The lot features a rare and important engraved pipe tomahawk head from John Fraser Lancaster County, Pennsylvania circa 1758, one of only three known to exist, from the ex-collections of Allan Glaser, Cyrus Eaton and Harold Hibben; engraved, “I / FRASER” Provenance: John Fraser (1721-1773), Lancaster County Pennsylvania; Harold James Hibben (1881-1956), Indianapolis, Indiana; Cyrus Eaton, London, England; Allan Glaser, Dallas, Texas; Only three such examples are known to exist, marked by John Fraser including the identical John Fraser example also from the William Guthman collection sold for $189,000 at Sotheby’s New York on January 23rd, 2022 William K. du Pont collection; the example in the Smithsonian Museum collection; and this identical example. All are in the same exact pattern and marked, “I FRASER”. For Literature Reference see: William H. Guthman, "The John Fraser Tomahawks," Man at Arms, Vol. 16, No. 5, September-October 1994, pp. 17-20; R.S. Stephenson, Clash of Empires: The British, French & Indian War, 1754-1763, (Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh Regional History Center, 2005), p. 22; John Kolar, "John Fraser: Frontiersman, Gunsmith, and Trader," Muzzle Blasts Magazine, November 2013, pp. 13-14. Sotheby’s Lot494, The William K. du Pont Collection: Important Americana from Rocky Hill. January 23, 2022 New York, New York. John Fraser (1721-1773) immigrated to the new world from Scotland in 1735 and established his first trading house in the village of Venango in western Pennsylvania, adjacent to the Seneca village. He was licensed by the British to trade with the Native Americans and did extensive gunsmithing for the Seneca, often exchanging his work for furs and pelts. By 1748, Fraser had developed a strong relationship of mutual respect with the Native American tribes as well as with the Crown as a trader, but his station in life was challenged the following year when the French tried to regain a stronghold of the Ohio River Valley. On numerous occasions, Fraser had been forced to flee his trading house in Venango and had lost all of his trade goods. By the summer of 1753, he had moved and established a new trading house at the mouth of Turtle Creek on the Monongahela (within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania), where he would meet George Washington later that fall. Washington was commissioned by the Governor of Virginia to confront the French and demand that they leave their forts in the Ohio Country and with Christopher Gist in frigid weather upriver. After a terrible night where the two were stranded on an island due to ice forming on the river, they were able to make it to Fraser’s warm cabin by morning, which started their friendship. Fraser was with Washington at Fort Necessity, Braddock’s Defeat, and Forbes’s campaign against Duquesne. Although a prolific gunsmith, there are no known rifles signed by John Fraser. The only material object that bears his mark are these pipe tomahawks, signed “I. Fraser,” making them truly special. Various accounts given by Fraser of his captured trade goods include pipe tomahawks, and similar tomahawk heads, with their distinctive pipe bowl and diamond filed patterns, have been found in different locations in North America, though missing their original hafts. Sotheby’s noted that their example, in identical form to our example, was believed by many to not only to have been made by John Fraser but also owned as his personal weapon. This example of pipe tomahawk head exhibits a hand-forged classic mid-1700’s pattern of head which is engraved on the left side of the blade “I FRASER” (the I and F being larger and RASER capitalized but slightly smaller, a unique attributed identical to the other), with a “screw-off” octagonal pipe bowl with a threaded base so it can be removed for use and cleaning. Often these early removable bowls were missing. The bowl shows wonderful filed rings. The tomahawk shows a hand filed and etched diamond on both sides. This example is identical in every way to the Sotheby’s William H. Guthman (1924-2005) example, likely made by Fraser at the same time. The piece is paired with a plain solid wood haft handle with carved bulging end with clean out plug and simple smoking tip, while attractive and quite similar to the other example, this is likely a later addition. Head measures 6 7/8-inches long by 2 3/8-inches long across the blade, tomahawk overall is 22-inches in length. Noted by Sotheby’s “This beautifully designed, forged, and crafted eighteenth century pipe tomahawk allowed John Fraser, a modest yet determined frontiersman, to survive and accomplish great things. It exists today as a rare artifact of the French and Indian War. For more information on this tomahawk and on the smith, John Fraser, please see John Kolar’s article, “John Fraser: Frontiersman, Gunsmith, and Trader” in the November 2013 issue of Muzzle Blasts magazine.” Harold James Hibben (1881-1956) was born in May 1881 in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was the third generation of his family to work with Hibben, Hollweg, and Co, a dry goods store with a long history in the community. He started in sales and eventually became Vice President. Hibben was very active in the Chamber of Commerce, Wholesale Trade Division. In 1910, he was asked by the Republican party to run for the state legislature, but didn't receive the nomination. He developed an interest in Indigenous belongings, particularly tomahawks, and was an extensive collector. Hibben passed in 1956. Much of Hibben’s collection is with the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian including many early tomahawks. The picture gallery includes the image of the Sotheby's identical example, a document signed by John Fraser, a copy of Pennsylvania Archives 1748 licensed Indian Traders showing John Frazier (a known misspelling of his name), a snippet from George Washington's 1754 map showing where John Fraser was living at the time of Washington's journey to the Ohio to surveil the French forts, and an excerpt from a late December 1754 entry in George Washington's journal in Rupp's 1848 book, "Early History of Western Pennsylvania and of the West..." noting when Washington meets Indians at John Fraser's place in late 1753.