The Norman R. Blank Collection holds some of the most beautiful and historic firearms ever sold. With more than 30 lots from the Blank Collection being offered in Rock Island Auction Company’s Aug. 23-25 Premier Auction, there is a lot to unpack, so let’s break them down into a few related categories, each containing spectacular pieces from their genre.

Wheellock Sporting Guns

Wheellocks were the first self-igniting firearms which made them particularly significant in firearms evolution and also made them far more practical. Most of the wheellocks seen today were produced for European noblemen to use on their hunts and therefore are often as much artworks as they are firearms. Some of the finest historic examples of this fascinating genre can be found in Rock Island Auction Company's Aug. 23 - 25 Premier Auction in Bedford, Texas, including certainly the most historically significant wheellock the auction house has ever brought to auction.

King Louis XIII's Extraordinary Wheellock Sporting Gun from his Cabinet d'Armes

There is nowhere better to start than with the best of the best. One of the most significant antique firearms in private hands is gun Number 24 from King Louis XIII of France’s Cabinet d’Armes, an absolutely stunning wheellock sporting gun attributed to gunmaker Francois Poumerol. This is certainly one of the crown jewels of this already outstanding collection. The smoothbore sporting gun is over 400 years old and is a fantastic work of art received by the young French king as he was consolidating his control of France after ousting his powerful mother, Marie de Medici. Very few firearms from the Cabinet d’Armes of Louis XIII are in private hands. This piece has been tucked away in Mr. Blank’s collection for decades and may never be publicly available again as it could very well find itself on display in an internationally renowned art museum.

Superb Pair of Wheellock Sporting Rifles by Caspar Zelner

These two matching wheellock sporting rifles by Caspar Zelner (1661-1745), the royal gunmaker for Emperors Joseph I and Charles VI are beautiful, featuring gold inlays that contrast with the blue finish. The large flat lock plates serve as excellent canvases for the engraved scenes featuring Diana, goddess of the hunt, and the motif continued on the pierced side plates.

This superb pair of Wheellock sporting rifles is by Caspar Zelner Vienna for Emperor Joseph I and Charles VI.

Large German Wheellock Sporting Gun with Double Dogs

Two dogs on the large lock allows a hunter to quickly get this smoothbore wheellock sporting gun back into action should they have one of their pyrites fail to spark against the wheel. The fruitwood stock features extensive bone/staghorn inlays intricately engraved with bestial motifs, including a series of four masks along the forend and serpents.

This late 16th century wheellock sporting gun may be from Bartel Wechter the Elder of Dresden.

Smoothbore Muzzle Loading Long Guns

Most of the sporting guns of the 18th century and earlier were smoothbores, and they naturally remained popular into the percussion era. These versatile firearms could fire birdshot, buckshot, buck and ball, or single round balls depending on their quarry, and many were fairly ornate given their owners were primarily wealthy landowners and the nobility. The August auction has an impressive selection of primarily English smoothbore muzzle loading sporting guns.

Ornate Flintlock Sporting Gun by Griffin

The Norman R. Blank Collection notes indicate that noted author and collector W. Keith Neal believed the outstanding sporting gun with silver inlaid stock by Griffin from circa 1770 “may have been made up by Griffin as a show piece since there is no name or crest on the escutcheon." It features chiseled and engraved floral and classical martial motifs throughout as well as an interesting scene depicting two putti studying a book and globe and another scene on the heel tang of a dog flushing a bird. The full-length stock also features incredibly detailed raised relief carved floral patterns and extensive silver wire inlays with inlaid engraved floral blooms and leaves.

John Twigg Flintlock Swivel Breech Sporting Gun

John Twigg (1732-1792) was a renowned English gunmaker in the late 18th century, so much so that his name was sometimes spuriously marked on guns made by other gunmakers. Twigg’s impressive swivel breech or “wender” sporting gun is the real deal and features dual Damascus barrels with gold vent liners, fine engraving, and classic English carving and broad checkering.

John Fox Twigg (1732–1792) was among the premier English gunmakers of the 18th century, and this fine swivel breech or "wender" sporting gun clearly demonstrates the fact.

Historic Cased Silver-Mounted John Manton & Son Shotgun Made for U.S. Senator Edward Lloyd

Like Twigg, John and Joseph Manton were certainly among the premier gunmakers of their time. Their careers stretched into the percussion era, and this cased silver-mounted 7-bore shotgun is a fascinating example that bridges the flintlock and percussion era by including both an advanced flint lock and rare tube lock. This piece is also historically significant as it was purchased by U.S. Minister to England Richard Rush and owned by influential U.S. Senator Edward Lloyd. The senator also served as the governor of Maryland and is widely remembered as a notorious slaveholder thanks to The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.

This impressive gun from 1820 is recorded on page 98 of "The Mantons: Gunmakers" by W. Keith Neal and D.H.L. Back where it is described as a "Single Barrel 7 Bore Shotgun Cased" and as having a "Self-Priming Lock converted to Tube Lock" and noted as owned by "N. Blank, U.S.A."

John Manton & Son Double Barrel Shotgun with Bird's Eye Maple Stock

This truly special John Manton & Son double barrel percussion shotgun has a bird’s eye maple stock, nearly unheard of on an English shotgun and truly highlights the gold inlays. The gun glistens with a gold bead front sight and a gold sunburst pattern inlaid base, "John Manton & Son, London" in gold inlay, and gold inlaid foliate patterns. The breech plugs and the Damascus barrels feature additional gold inlaid scroll patterns. Norman R. Blank wrote, “This is one of the most elaborate English percussion guns I have seen.” Given the breadth of his collection and its overall quality, that is quite the statement!

This magnificent shotgun by John Manton & Son features this incredibly high conditioned bird's eye maple stock.

Cased Percussion Double barrel Shotgun by John William Edge

This cased 12 gauge shotgun from John William Edge of Manchester features beautifully intricate engraving, including scenes of various game birds, the gun’s intended targets. It is an elegant example of a high quality English percussion fowling piece from the mid-19th century.

John William Edge of Manchester was a gunmaker from 1827 to 1864. This double barrel shotgun by Edge features Damascus barrels with a concave rib signed "JOHN WILLIAM EDGE" and fitted with a bead front sight. Each barrel is marked with London proof marks. The casehardened patent breeches have pierced platinum plugs, and the rib divider is engraved with a pheasant.

Muzzle Loading Rifles

For most of the muzzle loading era, smoothbores were by far the most common firearms, but rifles have been around for a long time and gained in popularity in the last quarter of the 18th century. Norman R. Blank acquired some of the finest examples of muzzle loading rifles made both in Europe and the United States.

Silver Mounted Half-Stock Flintlock Sporting Rifle by James Haslett

A perfect example from Mr. Blank’s collection is this silver mounted half-stock flintlock sporting rifle by James Haslett. His collection is almost entirely focused on European arms, and, while this stunning rifle from James Haslett was made in Baltimore, Maryland, and has a distinctly American theme, at first glance it appears to be a very high quality English half-stock sporting rifle from the early 19th century. This silver mounted rifle is among the finest of its type and is truly one of my favorite pieces from Mr. Blank’s collection. It is a collector's wishlist in terms of condition, quality, rarity, beauty, and artistry.

Bohemian Flintlock Sporting Rifle by J.A. Maerckle

Returning to the Old World, this fascinating flintlock rifle by J.A. Maerckle of Bohemia is shaped like a traditional wheellock sporting rifle and features a rare bronze barrel and lock plate. This beautiful piece was formerly in the famous arms collection of the Grand Dukes of Saxe-Weimar at Schloss Ettersburg.

This elaborately adorned flintlock rifle was in the collection of the Grand Dukes of Saxe-Weimar at Schloss Ettersburg before being sold in 1927.

Elaborate Target Rifle by Joseph Perger

This incredible rifle from Joseph Perger of Gratz, Austria, takes us a bit forward in time to the mid-19th century and also represents another kind of sporting rifle: a percussion off-hand target rifle. For its stated purpose, it is already a piece of functional art, but the engraving plus gold and silver inlays featuring a variety of Greco-Roman gods and goddesses takes it above and beyond and places it at the pinnacle of fine percussion target rifles.

This fabulous target rifle by Austrian Joseph Preger is elaborately engraved with complex scrollwork framing various mythological figures, gold and silver inlaid, and fitted with chiseled furniture.

Whitworth Sporting Rifle for the Duke of Somerset

The iconic Whitworth rifle was one of the most accurate of all muzzle loading rifles, which has long made them highly sought after by collectors. They were famously used by Confederate sharpshooters during the Civil War, but this rifle was not made for Johnny Reb, it was made for Edward A. St. Maur (1804-1885), 12th Duke of Somerset and First Lord of the Admiralty.

The Whitworth rifle was developed in the 1850s as a sharpshooter's rifle and this fine example has casehardened colors on the lock, breech plug, patchbox and buttplate.

John Dickson & Son 4 Bore Dangerous Game Rifle

Most of the muzzle loading rifles we see are fairly small caliber compared to this shoulder-busting 4-bore rifle by John Dickson & Son. This rifle was clearly purpose-built for hunting dangerous game and was sold on July 14, 1859. 4-bore rifles were popular with English sportsmen hunting elephants and other big game in Africa in the middle part of the 19th century.

This big bore gun is by Scottish gunmaker John Dickson and features scroll engraving, a checkered trigger, running stag scene engraved on the trigger guard bow, standing stag scenes on the heel tang and patchbox lid, a dark horn forend cap and silver reinforcement plates on the stock.

Breech Loading Sporting Guns

While the attention thus far has been focused on muzzle loading firearms, Mr. Blank was an active sportsman who also collected beautiful English breech loading sporting guns, particularly double barrel shotguns and double rifles. The following three lots from his collection are excellent examples of the finest English double guns.

A Purdey in Paris

This double rifle from J. Purdey & Sons is truly a work of art. This stunning .450 3 ¼ (Black Powder Express) rifle was displayed by Purdey at the extravagant Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1878 and again the following year at the Sydney International Exhibition in Australia before being owned by Baron Keane. This exceptional rifle features absolutely remarkable engraving.

Purdey Double Barrel Shotgun Pair Engraved by Ken Hunt

The next selections continue the theme of Purdey’s famous excellence with not one but a matching pair of Ken Hunt master engraved sidelock double barrel shotguns complete with a case and extra barrel sets. The pair even includes Mr. Blank’s original invoice from Purdey for the pair from July 18, 1960, as well as other documentation.

Norman R. Blank amassed a magnificent collection of fine firearms but he was also a sportsman and ordered this shotgun pair from Purdey in the late 1950s.

Holland & Holland 8 Bore No. 3 Double Barrel Paradox Gun

Holland & Holland’s famous Paradox guns were innovative and are highly sought after by serious sporting arms collectors. They feature rifling at the muzzle that allows them to effectively fire bullets in addition to shot. This rare 8 bore example produced in 1897 is one of only 69 or 70 8-bore Paradox guns built by Holland & Holland over a 24 year period.

*Built in 1897, this Holland & Holland 8 Bore Double Barrel Paradox Gun is pictured and discussed on pages 195-196 of David Baker and Roger Lake's "Paradox: The story of Col. G. V. Fosbery, Holland & Holland, and the Paradox" where it also states that only 69 or 70 8 bore Paradox guns where built over a 24 year period.

Muzzle Loading Pistols

While Norman R. Blank clearly had a taste for a wide variety of fine sporting guns, his interest in fine antique firearms also extended to European muzzle loadings pistols. The upcoming sale contains several notable examples, including silver mounted English and Spanish pistols, dueling pistols, and an incredibly ornate pair of wheellock pistols from Brecia in Northern Italy.

Pair of Brescian Wheellock Pistols

The gunmakers of Northern Italy are well-known for their incredible pierced metalwork, and that is demonstrated beautifully on this pair of Brescian pistols in the upcoming auction. They have been touted as the world’s most beautiful wheellock pistol pair, and are documented in "Die Waffensammlung des Fursten Salm-Reifferscheidt zu Schloss Dyck" by Max von Ehrenthal and appeared on the cover of Dexter's "Armseller" Vol. 2, August-September 1956, No. 3 where they are noted as "Considered the world's most valuable Italian pistol pair."

The smoothbore barrels on these Brescian wheellock pistols each feature decorative girdles at the muzzles, transition points and breeches. The locks have chiseled and engraved scroll accents, and a "fleur-de-lis/FG" maker's mark inside. The ramrod tips, triggers, trigger guards, and pommel borders are gilt brass, and the trigger guards feature a winged classical figure among the pierced scroll designs.

Pair of Silver Mounted Wogdon Flintlock Dueling Pistols

When it comes to dueling pistols, no maker is as well-known as Robert Wogdon. He was so connected to dueling that to participate in a duel was known as taking part in “a Wogdon affair.” This pair of cased and silver mounted Wogdon dueling pistols is a stunning example of classic late 18th century British dueling pistols.

These pistols were exhibited at the NRA in 2004 and were manufactured about 1780 by famed dueling pistol maker Robert Wogdon. The breech ends of the barrels and front of the standing breeches have bands of beadwork engraving.The mounts are solid silver and includes classic acorn finials on the trigger guards.

Cased Pair of Joseph Manton Half-Stock Rifled Flintlock Dueling Pistols

Joseph and John Manton were among the most respected London gunmakers of the late 18th century and early 19th century. In addition to fine sporting guns like those discussed above, they were both also well-known for their fine pistols, particularly their dueling pistols. This cased pair from “Joe Manton” is particularly noteworthy as it features rifled barrels, an unusual feature for British pistols in the early 19th century.

Displayed at the NRA in 2004, these Joseph Manton dueling pistols date to 1804. They are listed on page 238 of "The Mantons: Gunmakers" by W. Keith Neal and D.H.L. Back where they are identified as a "Pair of Single Barrel 44 Bore Pistols Cased."

Lot 3280: Silver Mounted Spanish Miquelet Belt Pistol by Doiztua

This very ornate pistol offers a different flavor, dating from the late 18th century. The stunning silver mounts and complimented by gold inlays on the barrel and fine raised relief carving. While the flintlock was the dominant ignition system for firearms across most of Europe, the Spanish, Italian, and other Mediterranean gunmakers also utilized a snaplock commonly known as the “miquelet” today. Unlike a “true flintlock,” the miquelet lock has half and full-cock sears that engage the cock on the exterior of the lock.

This southern European miquelet-style pistol has silver mounts complimented by gold inlaid foliate scrollwork inhabited by birds on the breech section, a sunken gold lined "crown/FRo/DOIZ/TUA" maker's mark and a fleur-de-lis pattern gold inlaid band ahead of the bright foliate and border engraved standing breech,

Bespoke Firearms of the Norman R. Blank Collection

The beautiful bespoke European fine arms of the Norman R. Blank Collection represent just one of the many collections featured in the Aug. 23-25 Premier Auction. The August Premier Firearms Auction contains over 1,700 lots, including selections of fine and historic arms from other notable collections such as the Greg Lampe Collection, the George S. Lewis Jr. Collection, the Mac McCroskie Collection, the Andrew Singer Collection and many others. If you are on the hunt for the best of the best to add to your collection, check out the catalog online now and make sure to be in Bedford, Texas, for the preview day on August 22nd.

This beautiful and well-documented cased and factory engraved Colt Model 1851 Navy revolver is a selection from the Greg Lampe Collection offered alongside the Norman R. Blank Collection.