For Trade and Treaty

[matt]

Has anyone here seen/read this book by Ryan Gale? It's a great picture book with many photos of trade guns, a fowler or two and a couple of trade rifles. It also includes some order information from back in the day. It's available from TOW for about $35 plus S/H. If you don't have it you should consider it. You can go to TOW website and read the review. Mike Nesbitt will be reviewing it in Muzzleloader Magazine soon too.

Laffindog aka Matt Denison

[tcalbert]

I have a copy Matt...and like it very much...
TC

[whitehair]

Matt, That is quite a book, I am very pleased to have the chance to review it. Some doin's, for sure!

TC, Check your "gender," Ol' Hoss!

[sean]

Good to see you here, Whitehair. That book will be an add-on next time I order something from TOW.

Sean

[whitehair]

Sean, Thanks for the welcome. I think this is a good "campfire" to chat by and have some hot coffee too. Also, when you order that copy of For Trade and Treaty from Track, be sure to ask Ryan to autograph it for you. That is a book you'll go back to an awful lot, well worth having, for sure. Shoot sharp, Mike

[Rod]

This book and Gordon's 3-volume set really have set the bar as far as gun photography is concerned. I really like the fact that Gale gives detailed dimensions, as well. I'll bet we're all waiting for Hanson's book on trade guns, too.

Rod

[tcalbert]

thanks Whitehair...thats embarassing...
TC

[whitehair]

Rod, Yes, the details given in For Trade and Treaty are simply delightful. At the same time, they show that standards for bore size and barrel length for the Northwest Guns was probably pretty loose. I mean, we can read the orders from the American Fur Company or the Hudson's Bay Company where they ask for guns with specific barrel lengths. Hardly any of the NW guns shown in For Trade and Treaty or in Gordon's books have barrels of an even 36" or 42", just for example. I'm not considering those that were cut down, just the guns that look complete. And the bore sizes are also of a real mixed variance. With this as evidence, we can't say that 24 gauge is more authentic than a 20 gauge or anything else. Of course, even with the range of guns that Ryan was able to put in his book, that represents a small fraction of the number of guns actually made or imported for the Trade. Maybe what I'm asking is, if an order to a maker of NW guns indicated 24 gauge, how close did the bores on those guns come to a true 24 gauge? I've probably been spoiled by modern manufacturing and technology to completely understand. One of the guns in For Trade and Treaty that does have me wondering is the late Leman percussion trade rifle that Ryan lists as a smooth rifle. I talked to him about this one and he's very convinced that it was made as a smoothbore and I've not heard of Leman making smooth rifles. Can any of you add to that?

T.C., Bravo!! Now you're one of the boys...

[sean]

Just wanted to add that I just got a copy of For Trade and Treaty and I highly recommend it. Its one of the two best resources I've ever seen for NW guns and trade fusils. It goes back to Carolina guns, early English fowlers, and French fusils du trait and has detailed views and measurements of original pieces like the Baumford Carolina gun. It has several English Board of Ordinance guns and American and Belgian made NW Guns. Its not just for fusil fanatics either. There are several original rifles in there as well including 3 original Henrys, a small eagle-head Deringer rifle, a couple Leman, a Tryon, and more. One of the Henry's in there really knocked me out. Its a behemoth grizz-slayer Lancaster of nearly .60 cal with a barrel that is almost 1.4" at the breech and just under 40" long. There are a few minor errors in the book here and there. One of them is the weight of this gun. Its reported to weigh in at 8.7 lbs and I suspect that barrel alone weighs 7 lbs.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in the fur trade guns, and its very reasonable. Unlike the Hanson book, its only $35. Can't go wrong with that.

Merry Christmas, guys.

Sean

[Duane]

Just got my copy today,well worth the money