Hero of
Fort Stanwix - This sword features a
lightly curved 26 1/2 inch blade with a 8
5/8 inch false edge and double fuller, a
leather base washer, brass crossguard with
fleur-de-lis pattern quillons and engraving, a
copy chain knuckle guard, and a carved ivory
grip with a lion’s head pommel, foliate designs,
and grooves. The sword comes in a display
case with a plaque reading: “REVOLUTIONARY
WAR HERO/OF FT. STANWIX/General Peter
Gansevoort/SWORD/CA 1750.” Swords
with lion head pommels were popular
in the mid-18th century to early 19th
century in England, France, and the American colonies, typically with brass or silver pommels and ivory grips. Multiple published examples are known that
are identified to American officers during the French & Indian War and the American Revolutionary War, including a sword given to George Washington by
his brother John. A sword inscribed “Rochambeau’s Sword Presented by Gov. Tompkins to Gen Peter Gansevoort” is in the National Museum of American
History as is a scabbard inscribed “Genl. Peter Gansevoort Junr. 1749-1812”. The included provenance documentation states that this sword was found
in the attic of the Gansevoort Mansion in Saratoga, New York, during renovations while the mansion was a Masonic lodge c. 1950-1960 along with a
Gansevoort family crest seal and was given by William Barlow to Percy W. Drake, the president of Stewart’s Ice Cream and a collector, who owned it until
his death in 1973. It was later owned by Anthony J. Sassi Jr. who sold it to Frank Reile in 1993. Reile then sold it on November 10, 1994, to Edwin C. Evans.
In his included notarized statement, Reile writes, “There is no question that this sword is of the colonial era, and quite obviously, in view of the exquisite
quality, belonged to an important military figure. When taking into consideration the circumstances under which it was found (in the Gansevoort mansion
along with the Gansevoort seal/coat of arms), couple with the fact that no other member of the Gansevoort family served with the continental or militia forces except Col.
Peter Gansevoort (later appointed to brigadier generalship), and finally in consideration of the unlikelihood that a colonial officer other than someone of sophistication such as Col. Peter
Gansevoort of the Albany-Dutch patrician society would possess and incorporate ---- into his personal military attire such [an] expensively and impressive executed work of art (which has quietly survived for well over 200 years)
would [compel] one to conclude that this sword was indeed carried by Col. Peter Gansevoort --- the man who commanded the garrison at Fort Stanwix...and the man who steadfastly refused to surrender to the combined British
and Mohawk warrior forces during the American War for Independence.” Col. Gansevoort of the 3rd New York Regiment famously commanded Fort Stanwix during a 21 day British and Mohawk siege in August 1777 and famously
refused to surrender stating: “It is my determined resolution to defend this fort and garrison to the last extremity.” Gansevoort’s determination won out in the end, and the British were forced to retreat back to Canada. John Adams
commented on the siege that “Gansevoort has proven that it is possible to defend a fort.” He also led his men during the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition against the Iroquois. He was promoted to brigadier general and remained active
in the New York militia until 1809. In the early national period, he was also an Indian Commissioner, Sheriff of Albany County, a U.S. Military Agent. He died on July 2, 1812. His summer home in Gansevoort, New York, still stands, as
does the Gansevoort Mansion built by his son Herman in 1813. Gansevoort’s brother Leonard Gansevoort (1751-1810) was a member of the Continental Congress and a colonel in the New York militia in the 1790s.
CONDITION: Fine with a mostly bright polished blade with minor oxidation staining and slightly bent tip, attractively aged patina on the guards, and aged patina and distinct carving on the grip.
Provenance: The Gansevoort Mansion, William Barlow; The Collection of Percy W. Drake, The Anthony J. Sassi Jr. Collection; The Frank Reile Collection; The Edwin C. Evans Collection; A Private Collection.
Estimate: 7,000 - 11,000