Flintlock Swivel-Breech Longrifle

Gunsmith David Boyer American

ca. 1830–40

Not on view

Based on his surviving work, Boyer seems to have specialized in swivel breech over-and-under rifles, like this example. A swivel breech mechanism has two barrels, placed one above the other, which are rotated manually, or swiveled, after each shot. The architecture of this rifle, especially the downward curving "Roman-nose" form of the buttstock, the style of the patch box, and other details of the decoration, relate closely to rifles made by members the Angstadt family in neighboring Berks County, suggesting that Boyer may have trained in their workshop, or another in that area, probably in the 1820s. Although Boyer’s known rifles are firmly rooted in the style of the early nineteenth century, he had a long career and is still recorded as a gunsmith in the federal census of 1870.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

References

Title: Flintlock Swivel-Breech Longrifle
Gunsmith: David Boyer (American, Pennsylvania, Manheim Township 1806–1883 Orwigsburg)
Date: ca. 1830–40
Geography: Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania
Culture: American, Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
Medium: Steel, wood (curly maple, hickory), brass, silver
Dimensions: L. 55 5/8 in. (141.3 cm); L. of barrel 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm); Cal. of smooth bore 38 in. (9.7 mm); Cal. of rifled bore .37 in. (9.4 mm); Wt. 12 lb. 3 oz. (5528.2 g)
Classification: Firearms-Guns-Flintlock
Credit Line: Gift of Marion Eppley, 1956
Object Number: 56.164.2
Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

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By David Boyer

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