DENVER, PENN. — The collection of Walter O’Connor, a dealer/collector of historic Americana, was presented at Morphy Auctions on September 26 to a nearly full auction gallery. A French Fusil de Chasse lead the sale at $102,000, including buyer’s premium. O’Connor was a well-regarded historian, and many of the pieces in his collection were bought from descendants of their original owners or were traced back through research. The hunting musket that led the sale was purchased in the 1960s from an auctioneer in New Jersey. O’Connor believed it may have been brought home by a member of Captain Hezekiah Dunn’s New Jersey Ranging & Co after their service on the New York frontiers between 1756 and 1760. It featured wampum bead decoration with the initials IW and the year 1759.
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