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********NOW OPERATING FROM OUR NEW HEADQUARTERS ********



Now fully operational from the beautiful Pacific North West, we encourage all to keep a close eye as we unpack posted offerings and continue what will be an ongoing effort of unpacking the collection while taking stock with an eye toward thinning out our accumulation of treasures. After years of seeking out and acquiring all manner of quality antique Americana from simple but seldom surviving items of special interest to historically important treasures, Janet and I look forward to offering the fruits of our years of seeking out such to new and appreciative homes.


Visitors will also enjoy our museum site at www.MaineLegacy.com

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Item #

Description

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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 63339: rare  mid 18th early 19th century -  Sword Swagger Stick

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63339

rare mid 18th early 19th century - Sword Swagger Stick Most frequently carried by ununiformed persons as a symbol of some notoriety, the late 1700s early to mid-1800s swager stick was created in limited quantity with use most popular among the socially elite. Limited in number even in the period, surviving examples are seldom encountered today outside of major museums and private collections. In addition to its presence as a symbol of status or authority, this all original and period example offered the carrier the security of self-defense as it concealed a menacing 9 3/4 inch long dagger. Measuring approximately 20 ¼ inches in total, this especially desirable sword swager stick is fitted with a bovine horn tip to its 7/8 inch diameter tapered wood shaft, a bone ring at the junction to the grip. The attractively formed grip is hand carved from horn with bone embellishment. All original and pleasing with no condition,issues, this attractive swager sick with its concealed triangular blade.
Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!


 

Your Price: $285.00
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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 63250: earlier through mid-1800s   Cotton SEWING FLOSS

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63250

earlier through mid-1800s Cotton SEWING FLOSS Direct from decades of period attic storage, we have acquired a small lot of earlier through mid-19th century natural cotton sewing floss and are offering single skeins here for period display or restoration use. All in as new, off the shelf condition while clearly period, a single twisted skein (illustrated here with a quarter for size comparison) will make a nice addition in any Civil War soldier’s housewife sewing kit, period lady’s sewing basket or will bring period correctness to button application or a textile restoration project. One of those every day, period must have items seldom surviving to reach todays collector / historian. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!


 

Your Price: $35.00
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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 63317: antique American Eagle – FLAGSTAFF FINIAL

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63317

antique American Eagle – FLAGSTAFF FINIAL This attractive all cast brass American eagle flagstaff finial stands approximately 5 inches and measures about 4 3/4 inches in width. A classic design seen on many a Civil War vintage flag, this example remains in pleasing, eye appealing condition with good evidence of age and untouched originality .
Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!


 

Your Price: $125.00
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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 63318: Civil War vintage equine decorated Grooming Brush

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63318

Civil War vintage equine decorated Grooming Brush Best described here by our illustrations, this Civil War vintage grooming brush measures approximately 9 x 4 ½ inches and while remaining in excellent original condition, good evidence of age and originality. Appropriate as a companion with any Civil War period grouping, this horse grooming brush will be of particular interest to the Civil War Cavalry or Mounted Artillery enthusiast. . Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
 

Your Price: $95.00
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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 6282-2: 1938 battlefield recovery - Pickett’s Charge Gettysburg – BIT

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6282-2

1938 battlefield recovery - Pickett’s Charge Gettysburg – BIT Best described here by our photos this relic bit was acquired by us years ago at the old 1978 Eisenhower Hotel & Conference Ctr., Gettysburg Civil War show where it was picked from a local digger’s box of relics (Those were the days! 135 tables of real Civil War artifacts with something in everyone’s price range from thousands all the way down to a few dollars.). The bit still retained a previous owner’s descriptive string tag: Horse Bit – found at Gettysburg, Pa. 1938 by Edw. McGin - Pickett’s Charge / Bought 6-1-76 Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
 

Your Price: $145.00
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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 3503: late 1700s early 1800s TINTED SPECTACLES

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3503

late 1700s early 1800s TINTED SPECTACLES A really nice pair of early tinted spectacles, these unusually heavy cast nickel silver frames are in fine condition with sharp edges and little evidence of use. Unmarked as to maker and with classic shape and two piece hinged temples with ribbon loops. An unusually nice early pair of prescription tinted glasses.
Manufacturer: American  

Your Price: $165.00
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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 6030: 3rd quarter 19th century - Patent Expansion Lamp Shade – BOX LABEL

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6030

3rd quarter 19th century - Patent Expansion Lamp Shade – BOX LABEL This unused 19th century paper box label is uncut measuring 7 ½ inches X 15 inches was printed for cutting to produce box end labels for the The Patent Expansion Lamp Shade with White’s Improvements, Mfg. By Woodsum & Co., Boston, Mass. The labels picture the lamp shade installed on an oil lamp and collapsed. A neat item for the antique lighting enthusiast. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
 

Your Price: $30.00
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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 6395: historic 1838 / 1839 - Aroostook Border War  EPAULETTE

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6395

historic 1838 / 1839 - Aroostook Border War EPAULETTE A rarely surviving example of the period common practice of wearing a single epaulette as insignia of rank by military officers both militia and Regulars*, this silver Captain of Infantry epaulette is accompanied by a Sergeant’s epaulette, both offered here as set aside decades ago with the notation from Father’s uniform 1839 Aroostook War Lizzie J Longley Rines. Our research finds Lizzie J Longley Rines as the 1843 Bangor, Maine daughter of Aroostook War** participant then Captain of the Old Town, Maine Militia Capt. Stover Rines. [As an aside Lizzie Rines died in 1849 at her home in Boston.]
* After the Revolution the American system was that General to Major wore two epaulets while others wore one. Captain on the right, Lieutenant on left with silver designating infantry and dragoons with gold for artillery. Sergeants frequently wore an abbreviated epaulette held by a button on the right shoulder .
The Aroostook War occurred in 1838 and 1839 and was centered around a dispute between the U. S. and English over the international boundary between the British colony New Brunswick and the state of Maine. Simmering over a number of years a second and in the time equally paramount was the issue of navigation rights on the St. John River. Largely lost in time is the fact that earlier on these issues were responsible for the establishment of a US Army barracks in Hancock, Maine and the service of Robert E. Lee there as an Army surveyor. In 1839 Capt. Stover Rines and his company of militia was part force of some two hundred men who marched to Aroostook to arrest and imprison trespassers on state land. Capt. Rines and two other key figures leading the Maine force were ultimately taken captive and jailed in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The action inflamed both sides. Additional State troops were authorized and the US Congress raised 50,000 men to repel any actual invasion of American soil. The Aroostook War ultimately came to a bloodless end when General Winfield Scott was successful in negotiating a settlement between the parties. One of the officers serving under Gen. Scott at Headquarters, Eastern Division, United States Army, Augusta Maine was Robert Anderson later Major Robert Anderson of Fort Sumter fame.
While a Google search of Capt. Stover Rines Maine will offer considerably more detail on Capt. Rines and his service on the Maine frontier, we did not find an account of his earlier militia service thus can only assume that the included sergeants epaulette is a remnant progression through the ranks.
Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!




 

Your Price: $595.00
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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 3505: rare!  8th MARYLAND - TURNER SOCIETY Civil War BUCKLE

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3505

rare! 8th MARYLAND - TURNER SOCIETY Civil War BUCKLE Offered here from our decades on aggressively seeking out and tucking away away such treasures is the beautifully engraved, American eagle embellished, nickel-silver waist belt plate of William Eckhardt as a member of the German American TURNER SOCIETY. (Totally original, untouched and with no condition issues we will let the plate speak for itself through our illustrations leaving the bulk of our comment to the history.)
An organization of German immigrants founded in this country in 1848, based on the political and cultural Turner societies that had existed in Germany since the Napoleonic Wars, the Turners were heavily involved in the American political and militia scene in the Civil War period to include providing the bodyguard at Abraham Lincoln's 1861 inauguration and at his funeral in April 1865. Rare though they are, there are sufficient enough variations in these plates to indicate that each is likely unique. While they offer common society mottoes and signs with common construction, material and style, each seem to have been individually designed to the liking of the wearer. A common feature though is the identification of the specific society member. In this instance the plate offers the script engraved identification to William Eckhardt who is listed in the 1858 Baltimore directory as a tavern owner at 13 Second Street. Enlisting on October 29, 1862 to serve as a private of the 8th Maryland Infantry. As a draftee (see illustration from ancestry.com) Eckhardt was assigned to Co. K which was comprised primarily of draftees and substitutes.
By the 1850s the Turner Society was operating in major American cities with Baltimore as a hub of their influence. Expansion spawned formation of the American Know-Nothing party and ultimately led to violent clashes between the two groups. As strong minded Unionists, Turners served in the Civil War Federal military in such numbers that many chapters became inactive or were disbanded because of the number serving in the army. Existing period images of members wearing these distinctive belt plates and at least one example of a battlefield recovery serves to document Civil War military use by Unionist German immigrants. For an in depth reference to the TURNERS, their history, involvement in American politics, the abolition movement, and Civil War military along with equipage to include these belt plates see: Rifles & Blades of the German-American Militia & the Civil War by Thomas B. Rentschler. See also: Thomas Rentschler’s work on German American service in the Civil War and O’Donnell & Campbell’s work on American Military Belt Plates offering an identified Shiloh battlefield recovery. Referred to by specialist collectors as Clear the road !! or Get out of the way!! waist belt plates for the ever present German ’Bahn Frei’ motto, existing examples are prized by specialty collectors of historic German American material as well as Civil War collectors. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!



 

Your Price: $2250.00
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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 43114: early AMES marked Blacksmith Forged Skillet

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43114

early AMES marked Blacksmith Forged Skillet Outstanding as a standalone example of early American country blacksmithing, an understanding of the artisan who left his name boldly set in the skillet’s iron handle, will be necessary to full appreciation of the old fry pan’s historic potential. Deeply set in the handle of this hand forged skillet is AMES a name that will ring true to the student of early American manufacturing as well as Mexican War and Civil War collector /historians. With a history too extensive to cite here, suffice it to say that it was as early as the later 1700s that blacksmith Oliver Ames set up his single forge shop in Massachusetts. Typical of the usual country blacksmith, in his early days, Ames would eak out a living fabricating all manner of iron tools and equipment from cooking grates and fry pans to door hinges, to farming and artisan tools. From here Oliver Ames’s would become the largest shovel manufacturer in the country. The Ames bloodline continued to expand in the foundry busuness to include John Ames in Chelmsford and John’s son N. P. Ames in old Springfield who would establish the Ames Sword Co. as the best known of Union Civil War contractors supplying all manner on military arms to the Union cause. (see: Sketches of the Old Inhabitants and Other Citizens of Old Springfield by Charles Wells Chapin ) This hand wrought skillet to include the AMES marked handle was blacksmith forged from a single piece of black iron. The bowl measures approximately 8 1/8 inches in diameter with an 8 ¾ inch handle. All remain in excellent original condition with a pleasing patina and good evidence of age and originality. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques !



 

Your Price: $235.00
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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 4485: Confederate Navy identified: c.1852 New American Practical Navigator

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4485

Confederate Navy identified: c.1852 New American Practical Navigator With lots of good evidence of period use and some age foxing and light staining, this 1852 edition of The New American Practical Navigator by Nathaniel Bowditch remains complete in its 458 pages with the additional page of advertisements and fold out chart all with no tears or repairs. On the inside front cover is the small period stationers label of J. S. Kellogg DEALER IN Books & Stationary, Mobile, Alabama. On the flyleaf a the bold period brown ink signature J. D. Johnston with a pencil notation: C.S.S. Tennessee. Well accounted for in such early histories as DeLeon’s Navies in War and the Confederate Navy in the War Between the States and such as Addresses Delivered Before the Confederate Veterans Association of Savannah by United Confederate Veterans, Georgia Division and the Official Records of the Confederate Navy, James D. Johnston is recorded as Commander Provisional Navy, June 2, 1864, to rank from Oct. 4, 1863; Comm. C. S. S. Baltic 1861-63. Johnston was second in command of the iron clad ram C. S. S. Tennesseeunder Admiral Buchanan at the Battle of Mobile Bay where he was captured Aug.5 1864; prisoner at Ft. Warren; exchanged, Oct. 18, 1864; Mobile Station, 1864-65; surrendered May 4, 1865; paroled May 10, 1865. (Note: Capt. Johnston’s Confederate Navy sword is housed in the Hargrett Manuscripts Library Museum, University of Georgia; col:# ms508(m).) We found an 1896 obituary account as follows: J. D. Johnston died at Savannah, Ga., age 98; he is said to have been the surviving ranking officer of the Confederate Navy and the senior ranking officer by date of commission of the old United States Navy. Previous to the Civil War Johnston served in the U. S. Navy as Midshipman 30 June 1832; Passed Midshipman 23 June 1838; Lt. 34 June 1843. He resigned to join the Confederacy 10 April 1861. A neat item for the Confederate States Navy enthusiast. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
 

Your Price: $750.00
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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 63335: 32nd Mass. Vols. attributed - Colt Pocket Mod. 1849

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63335

32nd Mass. Vols. attributed - Colt Pocket Mod. 1849 A classic Civil War personal arm with all matching numbers, this Colt Pocket Model ( serial # 187866) was manufactured in 1861 and remains in pleasing unmolested condition functionally and with traces of original finish just as it was set aside decades ago. Best described here by our photo illustrations, this attractive Colt Pocket came to us decades ago when it emanated from hand me down family keepsakes with only a Westminster, Mass. attribution and the applied A. E. DRURY on the bottom flat of the barrel under the loading lever as clues to its long lost history. We found that Abner E. Drury was a 30 year old resident carpenter of Westminster, Massachusetts when he was mustered in on November 26,1861 as a Corporal of Co. A 32nd Mass. Voluntary Infantry. Reenlisting on January 1, 1864, Drury would be promoted to 1st Sergeant, commissioned 2nd Lieut. on July 20,1864 and finally to 1st Lieut. on April 1865 before mustering out in Washington D.C. on June 29, 1865. A hard fought regiment, the 32nd Mass. saw considerable action during Drury’s service to include Antietam, Appomattox Court House, Cedar Creek, Chancellorsville, Cold Harbor, Five Forks, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg where the 32d engaged with 227 men losing 81, of whom 22 were killed or mortally wounded. Also included were actions at Jerusalem Plank Road, Mine Run, 2nd Petersburg and the Battle of the Wilderness. Abner Drury returned to Westminster after the War where he served as Commander of the Joseph P. Rice G. A. R. Post 69, Dept. of Massachusetts. With copies of a number of Drury’s period records available on the internet (see: fold3.com) and his image available on the Library of Congress site, this remnant of our years of collecting (see: MaineLegacy.com) dealing and squirreling away will be of special interest to the Gettysburg enthusiast!
Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!


 

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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 63150: mid-19th century Sail Maker’s Ditty Bag with ORIGINAL CONTENT

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63150

mid-19th century Sail Maker’s Ditty Bag with ORIGINAL CONTENT A wonderful remnant of the heyday of sale, one has to be impressed with just how this mid 1800s sailmaker’s artifact survives intact with a full complement of craft essential components such as binding and stitching lace of varying material and gauge , hemp and cotton cord, a small paper bound skein of raw cotton yarn, and an interesting mix of odd job remnants such as leather drum tugs, period recovered grommets for re-use, bees wax for treating lacing and thread, even a leather cap visor ready for application. Tools of the craft of sail making and repair, include a small measuring scale, a lignum vitae seam rubber, a heavy hand stitched roping palm, two stitching palms, a heavy 6 inch needle and a splicing and seam knife maker marked IBBOTSON GLOBE WORKS. (closed in 1845) All best described by our photo illustrations it is important to note that the bag and content are period original one to another and as found after decades of Maine sea coast, attic storage. A remarkable remnant of the mid-19th century artificer.
Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!



 

Your Price: $395.00
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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 6268: 19th century walking stick of Mjr. Genl. Robert B. Potter – 51st New York Infantry

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6268

19th century walking stick of Mjr. Genl. Robert B. Potter – 51st New York Infantry This pleasing malacca wood cane with the gold monogramed R. B. P. band will best be described here by our photo illustrations except to advise that it was acquired from an established collection where it was attributed to late Major General Robert B. Potter. Potter enlisted on October 12, 1861 as a Major , Field & Staff 51st New York Infantry. He was quickly promoted to Lt. Colonel on November 1, 1861 and was awarded command as Colonel of the 51st N. Y. Infantry on September 20, 1862. Col. Potter was promoted to Brig. General on March 29, 1863 then Bvt. Major General, August 1. 1865 and Major General on September 29, 1865. He took part in Burnside's expedition to North Carolina, led the assault at Roanoke Island, was wounded at New Berne, and participated in the battles of Cedar Mountain, 2nd Bull Run, Chantilly, Antietam where he took part in the assault on the stone bridge and was wounded and Fredericksburg. Potter commanded a division at Vicksburg, the siege of Knoxville and commanded a division in the Wilderness campaign and was severely wounded during the final assault on Petersburg. ( see: The Battle of the Crater: A Complete History by John F. Schmutz) Affiliated with the Atlantic & Great Western Rail Road after the Civil War, Gen. Potter died in Newport R. I> in 1887 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York. Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!
 

Your Price: $235.00
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Click here to enlarge image and see more about item 6393-2: 19th century amber Chloroform Dripper

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6393-2

19th century amber Chloroform Dripper A medical / surgical relic from a time when chloroform was administered by hand utilizing a specially designed dripper bottle and a cloth over the nose and mouth. (In a search of our personal collection / museum site at MaineLegacy.com you will find an account of how Gettysburg Artillerist, Col. Freeman McGilvery was killed by an overdose of chloroform during simple surgery for a wound of the thumb.) This little dripper stands approximately 4 ¼ inches including the stopper. Remaining in pleasing condition with no chips or cracks, this seldom seen dripper will make a nice addition to any quality medical / surgical grouping.

Buy with confidence! We are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with return as purchased on direct sales! Just send us a courtesy e-mail to let us know your item will be returned per these provisions and your purchase price will be refunded accordingly. Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques!

 

Your Price: $75.00
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