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Special Interests - Groups & Societies => Cas City Historical Society => Topic started by: Coal Creek Griff on October 23, 2019, 05:48:42 PM

Title: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Coal Creek Griff on October 23, 2019, 05:48:42 PM
For those of you who like to recreate old documents, here is a Sharps Rifle receipt.  I took an original found online and removed all of the writing.  I didn't try to make it clean and white, so it looks kind of aged.  I like this stuff and I thought that others might be interested.

CC Griff
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Tsalagidave on October 24, 2019, 12:03:21 AM
Thanks Coal Creek. It looks great. Just for fun, I printed t up and filled it out.

-Dave
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Abilene on October 24, 2019, 12:31:45 AM
Excellent!
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Coal Creek Griff on October 24, 2019, 07:31:29 AM
Thanks Coal Creek. It looks great. Just for fun, I printed t up and filled it out.

-Dave

Nice job! That looks cool.

CC Griff
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: tocnaza on October 28, 2019, 10:45:49 AM
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Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: shrapnel on December 08, 2019, 03:45:05 PM


Here is a genuine post card to Sharps from Barney Day a real historic buffalo hunter. How does this stuff survive?

(http://i.imgur.com/5EpszqI.jpg) (https://imgur.com/5EpszqI)

(http://i.imgur.com/1VFqJmG.jpg) (https://imgur.com/1VFqJmG)
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Professor Marvel on December 08, 2019, 05:19:15 PM
Thanks for the rcpt, Griff. I will download and make some.

Do you by chance have a link to the original one filled out?

yhs
prof marvel
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: nativeshootist on December 09, 2019, 12:58:25 AM
I can read cursive. But 19th century cursive Is something else. Can someone type up the card that shrapnel shared?
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Professor Marvel on December 09, 2019, 05:04:37 AM
this is the best I can come up with:

Send me a state
ment of what I
owe you, $36 (fer?)
and Il'e pay
you if I never
cock another Gun
Let me know if
you can make me
a 36 Caliber (Gun?)
an inch & 5/8 ball
shoot 70 grains
powder, length of
barrell 30 inches
one turn in 20
inche, 14 pounds
weight.
      Barney Day
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Coal Creek Griff on December 09, 2019, 02:18:28 PM
Thanks for the rcpt, Griff. I will download and make some.

Do you by chance have a link to the original one filled out?

yhs
prof marvel

It was from an Ebay ad.  Since I kind of "stole" the image by copying it from the ad, I've been reluctant to publish the original photo.  On the other hand, as of last night the receipt was still listed on Ebay.  If one were to do an Ebay search for, say, "Sharps Rifle", sort by price with the highest price first, then start scrolling down, one might come up with a very similar-looking receipt...

CC Griff
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: nativeshootist on December 10, 2019, 02:01:18 AM
.36-70? ??? Huh. Seems different.
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: kwilliams1876 on December 10, 2019, 05:34:15 PM
The 36 caliber description probably describes the old way of measuring the bore diameter. 36-38 balls to the pound equals roughly .50 caliber.
kw
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Tsalagidave on December 10, 2019, 07:26:50 PM
this is the best I can come up with:

Send me a state
ment of what I
owe you, $36 (fer?)
and Il'e pay
you if I never
cock another Gun
Let me know if
you can make me
a 36 Caliber (Gun?)
an inch & 5/8 ball
shoot 70 grains
powder, length of
barrell 30 inches
one turn in 20
inche, 14 pounds
weight.
      Barney Day

I thought I would be so clever and translate but it looks like you beat me to it Prof. (Send me a statement of what I owe you $36 fer (for), and Il'e (I'll) pay you if I never cock another gun.
Let me knwo (know) if you can mail me a 36 Calibre gun an inch & 5/8 ball, shoot 70 grains powder, length of barrel 30 inches one turn in 20 inches, 14 pounds weight.

Barney Day.)

There's good penmanship and bad.  His really sucks. Great historical piece though.

-Dave
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Professor Marvel on December 10, 2019, 08:49:24 PM
Whilst there "were" about 400 .36 caliber Sharps Business rifles built on the 1850-ish percussion platform, it is most likely that
the Honorable Monsieur Day meant "36 bore" which translates to ~ .50 calibre.....

and, yes, Dave,  his penmanship is most attrocious.

yhs
prof (spellcheek) marbel
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: shrapnel on December 11, 2019, 12:14:28 PM

There's good penmanship and bad.  His really sucks. Great historical piece though.

-Dave

Here is another document from a Sharps dealer in Bozeman, Montana Territory, his penmanship is quite good...

(http://i.imgur.com/w7JRB17.jpg) (https://imgur.com/w7JRB17)

(http://i.imgur.com/3ofhJPy.jpg) (https://imgur.com/3ofhJPy)
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Tsalagidave on December 11, 2019, 10:27:03 PM
Whilst there "were" about 400 .36 caliber Sharps Business rifles built on the 1850-ish percussion platform, it is most likely that
the Honorable Monsieur Day meant "36 bore" which translates to ~ .50 calibre.....

and, yes, Dave,  his penmanship is most attrocious.

yhs
prof (spellcheek) marbel

Of course, 36 balls to the pound. I should have caught that and did not in this case he is talking a 50/70 perhaps. Nice catch Prof. I missed the ball.

-Dave
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: nativeshootist on December 13, 2019, 11:20:16 PM
"His really sucks."  ;D that's a good one
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: DB Books on April 24, 2020, 03:32:49 PM
I think if the feller slowed down while writing in cursive, we could translate it(!) into something readable. And I thought my chicken-scratchin's were bad. Cool to see just the same.
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Coal Creek Griff on April 20, 2022, 03:43:16 PM
I'm bringing this old thread to the surface again because I was playing around with the Sharps receipt that I had worked on before.  I enlarged it and completed it to the best of my ability based upon somewhat limited research as to how the Sharps company would have written the receipt.  I also enlarged the form somewhat and tried to darken or sharpen some of the features.  I completed it as if it was for the Shiloh Sharps that I have in the works.  I'll probably include a little more notation after I pick up the gun.

I'm also going to attach another blank version of the form in case anyone is interested.  Lastly, since enough time has elapsed since I saw the original being offered for sale, I'm going to attach two versions of that: the original screen capture and another version where I darkened it to help with reading the original handwriting (it doesn't look as good, but it is easier to read).  I'll comment that I can't make out all of what the original clerk wrote on the receipt.  Sharps called their basic sporting rifle an "Octagonal Rifle" and I believe that "ST" stands for "set trigger" which was an extra option.  I'm not sure what other options are listed.

Hopefully others find this as interesting as I do.

Griff
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Capt Quirk on April 22, 2022, 07:13:52 AM
Reading that old script is almost as hard as trying to recreate it.
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Coal Creek Griff on April 22, 2022, 09:38:33 AM
I'm also guessing that the "44/32" is the caliber and barrel length; Sharps often didn't identify the specific cartridge, just the caliber of the barrel. My rifle is a 44-2 1/4 (44-77) with a 30" barrel, so I wrote " 44/30".  I could be wrong about that assumption though...

Griff
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Tsalagidave on April 27, 2022, 09:52:12 PM
I looked it over and here is what I can make of it.

Oct. 5 1875
Mess (Abbr. for Messrs. pl. for Mister) Fuller & Parrish
Norwich, Conn.

1 oct (Octagon) rifle 44/32 (.44-77 cal. + 32"barrel length)
S of  rs WG & Singl. (presumably single-set trigger but the rest looks like company jargon that a Sharps clerk would better understand)
less of 20% (20% discount)
(Math calculation of $75 minus 20% being $60.00)

50 Shells $1.32 less 15% (calculates to $1.13)
1 Box (for rifle) $ 0.75

$61.88 + .50 (shipping?) $62.38

Shipped this day.

(Clerk signature)

Have a look at this link to the Zimmerman Sharps documented to Dodge City. With the exception of the double-set triggers, this is the same gun, https://absarokaantiquearms.com/product/hartford-sharps-sporting-rifle-model-1874-shipped-to-dodge-city-kansas/
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Coal Creek Griff on April 27, 2022, 11:06:42 PM
Thank you, sir! I appreciate your input and expertise.

Griff
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Cap'n Redneck on April 28, 2022, 04:52:13 AM
I've been pondering over some of the abbreviations....
Could it be that "S of  rs WG.." means "Stock of regular straight wood grain"...?
Title: Re: Sharps Receipt
Post by: Tsalagidave on April 28, 2022, 10:05:33 AM
Capt.,

You gave a better-sounding guess than what I came up with. I'd agree it may have some reference to the stock.  It looks like some kind of internal Company shorthand but I'd be purely guessing at its meaning.

-Dave