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Womelsdorf-Reading School Rifle attributed to Wolfgang Haga |
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This very fine Pennsylvania rifles falls into the category of rifles that Joe Kindig attributed to Wolfgang Haga and have been recognized as such since the writing of his monumental tomb, “Thoughts on the Kentucky Rifle in its Golden Age” in 1960. He wrote: |
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“Wolfgang Haga was an early gunsmith in Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania. He is listed as a gunsmith in the Reading tax records 1767, 1768, 1779, 1780, 1781, and probably many other years. His will was probated in 1796. The letters of administration on file in the Berks County Courthouse dated March 15, 1796, refer to Wolfgang Haga as a gunsmith. Peter Gonter, a gunsmith who worked in Lancaster and who married Wolfgang Haga’s daughter Susanna Elizabeth was named executor of the estate. Since Peter Gonter married Wolfgang Haga’s daughter, I believe that he also apprenticed with Haga. I further believe that he liked Wolfgang Haga’s patch box head enough that he continued to use it after his apprenticeship, even though it was foreign to the early daisy patch box of Lancaster where he worked. It is the fact that the patch box head on the rifles in this group are so similar to Peter Gonter’s that I am attributing them to Wolfgang Haga, Gonter’s father-in-law. There is no question that these rifles were made in the Reading area. At one time I thought these rifles represented the work of a group of men or one man and an apprentice. The more I study them however, the more firmly I believe that they are the work of one man. And, I believe that man was Wolfgang Haga. It would be worthwhile for someone to try and to prove or disprove this attribution.” |
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This rifle came from the Kindig collection and for many years was in the collection of noted dealer/collector Charles Momchilov. It is in untouched, “as found” condition, never needing any restoration. The barrel is 42 inches long and .50 caliber. The overall length is 58 inches. The stock is a brilliant piece of curly maple as was common in this group of rifles. This is a fine example of the type rifle that helped win our Nations independence liberty and freedom! |
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Price available upon request to perspective investors. |
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The Rifles |
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Kentucky Longrifles |
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