Bar in Wood Joseph Smith:
I strayed off the beaten path, this “Crab Knuckle” pre-1875 Joseph Smith was once a pin fire. You could call it a poor man’s John Rigby, Guyot or Ingram. A 12 bore with shiny tubes fractionally less than 30” and 2-9/16” chambers. It’s unknown who did the conversion, though a nice job in my eyes. It’s 6 pounds 11 ounces with a modest drop at the heel of 2-1/2” and a touch of cast off. The water table is stamped “Joseph Smith Patent 347”. I don’t know much about these, though it was interesting enough to take it home.
One strange aspect is that one barrel is Damascus while the other is Laminated, perhaps Mosaic pattern. Odd bird for sure. I have some English SxS books coming from across the pond, they may contain some information pertinent to this historical piece.
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Phlebas the Phoenician, a fortnight dead, forgot the cry of gulls, and the deep sea swell and the profit and loss.
A current under sea picked his bones in whispers. As he rose and fell he passed the stages of his age and youth entering the whirlpool. Gentile or Jew O you who turn the wheel and look to windward, Consider Phlebas, who was once handsome and tall as you.
T.S. Eliot
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