1826 P. & E.W. Blake Model 1822 Rifle
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APPRAISER:
So, what did you bring in?
GUEST:
A flintlock rifle. I picked it up in the early '80s. I noticed it had a name, a city, and a date.
APPRAISER:
We have "P. & E.W. Blake." Do you know who that is?
GUEST:
No.
APPRAISER:
Nobody else did either. Those are the nephews of Eli Whitney. It's Philos and Eli Whitney Blake. In 1825, Eli Whitney dies. He has a contract with the government to make some guns. The nephews take over and they put their name on 'em. Nobody knew who the Blakes were. Everybody knew who Eli Whitney was...
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
...because it's the same man that's credited with inventing the cotton gin. They made 15,000 of these guns from 1826 to 1830. First year production on this one; we have the 1826 date.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
They realized nobody knew who they were, so in 1830, they switched back to the Whitney name. because it was a name people remembered.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
But it has matching dates on the lock plate and on the barrel. It's just a nice gun. It's in the original flintlock configuration. It's .69-caliber and just a fantastic old gun. This gun would probably bring about $2,500 on the retail market.
GUEST:
My brother will definitely take more of an interest in it.
APPRAISER:
(laughs)
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