G. A. R. hall relic - July 1864 Petersburg Mine – PICK AXE Another treasure from our over 50 years of scouring and accumulating, this Petersburg marked antique pick axe came to us when we were fortunate enough to augment our Maine collection (see: MaineLegacy.com) with a number of Civil War relics from the defunct Portland, Maine, Bosworth Post # 2, Department of Maine. Best described here by our illustrations this relic pick is approximately 29 3/4 inches in total length measures about 23 1/4 inches tip to tip and remains in solid condition with good evidence of age and originality to include the bold PETERSBURG 7 64 identification. All is preserved under a coat of old bug shellac just as it came from the disbanded GAR Post in the 1960s.
A relic of the July 1864 Petersburg Mine operation which led to the disastrous Battle of the Crater, Petersburg had surely been of special significance in the memories of many Bosworth Post veterans as, in the time of the mining effort and just prior to the Battle of the Crater, the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery Regiment had earned recognition their on June 18, 1864 as having suffered the greatest loss of men in a single battle of any Union unit in the Civil War. Acquired from our friend and fellow collector, Maine historian and Portland preservationist, Prof. William B. Jordan who had acquired an interesting accumulation of historic mementoes from more than a single repository before it succumb to 1960s urban renewal. One such landmark was the Bosworth G. A. R. Post which stood at 44 Free Street in Portland. Our letter preserving the origin of the axe as emanating from Maine’s Bosworth Post #2 will be included with the relic. 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!



 

Extra nice period Stereo Viewer Best described here by our photo illustrations, these once relatively common stereo card viewers are becoming more difficult to find in nice original condition, complete and with no issues. This example will fit the bill for the photography enthusiast who would like an original to use or lay in with a stereo view collection. 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!
 

unopened - Howe & Stevens Civil War vintage – Pat. 1863 DYE PACKET A wonderful Civil War era display item in an especially desirable color, this all original and unopened textile dye packet measures approximately 4 1/4 X 2 X 1 inch thick containing unopened dye bottle and instruction sheet. (See illustration for a example content example) With classic patriotic graphic and nomenclature of HOWE & STEVENS – Dye Color - CRIMSON with Patented October 13, 1863 and the reminder that the content is for Dyeing Silk, Woolen & Cotton Goods, Shawls, Scarfs, Ribbons, Dresses, Feathers, Bonnets, Hats and all kinds of Wearing Apparel, with perfect FAST COLORS. Pleasing with its period Lady Liberty patriotic graphic and CRIMSON color this every day relic of the Civil War period will make a nice companion in any 19th century textile related grouping. (see: Civil War vintage Boston Business Directories) 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! :
 

Unusual period Sheffield – Pewter - Spirits / Medical Flask This unusual donut shaped flask measures approximately 3 ¾ inches in diameter and is marked English Pewter – Sheffield – England and remains in pleasing condition with an unpolished natural patina with good evidence of age and period use.
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!

 

Francis Lord collection- post Civil War HOUSUM ZOUAVES belt plate. Acquired several years ago when we were fortunate enough to purchase several groupings from the personal collections of our longtime friend, Dr. Francis Lord, this just post Civil War militia piece was noted by Lord as a waist belt plate of the HOUSUM ZOUAVES worn by John C. Gerbig. (Will come with our letter to preserve its origin.) A quick google search found John C. Gerbig and the Housum Zouaves in the 1902 Pennsylvania Adjutant General Report where the following is offered on page 421:

Capt. John C. Gerbig He was a private in Chambers Artillery, April 1860. Pvt. Co. A 2nd Penn. Vol. Inf. three months service, 1861. Quartermaster Sgt. under Capt. P. L. Pearse, Co. A, 2nd Maine Infantry to 1864. Sergeant, Housum Zouaves August 13, 1868. 2nd Lt. Co. C 8th Regt. Infantry, Oct. 6, 1882. 1st Lt. Aug. 2, 1883, honorably discharged June 19, 1884.

A pioneer Civil War collector from a day when nearly no one else paid much attention to the details of many now valued Civil War collectable categories, Francis had an abiding interest in all manner of 19th century military equipage. His primary interest was in Civil War however and led to his widely known, multi volume, pioneer reference, Lord’s CIVIL WAR COLLECTORS ENCYCLOPEDIA. While a lot of detailed knowledge has been gained as the interest and value of Civil War collectibles increased so dramatically over the years, Dr. Lord’s first and second volumes in particular and his Civil War Sutlers & Their Wares continue to offer valuable and reliable reference to Civil War collectors. (Use Lord in our search feature to find other Lord collection items.) As with all direct sales, we are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with refund of the purchase price upon return as purchased! Thanks for visiting Gunsight Antiques !


 

Rarely seen! Horstman & Sons 1851 - U S Army UNIFORM BOOK Published by William H. Hortsmann and Sons, Philadelphia, this 1851 folio (11 ¾ X 14 7/8 x ½ inch thick) 1st edition of 1851 is Illustrated from the Original Text and Drawings in the War Department. Drawn by G. C. Humpries. Nine pages of text outline and describe the new (1851) uniform and dress code for artillery, infantry, riflemen, insignia, swords, and dragoons; officers and enlisted. Detailed illustrations cover all manner of dress to include buttons, swords and sashes as well as horse furniture for General Officers and the Cavalry Corps. This highly collectable volume offers seven finely colored plates from chromolithograph printing and four additional original hand colored plates. Thirteen additional lithographic line drawing plates show uniform details. The volume is rebound with new boards and black library covering, new brown end papers and retaining its original gold embossed UNIFORM AND DRESS OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY on the front board. All else original and as published with good evidence of age, originality and moderate period use but no tears, repairs or objectionable condition issues. An outstanding item for the deep dish Civil War enthusiast this piece has been in our own library for over thirty years. 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!

 

Civil War era percussion conversion - U. S. SPRINGFIELD Mod. 1840 Musket A nice honest piece with appealing evidence of age and period use, this Springfield U. S. Model 1840 remains in excellent all original condition with an appealing deep chocolate natural age patina overall and that untouched but issued and used quality that is so hard to find today. A Maine attic find of some years ago, this honest old .69 caliber smooth bore musket is complete with the exception of its ramrod (easily replaced if you wish) and remains otherwise as issued with its nicely marked and 1841 dated SPRINGFIELD lock The Mod. 1840 musket enjoyed a long run in the military with use in the Mexican War through the American Civil War. The .69 caliber smooth-bore Mod.1840 was the last of the flintlocks and as such was found in considerable supply in both Northern and Southern armories at the outbreak of the Civil War. (Conspiracy enthusiasts find it more than interesting that in the late days prior to secession, then Secretary of War Jefferson Davis was said to have caused the filling of Southern States arsenals with such surplus arms.) With arsenal conversion to the percussion system, the old Mod. 1840 musket saw considerable service by both Union and Confederate troops remaining a common site on the battlefield through 1863 with many remaining in action for the duration of the Civil War. (see: Coates & Thomas Civil War Small Arms) An all too scarce opportunity to acquire a good honest example of one of these U. S. Springfield made and converted Civil War Springfield muskets at a less than prohibitive price. As with all direct sales, we are pleased to offer a no questions asked three day inspection with refund of the purchase price upon return as purchased!

A note about firearms: WE SUPPORT RESPONSIBLE CONTROL OF MODERN FIREARMS AND EMPHASIZE HERE THAT THIS PIECE IS CONSIDERED AN ANTIQUE / COLLECTABLE AND IS THEREFORE OUTSIDE RESTRICTIONS APPLICABLE TO COVERED (MODERN) FIREARMS. THE PIECE IS OFFERED AS A HISTORICAL COLLECTABLE ONLY AND THOUGH MECHANICALLY OPERABLE, IS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED FIREABLE UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. PURCHASE OF THIS ITEM WILL CONSTITUTE A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF AND AGREEMENT WITH THE ABOVE.

 

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!
 

Civil War era nickel-silver BELL With classic style and construction of the Civil War era (see the Virginia Military Institute Museum collection) this beautiful nickel-silver bell stands approximately 9.5 inches high and measures about 5.75 inches across the mouth. All original even to its turned maple grip and wonderful old cast clapper. This bell has lots of eye appeal with examples of the popular period design in the best of collections to include the Museum of the Confederacy and Gettysburg Visitor’s Center. A premium in its period and to today’s antique enthusiast the high nickel-silver content of the bell alloy offered an especially crisp ring. The telltale high, almost silver luster of these old nickel-silver bells set them apart to the eye while there ring is distinctive to the ear. . 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.



Manufacturer: American antique  

original! patriotic DOUBLE EAGLE WHISKEY FLASK A nice period Double Eagle one pint patriotic whiskey flask. All in pleasing condition with no chips, flakes, cracks or condition issues, this beautiful hand blown aqua flask with its classic hinged mold marks and applied top will sit well in any earlier to mid 1800s antique 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!


 

Civil War ARMY HOSPITAL STEWARD SLATE This small hospital steward or nurse’s marking slate measures approximately 6 ½ X 8 1/2 inches in its dovetailed and pegged joint construction wood frame. The natural slate offers good evidence of period construction methods with the telltale, slightly uneven, surface of earlier to mid1800s hand planed slate sheet. The slate is deeply inscribed BROADWAY LANDING across the top with WARD No.. The reverse side has the roman numeral XIX crudely cut into the wood frame and the name Leon Silsby deeply inscribed into the slate. Both of these are much more crude than the hospital designation on the face of the slate but are clearly period. A rudimentary check produced no hits on Leon Silsby? Broadway Landing Army Field Hospital was situated on the south side of the Potomac River a little more than a mile west of City Point and about four miles from the northern end of the Union trenches before Petersburg. (see: Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War p.266 also PBS / Ken Burns THE CIVIL WAR) We were fortunate enough to acquire a little group of period marking slates some years ago with a small number of similarly marked Broadway Landing slates mixed in among plain examples. Though we have offered them out to collectors over the years keeping a single example for our own collection, we did uncover this offering from the group as we prepared for our recent move from Maine to Washington state. A wonderful item for the Civil War medical 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!


 

19th century chained Iron Drinking Cup This heavy tinned iron drinking cup measures 5 inches across the mouth with a stout iron riveted handle with a permanently attached 4 foot chain of heavy die-struck iron links. Seldom surviving, likely due to the cumbersome chain in conventional use, these so called gang-cups were popularly utilized for drinking water for 19th century work gangs. With use by labor crews, and work gangs of all description their can be little doubt that such would have found a way from the New England logging camp to the Civil War military camp in the South. Classically mid-19th century in design and material, this sturdy drinking cup, chained to a water barrel, would afford a reliable drinking utensil to all without wandering away. . 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!


 

traveling / pocket - CORKSCREW This traveling utility is reminiscent of a time when the lowly little corkscrew was a must have companion in every gentleman’s pocket, frontiersman’s possible bag or soldier’s haversack. Fashioned from relatively heavy iron for durability yet small and compact for easy carrying, this piece will fit properly in any 19th century personal item grouping. A neat every day utility seldom surviving, this example remains in nice, all original condition.
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!

 

5 Civil War Cavalry letters: exchanged between Co. D 1st U. S. Dragoons then 18th NY Cav. friends. V-AFM419510
ITEM CODE: 5704
ITEM NAME:
5 Civil War Cavalry letters: exchanged between Co. D 1st U. S. Drag. then 18th NY Cav. friends.
SELLING PRICE: 365.00
DESCRIPTION:
This group of five soldier’s letters consists of 4 letters by Sgt. then Lt. Wim. Dubois, a veteran of Co. D 1st U. S. Dragoons now serving in the 18th New York Cavalry, to Friend Solomon O’Rielly (needs research but clearly had some connection to the old Co. D, 1st Dragoons) and one letter on Christian Commission Stationary comes from Sgt. Wm. Shackelford to Solomon O’Rielly. Also a veteran of Co. D 1st Dragoons, Shackelford in now a member of the 18th N. Y. Cavalry but has been hospitalized at Jefferson Barracks by virtue of a gunshot wound for nearly a year. Best described by our photos and a brief synopsis of each, below, the letters are penned in ink and are relatively easy read. All remain in decent condition save one that though complete is torn in half. Dubois’s letters offer a sprinkling of the usual between friends but offers an interesting insight into Cavalryman life in Texas among the deeply pro Confederate population. Other friends of D Co. and the 18th Cavalry are mentioned with salutations passed along. Sgt. George Rork (old Rork) of the 1st Dragoons then 18th Cavalry is mentioned along with the shooting of the 18th’s Capt. Nowlan (Henry James Nowlan) by a local desperado. (Lt. Dubois seems quite contrary to life in Texas except for the abundance of plenty of Mexican girls.) Sgt. Shackelford’s letter on Christian Commission stationary from Jefferson Barrack’s Hospital may be a favorite of this group as it is penned in light blue ink in a pleasing hand and is devoted almost entirely to a lament of the recent loss of President Abraham Lincoln




#1 January 18, 1865 - La Fourche, La. : Sgt. Wim. Dubois to "Friend Sol" (Solomon O’Rielly needs research) : Has been out on scout for the last two weeks and just returned to this place. Reports on the wellbeing of mutual friend Wim. Shackelford who is not doing well laying in hospital so long (We learn in another of these letters that their friend had been shot). Dubois encourages Sol to write their ailing friend Sergt. William Shackelford at Ward C Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. Advises that old Rork is well and wishes to be remembered. ( Geo. Rork Co. G 18th N.Y. Cavalry, like Dubois and Shackelford, had prior service in D Co. 1st U. S. Dragoons) It is clear that Solomon O’Rielly was a veteran of D Co. as well as Dubois inquires of him if he had heard anything from the old Co. (additional general interest content)


#2 March 4,1865 – Kennerville, La.: Lt. Wim. Dubois to "Friend Sol" (Solomon O’Rielly needs research) : Advises "Sol" he has received a commission to 2nd Lt. mentions mutual friend George Rock again and advises that he has made Sargent. Received a letter from Shackelford and advises that "it has been eleven months today since he was shot". "That is a good while to lay in a hospital" says Dubois. He expresses doubt as to the optimism of his friend that "the war is almost over". "There will be a good deal of hard fighting yet" exclaims Dubois penning his opinion that the "Rebs will have to be well whipped". He advises of a buildup of Union troops in the area and rumors of an impending "expedition". He expects that "Mobile is the place".


#3 April 24, 1865 – Jefferson Barracks Hospital, Missouri (on U. S. Christian Commission stationary) : Sgt. Wim. Shackelford to Solomon O’Rielly : The long hospitalized Sgt. Shackelford expresses distress at the death of Abraham Lincoln "all the world will mourn him" writes Shackelford. "We all looked to him as a father; a heavy blow to our country exclaims. The obviously distraught wounded Cavalryman expresses his pleasure at the letter he has received from his friend Solomon yet devoted the majority of his letter mourning the loss of the President. He does mention Dubois and pleasure at receiving a letter from Sgt. Geo. Rock. Sgt. Shackelford closes with assurance that my wound is about healed up.

#4 Aug. 24, 1865 - San Antonio, Texas : Lt. Wim. Dubois to ‘Friend Sol’ (Solomon O’Rielly needs research) : Has been on the move and now has been in San Antonio about ten days; We came from New Orleans, La. to this place by land and a long march it has been. Lt. Dubois reports that There are a good many troops in this state and at present, what they are going to do with us is more than I can say. He advises that the talk is that we are going to Mexico to fight the French. Seems to like the place in general though all are eager for discharge. Plenty of Mexican girls here says he. As always remembers mutual friends Rock and Shackelford.


#5 April 1, 1866 San Antonio Springs, Texas : Lt. Wim. Dubois to ‘Friend Sol’ (Solomon O’Rielly needs research) The Lieutenant’s opinion of Texas seems to have waned somewhat since his arrival in August of 1865. Still laying in this old camp doing nothing of any impotence. Dull says he though they did have some excitement recently when Capt. Nowlan of the 18th NY Cavalry was shot by a local desperado. The people in this state with few exceptions are as much rebels now as they ever was. For my part I would rather fight them than to try and live in peace and hear them curse the Yankees every day. The very worst Rebels here get the best deals. Lt. Dubois writes of a corral master in the place that is paid $100.00 a month who was Captain of a band of gorillas. The man boasts of the number of Yankees that he and his band murdered. Dubois writes of a dispute with the man over retrieval of horses from x-gorilla Captain’s corral. I hit him over the head with a six-shooter and fetched him to his knees. The fallen Reb soon threatened that he would shoot our Lt. Dubois next time he saw him but the Lieutenant advises that there is little danger.
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vintage Cannon PULL TOY Untouched and as found after decades of attic storage, this wooden cannon pull toy offers lots of eye appeal with a pleasing complement of its original gold paint finish with good evidence of age and originality while remaining in pleasing condition. Measure approximately 14 inches in total length and standing about 5 inches from floor to tip of the muzzle, this piece offers will offer an attractive representation of a classic Civil War era toy type. (see: Jefferson Davis home White House of the Confederacy museum collection) A nice addition to any Civil War period display.
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!