Featured Blunderbuss

Check it out… Working my way thru my father’s gun collection. Old Blunderbuss from a ship.

 

Indeed !

You might want to copy and save this for reference for a while....it helps when you're new!!!

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( credit @Aquitaine )

 

Here’s another with the arrow and small crown mark.

 

@springfld.arsenal

 

A musketoon is a short blunderbuss, larger musketoons were sometime used in actions involving small boats, where they could be mounted by swivels to special timbers designed to hold them.

Pistols and other short-barreled firearms were best suited to boarding or other close actions, but they had to be dropped or thrown after a single use, as reloading in the heat of battle was too time consuming.

The blunderbuss became obsolete in the mid19th century, when it was replaced by the carbine.

The above was gleaned from ...
https://www.si.edu/object/nmah_469432

The following was gleaned from ...
http://www.martinihenry.com/sovcyph.htm

Lock Viewer's Mark. In the time of muzzle loading weapons, this marking was applied to indicate that a Lock Viewer, or an inspector specializing in rifle locks had inspected the lock for correct function, and adherence to the specified pattern. Each manufacturer had minor variations in their Lock Viewer's Mark.

 

Classic piece AT.

 

Sorry, but a musketoon is NOT a short blunderbuss, most are simply short muskets, and most have the same calibre as their longer cousins. That said, yes, some were later slightly flared at the muzzle, somewhat resembling a blunderbuss, and some were even used with odd shot, stones and nails etc. in similar fashion to the blunderbuss, but they are really two distinct weapons.

Regarding the crown and arrow, this is the mark of the Board of Ordnance, and this mark was used from 1706 onwards. It is not a viewers stamp as such, it means that it has been accepted and is owned by the Board of Ordnance, ie. the Army or Navy, who after 1855 became the War Department, and who retained the Broad Arrow mark, but used it the other way up.The crown and broad arrow was used up until ca.1762.
An inspectors mark would be a crown and a numeral.

Hope this makes sense?

 

It just goes to show that searching well known sights is not the end all. Amateurs (like me) can easily get lost in the nuances of any subject. I'm not going to storm the Smithsonian over it.

 

ya gotta luv this site !!!

 

What's all this Blunder-fuss about ? That indeed's the joy of this Site ! Historical,Artistic & Economic Forensics Class 101.

 

I found this if it helps any with the Board of Ordnance markings........





This comes from a book by Erik Goldstein 'The Socket Bayonet in the British Army, 1687-1783'.

Erik Goldstein is a curator at Colonial Williamsburg.

 

number 9 , then ?

 

Cool old firearm,of course an expert would be examining this piece w/ an electron microscope,they'll even call out 18th century parts replaced w/ other 18th century parts changed out a decade later.
Like using a fine-tooth comb on a vintage Aston Martin.

 

Regrettably these days that is necessary.

I am not a firearms collector, nor any kind of expert on them, but several of my friends are, some on a princely scale, but I have learned a lot from them over the years. Unfortunately these antique firearms are, or can be, worth a lot of money, and as ever it pays to know what you are looking at or buying. Some of these are perfectly genuine, perhaps having had a hard life and thus several service life repairs. Some are fabricated from left over bits and spares. Unfortunately many are also being made in India and Afghanistan today, even down to the marks. The Martini-Henry rifles are a particular favourite to copy and pass off as genuine.
It certainly pays to know what marks were used, where and when, and by whom.
Nothing is sacred anymore, so as ever caveat emptor!