Sunday, February 4, 2007 Rutland Herald (VT)
By DENNIS JENSEN
Staff Writer
KITTERY, Maine - There was a holdup involving firearms at the Kittery Trading Post last weekend. The holdup was the result of a long line of gun-owners waiting to get their antique firearms appraised during the first Antique Appraisal Fair held on Jan. 27 at the sprawling trading post.
Some real classics were brought in by gun-owners from throughout New England. Three Trading Post firearms experts examined a wide array of firearms brought in by hunters, collectors and others who possessed old guns.
Some 400 to 500 people came by to get appraisals of antique firearms, fishing tackle and camping gear, according to seminar coordinator Justin Kane.
"The turnout has been fantastic," he said. "It's certainly more than I expected."
By far, the antique firearms table was the most popular. People waited patiently in line, carrying old rifles, muzzleloaders and pistols.
Some real beauties were brought in for appraisal, but the most intriguing was a strange-looking muzzleloader that had all of the gun experts scratching their heads. The short, all-metal muzzleloader had an open stock described by John Barnoski as a steel skeleton butt.
"This is very unusual," he said, turning it over in his hands and examining it through a large magnifying glass.
The gun, which belonged to a York resident, was handed down by his grandfather.
After thumbing through an antique firearms manual, Barnoski told the owner it was a 45-caliber Lovell, manufactured sometime between 1840 and 1850.
"This is the most interesting thing I've seen today," he said. "I've never seen one before. Everything else I saw today I saw before."
The gun's value was put at between $400 and $500.
Another man, who asked that he not be identified, brought by an old gun with a tantalizing tale.
His wife, who accompanied him at the fair, inherited a home. The husband found the rifle, a .45-70 Springfield, "in the attic of an old home in Quincy, Mass.," he said. He removed a wide board in the floor of the attic and discovered the rifle, circa 1892.
"I had this premonition about it," he said.
Barnoski estimated the value of the rifle at $800 to $900.
Women too brought firearms in to be appraised and Joyce Morin of Newfane, Vt., had a beauty.
The .58 caliber rifle was manufactured in Windsor, Vt., around 1864 by Lamson, Goodnowt, Yale and may have been used by a Union soldier during the Civil War.
Morin's late husband bought the rifle for $995 in 1990. It was appraised at $1,700.
"My husband was a Civil War collector," she said.
Brattleboro, just south of Newfane, was a staging area for all Vermont troops leaving for the war, Morin said. The old rifle and the historical significance of the area are interesting, historical links, Morin said.
"The wonderful thing about these things is that they connect you to the past," she said. "This gives you a sense of heritage. This was a war of ideals, for both sides."
Holding up the rifle and admiring it, Morin said she was awed at how talented gun-makers of old proved to be.
"You look at the craftsmanship that went into making these guns," she said "It's just amazing."
Guns a 'big draw'
Harold Porter of Sanford had an interesting spread of old ice fishing gear, camp stoves, lanterns and hand warmers.
One tip-up he had on display caught everyone's eye. It looked ancient. Porter said it was made in 1932, but said he owns tip-ups dating back to 1895.
The wide array of old camping gear surprised some onlookers, Porter said.
"Back in the 1920s, camping was a big deal," he said. "Pop-up campers were big in the '20s and '30s among people with a little bit of money."
Kane is employed by the Kittery Trading Post, a sprawling outdoor sports retailer just across the border from New Hamsphire. He organized the event and said that he was quite impressed with the turnout.
"Based on the results, there may be a second Annual Antique Appraisal Fair next year," he said.
In order to attract a wide range of interest, Kane arranged for four displays for the day - antique guns, antique fishing tackle, antique camping and ice fishing gear and an antler scoring table.
"January is a slow month for retail and a fairly slow month for the outdoorsman," Kane said. "Some of our bigger lakes aren't iced out yet so this was a way to give our customers something to do during a January weekend, a way to beat the winter doldrums."
The attraction was free.
"We want people to come into the store" and the fair proved to be a big attraction, he said.
Kane said he was not only surprised by the big turnout; he was also a bit perplexed by the fact that so many people stopped by with antique firearms.
"The antique gun appraisal was the big draw which is interesting to me because we have our own appraisers in the store, year-round," he said.
"On any day, people can bring in an antique firearm and have it appraised."
Kane said he suspects that people who own the old guns either had no idea how old they were or little information about how much the firearm might be worth.
"I think we're seeing a lot of family guns that people would not consider selling, but it's still nice to know the value of them," he said.
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