The original rifle by Johannes Moll that inspired this build is a large and stout piece, however the excellent architecture and a few building tricks help make it feel quite a lot slimmer than it really is. Moll, a contemporary of Rupp and Neihart, produced a few early and somewhat large guns still in existence today. His work can be seen as a transitional example from the earlier and larger Christians Spring rifles into the graceful and slender Lehigh Valley style. The original rifle has a heavy orange color varnish finish, while this has a red violin varnish madder pigment mulled into mastic varnish. Originally built "as new", it has mellowed and developed a wonderful patina with age and use, the linseed oil-based varnish darkening with time. This was my first rifle stocked from a blank, in 2006.
