Item Description
Original Item: Only One Available. This is a rare very early example of a British brass-barreled Blunderbuss, as used in the Royal Navy of the 18th Century. The lock is maker marked T. / GREEN / 08 on the tail of the lock, indicating production in 1708 by maker Thomas Green. It is additionally marked GREEN on the top of the brass barrel, and it turns out that this maker had a rather interesting history, and influential place in the trade at the time.
Thomas Green worked in an area close to the Tower of London known as Minories, but originally came from the small northern market town of Kirkby Stephen in Westmorland. He was apprenticed to Edward Nicholson in 1686 and was admitted as a freeman of the London Gunmakers' Company in 1693. After this he began his gunmaking business in the Minories, which was relatively close to the Tower of London. He was made a Gunmaker to Ordnance between 1697-1715, and was appointed Viewer and Proofmaster to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1715. In 1720 Green was elected Master of the Gunmakers' Company, and later passed away in 1728.
One of Green's apprentices was his nephew Richard Wilson, also from Kirkby Stephen, who went on to take over Green's business after his death, and went on to found what became the largest single gunmaking firm in London at the time.
Of further interest is that Thomas Green in fact a Popish Recusant, those members of the Catholic Church who refused to attend the services of the Church of England. He was still able to accomplish much even after being forced into exile for allegedly supplying arms to the Jacobite rising of 1715 and the Atterbury Plot against King George I in 1722.
This fine example has an early military type rounded faced lock plate with a single screw behind the cock and without any frizzen reinforcement bar marked to the flash pan. The blunderbuss measures 28 ½" in overall length and has a lovely 13 ½" long part octagonal brass barrel. The trigger guard, also made of brass, is also of early form and the butt plate is flat and correctly nailed onto the Butt Stock.
The lock is marked with royal cypher CROWN / AR, for Queen Anne, who ruled between 1702 until 1714, being the last of the House of Stuart. The brass side plate is typical of those found from the time, and the wooden ramrod has a lovely brass tip. The gun's barrel bears London Proof Marks, including the CROWN / GP "Gunmakers" black powder proof and the CROWN / V "Viewed" mark. There is a makers touchmark above this, which looks to read I H, a possible avenue of further research.
In really nice tight original condition this is a lovely example dating from the time of Queen Anne. The metalwork has matured beautifully, showing some past oxidation on the lock, but no major damage. The hammer action is strong, and the lock holds correctly at half-cock, firing at full. The wood stock has a lovely color and also displays some lovely tight "flame" figuring on the left side near the side plate area. There is however some cracking on both sides of the stock, particularly on the right, with a cracking running from the front of the lock plate all the way to the muzzle. There are also wood graft repairs on the wood line along both sides of the muzzle.
Clearly long well treasured, this is ready to research and display! A worthy addition to any British Naval collection!
Specifications:
Year of Manufacture: 1708
Caliber: Blunderbuss
Ammunition Type: Lead Shot & Powder
Barrel Length: 13 ½ inches
Overall Length: 28 ½ inches
Action: Flintlock Side Action
Feed System: Muzzle-Loaded
NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.
- This product is available for international shipping.
IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.
These antique guns are not sold in "live" condition, and are not tested for the ability to feed or load any type of cartridge. They are sold as collector's items or as "wall hangers" not for use, and we make no guarantees regarding functionality aside from what is stated in the description. Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns.
Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.
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