DENVER, Pa. — A Lancaster County auction house will sell a revered collector's entire lot of antique firearms, edged weapons and early military items.
The 163-lot collection, gathered by Bill Myers, will be auctioned off by Morphy Auctions of Denver, Lancaster County on Wednesday, Sept. 29.
The boutique auction will be devoted exclusively to Myers' collection, which was carefully acquired and scrupulously researched over several decades, according to Morphy Auctions founder and president Dan Morphy.
“Bill Myers knew from childhood that he would be a collector," Morphy said in a press release. "At the age of 10, he was gifted with a Civil War sword, musket and screw-tip powder horn. There was an immediate connection that developed into a lifelong fascination for antique firearms."
After earning his college degree in structural engineering and serving in the armed forces, Myers set his focus on items from the 1750-1850 timeframe, when everything was painstakingly handcrafted, Morphy said.
His acclaimed collection grew to include the finest examples of Kentucky rifles, Bowie knives, engraved powder horns and Indian presentation tomahawks.
“David Geiger, our expert who cataloged the collection, was awestruck by the rarity and incredible quality throughout," said Morphy. "Bill is greatly respected by his peers in the antique firearms hobby, and we’re honored to present his incredible collection at auction."
There are 31 antique rifles in the Myers collection, including several percussion and lever-action models, and 20 coveted flintlock types.
Of the latter specialty, the top entry is a slender and finely carved 42-inch example attributed to John Rupp I of Lehigh Valley. A classic, streamlined longarm that exhibits all of the defining features of the Lehigh school of gunsmithing, it retains a silver hang tag confirming it was the Kentucky Rifle Association’s 1979 choice as “BEST INCISED CARVED RIFLE.”
Joe Kindig Jr’s respected Thoughts on the Kentucky Rifle in Its Golden Age depicts a similar, Rupp-signed rifle with the same Indian- head/Liberty-cap-head engraving as is seen on the auction gun. Estimate: $75,000-$150,000
Another outstanding longarm with prestigious provenance is a circa-1780 Berks County over/under Kentucky swivel breech rifle attributed to Nathan Boyer and originally owned by the Myer family. Centuries after its manufacture, it would become a prized asset in the collections of both George Murdock and, later, John du Mont.
In du Mont’s notes on this rifle, he wrote that the legendary long rifle collector and author Joe Kindig Jr once described it as “the finest over/under swivel breech rifle [he] knew of.”
Featured in multiple reference books, it is offered with supportive ephemera and is estimated at $40,000-$80,000.
A wonderful pair of pair of Lehigh County antique flintlock Kentucky pistols built from tiger maple, with brass triggers and furniture, exhibits octagon barrels, punch-dot-decorated muzzle faces, and engraved front sights and banners. The duo is featured in James R. Johnston’s book Accouterments IV and retains the tag of noted author and authority Jim Dresslar.
Showing little use and with every indication of having been very well cared for, the pistols are offered together with a $30,000-$50,000 estimate.
Some of the most remarkable edged weapons ever to pass through Morphy’s gallery are found in Bill Myers’ collection.
A circa-1785 silver-mounted American scalping knife with a Federal Eagle motif measures 7½ inches long and is depicted in March to Massacre: A History of the First Seven Years of the United States Army by William H. Guthman.
In that book, the author describes the fearsome weapon as a “white man’s scalping knife…that was made for a prosperous woodsman.” With provenance from Guthman’s personal collection, the lot is estimated at $15,000-$30,000.
A final highlight not to be missed is a unique 1817 hand-painted wood sign from the ancestral stone residence of the Rupp family of Lehigh County. Demolished in 1967, the homestead was the birthplace of seven generations of the famous Pennsylvania rifle-making family, including John Rupp. A book example, it is estimated at $10,000-$30,000.
Morphy’s Wednesday, Sept 29, 2021 auction of the Bill Myers Collection of Antique Firearms, Edged Weapons and Early Militaria will be held live at Morphy’s gallery in Denver, starting at 10 a.m. All remote forms of bidding will also be available, including live via the Internet through Morphy Live.
View the fully illustrated auction catalog online, with detailed descriptions and multiple images per lot, at www.morphyauctions.com.
