EXTRAORDINARILY RARE, DOCUMENTED JONATHAN BROWNING’S PERSONAL HARMONICA RIFLE.

EXTRAORDINARILY RARE, DOCUMENTED JONATHAN BROWNING’S PERSONAL HARMONICA RIFLE. Cal. About 45. This rare rifle has a 32″ medium weight octagon bbl with fine Rocky Mountain front sight and a fixed Kentucky rifle style rear sight with very fine notch. Bottom of bbl is mounted with an iron rib to which is attached two iron guides containing a hickory ramrod. Top flat of bbl, at the receiver, has a small mark that appears to be a head of wheat. Mounted in uncheckered maple half stock with pewter forend cap and steel saddle plate, secured with two pins through diamond shaped brass escutcheons. Buttstock resembles a Kentucky rifle style with crescent brass buttplate & short toeplate. Trigger guard also is Kentucky rifle being serpentine shaped with a finger rest tang. Receiver and the very long top tang, along with trigger guard and buttplate, are brass. Lockplate is flat steel with an internal hammer and a long, slightly curved flat steel counter plate on the left side. Hammer is top mounted and strikes through a hole in top of frame. The magazine for the rifle is a steel bar about 3-7/8″ long x 2-3/16″ wide x 3/4″ thick with five chambers and top mounted nipples. The magazine is manually advanced when the lever on right side of the front of the lockplate is lifted which releases the magazine so that it can be moved. Once it is in position the lever is depressed which cams the magazine forward and seals the protruding and chamfered mouth of the chamber into a chamfered female recess at the end of the bbl. Bottom tang & bottom ramrod guide have sling loops. This rifle, as noted in Mr. Kontes’ biography above, was descended down through the Browning family until Mr. Kontes was able to purchase it from Jonathan Edmund Browning, the great-great-great grandson of Jonathan Browning, the inventor & maker of this rifle. Jonathan Browning was born Oct. 22, 1805 in Sumner County, TN, and was initially trained as a blacksmith and later became a lock & gunsmith having received training in Nashville in the shop of Samuel Porter. In 1834 he moved to Quincy, IL, where he established a gunsmith shop and invented this & other repeating rifles including those with revolving cylinders, none of which survive today. Mr. Browning was a Justice of the Peace in Quincy at the time the Mormons were being driven West. During his time in Quincy Mr. Browning became acquainted with Abraham Lincoln who was an overnight guest in his home at least twice. In 1838 Gov. Boggs issued the Mormon Extermination Order that caused them to flee to Missouri. He became interested in and converted to the Mormon faith in 1840 after meeting with the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith, in Nauvoo, IL and upon being ostracized by his community, moved to the Mormon settlement of Nauvoo, IL in 1842, where he continued making guns. In 1846 with Brigham Young and the Mormons he fled to Council Bluffs, Iowa where he continued repairing guns for the Mormons who were migrating to Utah. Finally in 1852 Brigham Young summoned him to Utah where he was wagon captain of 10 wagons and accompanying people, and without doubt carried and used this rifle on the journey. He settled in Ogden, Utah and established his gunshop there and with his three wives fathered 19 children, one of the most prominent of whom was John Moses Browning, the world’s most prolific firearms inventor. In the years 1853 & 1854 the Mormons fought the “Walker War” with more than 50 Mormons killed and an undetermined number of Ute Indians killed. The Browning Harmonica rifles were certainly used during this war to great effect. Jonathan Browning is also reputed to have made copies of Colt Dragoon revolvers to arm the Nauvoo Legion when they set out to oppose the invasion of Utah by Gen. Albert Sidney Johnson in 1857. Apparently he did not mark any of these revolvers either but there have been a number of finely crafted Dragoon copies that have turned up around Ogden throughout the years and although they cannot be verified as Browning’s, the conclusion is self-evident. Most of this information is contained in a 5-page article about this rifle and J. Ed Browning, who sold this rifle to Mr. Kontes, that appeared in the 1985 edition of Gun Digest over the bi-line of Robert K. Sherwood. Accompanied by a hand written bill of sale over the signature of J.E. Browning and dated Feb. 11, 1992. The bill of sale states “On this date Feb. 11 1992 I hereby sell to John Kontes of Pocatello my Browning muzzle loading Harmonica repeating rifle for the amount of 13000.00 Thirteen thousand dollars. I will have no more ownership of this rifle from this day forward. The markings on the barrel of this rifle is wheat leaves. Mfg. date approx 1845.” Also accompanying is the cancelled check from Mr. Kontes paid to J.E. Browning in the amount of $13,000.00 with the notation “Jonathan Browning Harmonica Rifle”. The back of the check has the signature “J.E. Browning” with the bank information “Jackson State Bank”, Jackson, WY and the date Mar 19, 92. Also accompanied by copies of photographs of Matt Browning (J. Ed Browning’s older brother), J. Ed Browning, Charles Browning and twins J. Ed & Merwyn. There are copies of a photographs of J. Ed Browning, Matt’s oldest son, of Matt Browning working at a milling machine and of Matt Browning seated in front of J. Ed Browning with twins Merwyn & J. Ed as young men. PROVENANCE: John C. Kontes Collection. CONDITION: Fine. No orig finish remains with the iron parts cleaned metal patina with scattered fine pin prick pitting; brass retains a mellow medium mustard patina. Stock has a hairline at the wrist, another at each end of the saddle plate, otherwise is sound with a hand worn patina. Mechanics appear to be fine although there is no half cock notch. 4-46637 JR349 (75,000-150,000)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 2012

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	1332	$0.00	EXTRAORDINARILY RARE, DOCUMENTED JONATHAN BROWNING’S PERSONAL HARMONICA RIFLE. Cal. About 45. This rare rifle has a 32″ medium weight octagon bbl with fine Rocky Mountain front sight and a fixed Kentucky rifle style rear sight with very fine notch. Bottom of bbl is mounted with an iron rib to which is attached two iron guides containing a hickory ramrod. Top flat of bbl, at the receiver, has a small mark that appears to be a head of wheat. Mounted in uncheckered maple half stock with pewter forend cap and steel saddle plate, secured with two pins through diamond shaped brass escutcheons. Buttstock resembles a Kentucky rifle style with crescent brass buttplate & short toeplate. Trigger guard also is Kentucky rifle being serpentine shaped with a finger rest tang. Receiver and the very long top tang, along with trigger guard and buttplate, are brass. Lockplate is flat steel with an internal hammer and a long, slightly curved flat steel counter plate on the left side. Hammer is top mounted and strikes through a hole in top of frame. The magazine for the rifle is a steel bar about 3-7/8″ long x 2-3/16″ wide x 3/4″ thick with five chambers and top mounted nipples. The magazine is manually advanced when the lever on right side of the front of the lockplate is lifted which releases the magazine so that it can be moved. Once it is in position the lever is depressed which cams the magazine forward and seals the protruding and chamfered mouth of the chamber into a chamfered female recess at the end of the bbl. Bottom tang & bottom ramrod guide have sling loops. This rifle, as noted in Mr. Kontes’ biography above, was descended down through the Browning family until Mr. Kontes was able to purchase it from Jonathan Edmund Browning, the great-great-great grandson of Jonathan Browning, the inventor & maker of this rifle. Jonathan Browning was born Oct. 22, 1805 in Sumner County, TN, and was initially trained as a blacksmith and later became a lock & gunsmith having received training in Nashville in the shop of Samuel Porter. In 1834 he moved to Quincy, IL, where he established a gunsmith shop and invented this & other repeating rifles including those with revolving cylinders, none of which survive today. Mr. Browning was a Justice of the Peace in Quincy at the time the Mormons were being driven West. During his time in Quincy Mr. Browning became acquainted with Abraham Lincoln who was an overnight guest in his home at least twice. In 1838 Gov. Boggs issued the Mormon Extermination Order that caused them to flee to Missouri. He became interested in and converted to the Mormon faith in 1840 after meeting with the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith, in Nauvoo, IL and upon being ostracized by his community, moved to the Mormon settlement of Nauvoo, IL in 1842, where he continued making guns. In 1846 with Brigham Young and the Mormons he fled to Council Bluffs, Iowa where he continued repairing guns for the Mormons who were migrating to Utah. Finally in 1852 Brigham Young summoned him to Utah where he was wagon captain of 10 wagons and accompanying people, and without doubt carried and used this rifle on the journey. He settled in Ogden, Utah and established his gunshop there and with his three wives fathered 19 children, one of the most prominent of whom was John Moses Browning, the world’s most prolific firearms inventor. In the years 1853 & 1854 the Mormons fought the “Walker War” with more than 50 Mormons killed and an undetermined number of Ute Indians killed. The Browning Harmonica rifles were certainly used during this war to great effect. Jonathan Browning is also reputed to have made copies of Colt Dragoon revolvers to arm the Nauvoo Legion when they set out to oppose the invasion of Utah by Gen. Albert Sidney Johnson in 1857. Apparently he did not mark any of these revolvers either but there have been a number of finely crafted Dragoon copies that have turned up around Ogden throughout the years and although they cannot be verified as Browning’s, the conclusion is self-evident. Most of this information is contained in a 5-page article about this rifle and J. Ed Browning, who sold this rifle to Mr. Kontes, that appeared in the 1985 edition of Gun Digest over the bi-line of Robert K. Sherwood. Accompanied by a hand written bill of sale over the signature of J.E. Browning and dated Feb. 11, 1992. The bill of sale states “On this date Feb. 11 1992 I hereby sell to John Kontes of Pocatello my Browning muzzle loading Harmonica repeating rifle for the amount of 13000.00 Thirteen thousand dollars. I will have no more ownership of this rifle from this day forward. The markings on the barrel of this rifle is wheat leaves. Mfg. date approx 1845.” Also accompanying is the cancelled check from Mr. Kontes paid to J.E. Browning in the amount of $13,000.00 with the notation “Jonathan Browning Harmonica Rifle”. The back of the check has the signature “J.E. Browning” with the bank information “Jackson State Bank”, Jackson, WY and the date Mar 19, 92. Also accompanied by copies of photographs of Matt Browning (J. Ed Browning’s older brother), J. Ed Browning, Charles Browning and twins J. Ed & Merwyn. There are copies of a photographs of J. Ed Browning, Matt’s oldest son, of Matt Browning working at a milling machine and of Matt Browning seated in front of J. Ed Browning with twins Merwyn & J. Ed as young men. PROVENANCE: John C. Kontes Collection. CONDITION: Fine. No orig finish remains with the iron parts cleaned metal patina with scattered fine pin prick pitting; brass retains a mellow medium mustard patina. Stock has a hairline at the wrist, another at each end of the saddle plate, otherwise is sound with a hand worn patina. Mechanics appear to be fine although there is no half cock notch. 4-46637 JR349 (75,000-150,000) Auction: Firearms - Fall 2012 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

.red{fill:#B50938;} .white{fill:#FFFFFF;} .blue{fill:#005596;}