Brass embellishments and their meanings (2025)

The inlays of Kentucky rifles, both Flintlock and Percussion often included a crooked heart with the bottom point turned to the side...as a charm against an enemy..

Barrels are sometimes found with X marks on the underside as a protection against evil spirits, witch's and demons, and especially a hexer.

One of the earliest decorations is the eight pointed star. Another early embellishment was a Crescent Moon...

Hoping that folks would give meaning to these embellishments or even just repeat the folklores.. :wink:

giz

The heart is not usually seen til after the 19th century. As with allot of ML stuff, there is a disagreement on it's meaning. Some say it is to signify the Love of God and his fellow man. However, others have said it is a protective tailsman against evil forces.
If the tail is turned to one side, it is referred to a a "Bleeding Heart" (sometimes called a Weeping Heart), and said to represent the 5th wound of Christ. Sometimes put on the wrist where a shooters hand would cover it, symbolic of protection of loved ones.

There is an article of them in Gun Digest Treasury 7th Edition under Pennsylvania Longrifles. An explanation into the mystery, the enigma, of their inlaid & engraved decorations.

Thanks for that post...truly on topic and well thought out. :wink:

I am after the meaning behind the Hunters Star. I've heard the lore that it was meant to guide a long hunter safely home, but have never read any documentation that speaks to the eight sided star....

giz

From the Text:

Eight-Pointed Star:

This was without question the earliest design used on American rifles, and certainly the most popular. Stars are one of the most popular inlays or even patchbox finials, but the eight pointed version outnumbers all others. They're seem most often on the cheekpiece, sometimes as a barrel-pin escutcheon, more occasionally as a independant inlay and, rarely, in the engraved design of a patchbox. Some call it a Hunters Star, but with strong opposition from other schools of thought.
The 8-pointed star is a popular motif in Penn. Dutch folk art, in which it signifies "abundance and good will". From this source, it quite possibly derived from the "Rosenkreug" or Rose & Cross, which was a 15th century German symbol of religious freedom & private land ownership. The latter is also the emblem of the philosophic order of Rosicrucians.

Dillon insists this star was born with the American rifle, ignoring the fact that it occurs on central European rifles & crossbows which predate our American firearms.

Archeologists attribute the star to an ancient sun cult, to whom it meant fertility.

Religion & science (often at odds) combine forces to suggest the most interesting origins of the 8-pointed star. Legend says it is the Star of Bethlehem, and thus was used as a talisman to guide the rifleman along the proper path through life in the wilderness. Astronomers say the remarkable conjunction of Mars & Saturn in Pisces occurs once in 794 years, and that this may have a direct relationship to the star of the wise men. That "star" being abnormally bright, and could have been the two planets shining side by side. This could also account for the unusual elongation of the star, altho this most likely was just to conform to the shape of the cheekpiece or the forestock.

:thumbsup:

From the article:

Cresent Moon or Quarter Moon.

This was almost as popular a motif as the 8-pointed star, but probably not quite as early in appearance on our rifles. Many of the first rifles were devoid of any decoration, but the earliest inlays were most likely the star or the cresent moon.

A widely thoery about the cresent moon is that it is out talismanic hope for bountiful life. It is symbolic of the harvest moon, a bumper crop & fertility. An interesting aspect of the fertility theme is that cresents on rifles are sometimes distinctly male and female. One paarticular pair of longrifles is known which clearly illustrates this point. This is a rare feature.

The cresent, with or without face, was often used as a cheekpiece inlay on rifles from south-central Penn. It was the early Christian symbol for the Virgin Mary and for God's creation. The American pioneer said the cresent should be mounted with the points down, and signified a wet moon. This meant dampness of ground and of fallen leaves, so that he could stalk game quietly. Four cresents represent 4 seasons.

Naturally the changing phases of the moon intrigued and mystified ancient man, so it is natural that we should find it as a taliman for any different early cultures.

Chuck Dixon, in "The Art of Building the Pennsylvania Longrifle" lists several of the more common shapes giving a brief description of what he feels they represented.

Hunters Star: 4 major and 4 minor axis representing the points of the compass to guide the hunter home from his journey.

Moon: Important in all phases of life such as Planting, harvesting and building. I'll add hunting as most folks recognize the importance of the moon on the habits of wildlife.

Eagle: Not normally seen prior to the Rev. War but enjoyed great popularity following the war.
The Continental Congress adopted the symbol as one of defiance and independence.

Fish: Early Christian symbol standing for "Jesus Christ, son of God." A fish pointed in the direction of the target was supposed to enhance accuracy.

Heart and Bleeding Heart: Both religious and social interpretations. Can represent the sufferings of Christ or love for ones gun, family and friends.

Cats Eye: An ellipse, usually with sharp ends was thought to ward off evil.

Distelfink: "thistle finch": Small bird thought to bring good luck to the owner.

I find it interesting, seeing as how religion was very important to most of the people in the 1700's and Christianity in North America was the most common form that an obvious and very direct symbol, that being the simple christian cross never seems to appear on the Longrifles that were made then.
Although the number of original guns from those days that I have seen can be counted on one hand I do have a rather extensive library and I don't think I've seen one example of a christian cross in any of the pictures.

I've seen several Masonic symbols and a host of other symbols but no simple cross.

I've asked before on this forum if anyone knows why and I have yet to see anyone answer.
You guys want to try again?

Many makers had certain inlays that they liked to put on their work as well, kinda like signing their work...

The Voglers were Moravian gunsmiths in Salem, NC. the name Vogler means bird in German...The finale on their patchboxes was usually an eagle... You'll also see tobacco leaves on some of the NC rifles from the 1800s along with the fore mentioned hunter's star, hunter's moon and eagle on the cheekpiece...

Of course, the Lancaster daisy came about from the Lancaster area but was also on some of the early NC rifles and then later the daisy was changed to a eight sided star...

I have always liked the "Free Born" rifle, it along with the Thomas rifle from SC speak to us today as far as the sentiment during the Revolutionary War...

Zonie said:

I find it interesting, seeing as how religion was very important to most of the people in the 1700's and Christianity in North America was the most common form that an obvious and very direct symbol, that being the simple christian cross never seems to appear on the Longrifles that were made then.

I've asked before on this forum if anyone knows why and I have yet to see anyone answer.
You guys want to try again?

Click to expand...

I'm guessing here (as a Christian) that the fish was used anywhere the cross might have been. The reason being that the longrifle is long and narrow where the cross is taller than it is wide--artistically the two don't match. How many rifle inlays are taller than they are wide?

The cross was very rarely used by Protestants. It reeked of Popery, which was to be avoided at all costs.

A lot of people have an intense desire to find secret meanings in every little swirl, every little design used on guns. I am not one of them.

Zonie said:

Chuck Dixon, in "The Art of Building the Pennsylvania Longrifle" lists several of the more common shapes . . .

Distelfink: "thistle finch": Small bird thought to bring good luck to the owner.

Click to expand...

This one stuck out as particularly interesting to me. IIRC, thistle finch is a nickname for a goldfinch. They are good luck because they like to eat the thistles which would otherwise ruin a farmers field.

I just tripped over this pic I found on the Cabin Creek link in the thread about Williamsburg.

The culture of the German immigrant gun makers was and is called Pennsylvania "Dutch". This developed from an English misunderstanding of the word Deutch (meaning German), though (techinically) there was no country "Germany" until 1870. Though Pennsylvania was a "tolerant" colony there was very little love for these "foreigners". Benjamin Franklin warned of the dangers that these people posed for a civilized society. They were for the most part poor, cantankerous and uncooperative, but some of them made some pretty fine guns (that hold you boys attention to this day). Many suscribed to the German Reformed and Lutheran faiths, but even in that they kept some pre-Christian beliefs (the unkind may call them superstians) But they in small shops created a truly American firearm that vevilated more that one British solder. -- Poetic justice what say ye Ben Franklin.

A PA "Dutch" Sirjohn

roundball said:

I'll be interested in the answer too if there's actually specific meanings...I always just assumed they were little add on items like people used to add fox tails and mud flaps on cars decades ago...

Click to expand...

Stophel said:

Benjamin Rush thought much more highly of the PA Germans than did Franklin, who said that the Germans (other than the Saxons) were "swarthy" and not pure whites.... :shake: Jefferson wished the whole country could be populated with Germans, as he saw them as pious, sober, industrious, and self-reliant. Everything the new Republic needed.

Click to expand...

And need A LOT MORE OF today!

gizamo said:

I've notice a good deal of brass embellishments on many of the flintlock rifles I've seen. Is there a good source of defininitions about the meanings behind many of them? Hunter's Stars, Hearts, etc...and many others that I do not recognize....

Click to expand...

gizamo said:

I've notice a good deal of brass embellishments on many of the flintlock rifles I've seen. Is there a good source of defininitions about the meanings behind many of them? Hunter's Stars, Hearts, etc...and many others that I do not recognize....

Click to expand...

I read an article years ago in an old Gun Digest from the seventies, I think, that was written about inlays on muzzleloading guns, and their meanings.
A good and lengthy article.