Dimick St. Louis Marked Percussion Cape Gun
Sale 2030 - Arms, Armor and Militaria
Oct 23, 2024
10:00AM ET
Live / Cincinnati
Estimate
$1,200 -
$1,800
Lot Description
Dimick St. Louis Marked Percussion Cape Gun
Western Expansion
.45 caliber & 10 gauge. 35.5" wedge-retained barrels. NSN. Browned finish, iron furniture, walnut stock with raised cheek piece. Muzzleloading double barrel percussion combination rifle shotgun. Percussion locks marked in two lines DIMICK & CO/ST. LOUIS and equipped with adjustable double set triggers. Long wasp waisted two-screw iron tang, iron double finger spur triggerguard, crescent iron buttplate, iron forend cap. Fixed semi-buckhorn rear sight 4.75" from breech with the original dovetail cut 9" from breech now filled. Dovetailed German silver front sight blade. Includes a wooden ramrod secured by two iron pipes. Acquired from Norm Flayderman as item #1432 in Catalog #116, a copy of the catalog is included with the gun.
Horace E. Dimick (1809-1874) was probably the most prolific of the famed St. Louis makers of Plains Rifles. A direct competitor with the famous Hawken shop, Dimick produced his variation of their famous plains rifle, as well as smaller caliber sporting and hunting rifles, target rifles and even delivered roughly 1,000 rifles that were used to arm Birge's Western Sharpshooters (14th Missouri Volunteer Infantry) which was later redesignated as the 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Those Dimick rifles did yeoman's service during the first 12-18 months of the Civil War in the Western Theater, in particular at battles like Fort Donelson and Shiloh. Dimick also imported large numbers of guns from England and Belgium and offered these guns with his retailer mark on them along with American produced guns like Metropolitan Navy percussion revolvers and derringer style pistols. Next to the Hawkens, Dimick is probably the most famous and collectible of the St. Louis Gun makers.
Horace E. Dimick (1809-1874) was probably the most prolific of the famed St. Louis makers of Plains Rifles. A direct competitor with the famous Hawken shop, Dimick produced his variation of their famous plains rifle, as well as smaller caliber sporting and hunting rifles, target rifles and even delivered roughly 1,000 rifles that were used to arm Birge's Western Sharpshooters (14th Missouri Volunteer Infantry) which was later redesignated as the 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Those Dimick rifles did yeoman's service during the first 12-18 months of the Civil War in the Western Theater, in particular at battles like Fort Donelson and Shiloh. Dimick also imported large numbers of guns from England and Belgium and offered these guns with his retailer mark on them along with American produced guns like Metropolitan Navy percussion revolvers and derringer style pistols. Next to the Hawkens, Dimick is probably the most famous and collectible of the St. Louis Gun makers.
This lot is located in Cincinnati.
Condition Report
Good. Both bores about good, moderately oxidized with the rifled bore retaining good rifling with scattered pitting and the shotgun bore remaining mostly smooth. Metal with some old brown finish mixed with a moderately oxidized brown patina. Cleaning and marks on top of the breech suggest either the removal of some pitting or some minor repair to the barrel rib in that area. Lock markings remain legible, but somewhat weak. Locks mechanically functional, left hammer with an added copper or brass washer. Left wedge escutcheon an old copper replacement, the original German silver escutcheon is in place on the opposite side. Wood with moderate wear, a tiny chip missing at the toe and a small piece missing below the hammer from the left lock mortise, otherwise with scattered bumps, dings and mars from handling and use.
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