L’Ecole du chasseur is an early book with reviews and information on birding, fishing, and hunting. They devote around 60 pages to print an extract of Henri Roux’s publication, Fusils De Chasse, Et Principalement Des Fusils a Pistons De L’invention Pauly, Avec Quelques Observations Sur La Fabrication Des Armes a Feu, Sur La Chasse, Sur La Poudre Et Ses Effets, a book all about the benefits of the new Pauly rifle and pistol, a system which Henri Roux owned the patents and company for.
Roux also created a detailed drawing which is referenced in both of these books throughout the text.
As a reminder, The Ironmonger & Metal Trades Advertiser was a British trade journal whose purpose (according to the publisher) was “concerned with helping people to make a living.” It is full of articles and exposition reviews and trade news and advertisements related to Ironmongers, which would be similar to modern-day hardware stores. I have began a series of publishing some of the guns and ammunition related features and ads from these historic journals that have largely been lost to history and are not published anywhere else.
This post will focus on the contents in the July-September 1901 Issues. The August 31, 1901 weekly issue had a nice two-page section on Guns and Ammunition. I will transcribe these articles here!
A Top-lever Hammerless-gun.
Following a well-established custom, Robert Hughes & Son, of the Universal Firearms Works, Moland Street, Birmingham, have issued an abridged list of their productions illustrating the leading lines in sporting-guns which they are this season offering to the trade. The list embraces some two dozen weapons, ranging from a simple farmers’ gun listing at 4l. 4s., up to the highest class of Anson & Deeley ejecting hammerless-gun retailing for about 50l. One of the best selling lines is the No. 4,4640, illustrated in fig. 1. This is a top-lever hammerless-gun, with cross-bolt action, and either plain damascus or steel barrels.
It is fitted with many modern improvements and is nicely finished in every detail. It retails at about 11l. Another popular line is the “Gentleman’s” gun, No. 4,456. This is a good-looking and well-finished weapon, with nicely-figured damascus barrels and figured stock, and it lists at 7l. to 8l. 10s.
The last issue in September of The Ironmonger and Metal Trades Advertiser was often the most important issue of the year. It was the biggest and contained the most ads. This issue each year also had this fancy colored cover.
This September 26, 1896 issue of The Ironmonger lists Arms and Ammunition trade marks, brands or special names for the following companies:
Lane Bros., Ammunition for Air Guns
Hay, Merricks & Co., Limited, Gunpowder
F. Joyce & Co. Ltd., Manufacturers of Sporting Ammunition; Percussion Caps, Cartridges and Gun Wads
Eley Bros., Lim., Sporting, Military, and Revolver Cartridges, Percussion Caps and Gunwads
G. Kynoch & Co. Limited, Sporting and Military Ammunition
The King’s Norton Metal Co., Limited, Rolled Metals, Ammunition for Small Arms, Quick Firing and other Guns
The Ironmonger & Metal Trades Advertiser was the first trade newspaper. It was first published as Morgan’s Monthly Circular & Metal Trades Advertiser on May 31, 1859 and soon changed its name to The Ironmonger & Metal Trades Advertiser.
It began as a monthly journal and by 1878 it was switched to being published weekly, every Saturday. They also published the yearly volumes capturing the 52 weekly issues in 2-4 large volumes per year. I recently acquired a set of these yearly volumes that cover the years of 1879 – 1903.
There is a wealth of information in these related to the hardware and metal trade across the United Kingdom. They had weekly stock performance, tabulated results on UK exports to the US, foreign news and intelligence, reviews of agricultural shows and other exhibitions, articles about guns and ammunition, listing of patents and trademarks applied for, information on liquidations and bankruptcies and advertisements; many many advertisements.
We have examined this cartridge previously in our exploration of the relationship of pinfire cartridges and The United States. You can read about it here:
The August, 31 1861 issue of The Scientific American reviewed this new cartridge and gun made by Casper D. Schubarth in detail. I found an original copy and transcribed it here to preserve for the future.
The story of Coirier à Clermont is a interweaved tale of partnerships and encounters that begins in 1848.
In 1848 a Frenchman named Francis Marquis founded a company that made carbines for cavalry. In French this is the term, harquebusier. He was known for making high quality guns and displayed some of his work at the Exposition Universelle of 1855 in Paris, the 1862 Great London Exposition and the 1867 Paris Universal Exposition.
Shortly after the London Exposition, La Chasse Illustrée, an illustrated journal dedicated to all things hunting, featured an article about some of the high grade guns presented at the exposition. They described Marquis’s gun as “remarkable” and “a real masterpiece.”
South American Pinfire Cartridges are pretty uncommon! Pinfire guns had a relatively significant use in South American countries such as Argentina and Uruguay as many were imported for many decades. The large 15mm pinfire guns were especially popular by farmers as a large side arm to protect from wild animals.
This is a high-end 15mm pistol that came out of Uruguay. It was made by the luxury gun manufacturer, P. Boissy somewhere around the late 1850s to 1860s. He manufactured his guns in Saint-Étienne, France and even won an award at the Exposition Universelle of 1855 in Paris for his “pistolets de luxe.”
Journal Des Armes Spéciales was an important French technical journal about arms and armament that was published monthly on the 25th of the month from 1834 – 1870. It was an offshoot of Journal Des Sicences Militaires which started in 1825 and ran through 1914.
In 1834, Journal Des Sicences Militaires ran this article introducing Journal Des Armes Spéciales. The article is amazingly intense, aggressive, rooted in French military pride and filled with the glories of warmongering.
About me
Hello, my name is Aaron Newcomer. I am a collector and researcher of early 19th century breech-loading firearms systems, with a particular focus on the work of Jean Samuel Pauly and Casimir Lefaucheux. I collect cartridges and documents related to these types of firearms and conduct research on these topics, furthering my understanding and knowledge of these historical firearms and their place in the evolution of firearms technology. My collection and research reflect my dedication to preserving and understanding the history and technical innovations of these early firearms systems.
Read more about me and where my work has been published.
