In 1830, at a time when improvements in shotgun ammunition usually involved wire, paper, or increasingly clever mechanical contrivances, J. Jenour proposed something far simpler. He suggested baking it.

In an article published in Mechanics’ Magazine, Museum, Register, Journal, and Gazette (No. 367, August 21, 1830), Jenour described what he called “brittle charges,” a method of forming shotgun shot into rigid, bore-sized cylinders using nothing more exotic than flour, water, and gentle heat. The idea sounds absurd until one reads his reasoning, which is methodical, safety-minded, and quietly radical.

Introduction

In the early 19th century, the world of firearms was on the cusp of transformation. Muzzle-loading flintlock weapons had dominated battlefields for centuries, but their limitations in rate of fire and reliability were becoming increasingly apparent. Amid this backdrop of military necessity and technological possibility, French inventor Joseph Alexandre Robert emerged as a visionary innovator who would help redefine firearms design.

Born in France at the turn of the 19th century, little is known about Robert’s early life. However, his passion for mechanical innovation and firearms technology led him to establish a workshop at 17 Rue du Faubourg-Montmartre in Paris during the 1830s. From this modest location, Robert quietly began a revolution in firearm engineering, introducing concepts that would profoundly influence the evolution of weaponry.

This article delves into Robert’s groundbreaking innovations, exploring how his radical breech-loading system, self-contained cartridges, and automatic internal cocking mechanism represented significant advancements over existing technologies. It also examines the impact of his work on military and civilian firearms, his rivalry with contemporaries like Casimir Lefaucheux, and his enduring legacy in the field of firearms development.

Nineteenth‑century hunters wrestled with two maddening behaviors from smoothbore shotguns: at one extreme, tightly packed pellets that flew out “like a ball” (the coup de balle), and at the other, errant flyers that blew patterns wide open. Period writers traced both to how the wad pressed or failed to press the shot during ignition: over‑compression could keep the column clumped for several yards after the muzzle, while under‑compression let pellets collide, deform, and veer off‑axis.

Pierre‑François Davoust, an armurier from Alençon, set out to cure both problems at once.

This unique breechloader began life as a Harpers Ferry Model 1842 percussion musket, a .69 caliber smoothbore muzzle-loader manufactured in 1855. Wohlgemuth completely overhauled the musket into a break-action breech-loading firearm. He fitted a hinged breech mechanism into the original stock and barrel, allowing the barrel to tip downward for loading, much like a shotgun. To secure the breech when closed, the original trigger guard was reversed and a cam-locking lever was added under the action. He also modified the nose of the percussion hammer to be better suited to strike the pins of the pinfire cartridges, and trimmed the wooden fore-end to accommodate the new hinge. Finally, an M1861 Springfield rifle-musket rear sight was installed on the barrel, giving the converted gun proper sighting for rifled fire. Each of these alterations was performed by Wohlgemuth himself, transforming the old muzzle-loader into a modern breech-loader while retaining its hefty .69″ bore, which closely matches the dimensions of a 12-gauge shotgun.

Throughout the 1850s, a steadfast devotion to muzzleloading guns defined the British shooting world. Many sportsmen took pride in ramrods, paper wads, and the careful loading rituals they had practiced for generations, viewing the breechloader as a fleeting Continental curiosity. Lefaucheux’s pinfire system was especially scorned, with skeptics deriding it as “the French crutch gun.” Although some recognized the advantages of quicker reloading and the avoidance of stray powder spills, the idea of turning British sporting traditions upside down for a new invention provoked as much suspicion as enthusiasm.

Even so, a few forward-thinking gunmakers in Britain were quietly adopting breechloaders, banking on improved reliability and the promise of faster shooting. The real question became whether homegrown British ammunition could match or surpass the performance of the established French pinfire cartridges, which were already circulating among sportsmen who had traveled abroad. It was in this swirl of debate and apprehension that Eley Brothers stepped forward with their own venture into breechloading cartridges.

In the gunsmoke-filled world of 1860s Paris, as firearms technology was experiencing a revolution with the widespread adoption of breechloading weapons and self-contained cartridges, a determined inventor named Eugène Pertuiset was about to make his mark on history. The French capital was then the epicenter of firearms innovation – where revolutionary designs like the Lefaucheux pinfire system and the new Chassepot military rifle were transforming the possibilities of what guns could achieve. It was in this atmosphere of rapid technological change that Pertuiset would develop one of the most innovative – and controversial – ammunition advances of the 19th century.

In the late 1800s, a legal battle erupted between two ammunition giants, the Union Metallic Cartridge Company and the United States Cartridge Company, over the technology used to manufacture cartridge shells. The case, which wound its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, offers a revealing glimpse into the early American patent system and the fierce competition in the rapidly industrializing arms industry.

At the heart of the dispute was a patent granted to Ethan Allen in 1860 (reissued in 1865) for a machine that could form the hollow rim of a cartridge shell in a single stroke, a significant improvement over prior methods that required multiple spinning operations. The Union Metallic Cartridge Company, having acquired rights to Allen’s patent, sued the United States Cartridge Company for infringement.

These cartridges, with their distinctive recessed rims, were the key product Allen’s machine was designed to produce efficiently. Forming this critical feature in one step was a major breakthrough.

In the tapestry of American firearms history, few threads are as colorful and as intertwined with the fabric of innovation as the story of Charles Edward Sneider and his journey with the pinfire system. This article ventures into the heart of 19th-century America, a time of rapid technological advancement and societal change, to explore the pivotal role played by Sneider, a Baltimore-based gun maker of remarkable skill and vision. Through the lens of Sneider’s life and legacy, we delve into the symbiotic relationship between the burgeoning United States and the innovative pinfire system, uncovering the profound impact of his work on the course of firearms development.

The Beginnings of Gustav Bloem

In the heart of Rhenish Prussia in the city of Wesel, Gustav Bloem was born on March 18, 1821. From an early age, Gustav had a knack for industry and mass production, working at a button factory in Lüdenscheid. It was here where he first fell in love with the world of machinery and developed an interest in explosives.

By 1848, Bloem had taken a daring step into the world of ammunition. With the help of his chemist friend Friedrich Nebe, he opened a small primer factory in Derendorf. However, Bloem’s dreams seemed to shatter just nine months later when an explosion leveled his factory. Despite this, he was far from giving up.

Dellazoppa Frères was a hardware trading company that was founded in Paris, France in 1871 by François and Jean Dellazoppa. The company operated in Paris, Buenos Aires, and Brussels during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and produced a range of hardware and related products including metallic ammunition such as pinfire cartridges.

The Hausbieble, also known as the “House Bible,” was a collection of three German-language Bibles printed in America by the Saur family in the 1740s-1770s. As the first European-language Bibles to be printed in America, the Hausbieble was important in helping German immigrants preserve their cultural heritage in the New World. Additionally, it played a role in the American Revolutionary War, as British soldiers used its pages to make paper cartridges.

The pinfire system marked a turning point in firearms technology, enhancing safety and reliability. But what is the pinfire system, and why was it invented? Let’s explore its origins and historical significance.

What Is the Pinfire System?

The pinfire system, invented by French gunsmith Casimir Lefaucheux in the early 19th century, introduced a new type of cartridge and firing mechanism for firearms. Distinctively, this system used a small pin protruding from the side of the cartridge. When the firearm’s hammer struck the pin, it ignited the gunpowder, firing the bullet. This innovative approach was a marked improvement over previous firearms, which relied on loose gunpowder and separate ignition devices such as flintlocks or percussion caps.

Lefaucheux, a well-respected inventor in firearms technology, made several key contributions to the field, with the pinfire system being one of his most notable. After patenting the system in France in 1835, it quickly gained popularity and adoption by gun manufacturers globally.

H. H. Schleber & Co of Rochester, New York was a manufacturer of thread-wound shot concentrators that would allow hunters to shoot ducks, geese, turkeys, foxes and other animals that were difficult to get close to, from further away.

There were many shot concentrator patents around the world and they all aimed to keep the loose shot, fired from a shotgun, together longer before it started spreading out. Modern guns and even some guns during this time period, use a method called choke-boring that tapers down the muzzle-end of the barrel to achieve similar results.

Schleber’s patented, thread-wound shot cartridges were designed to hold lead shot inside two tin half cylinders that were held together by thread that would unwind in flight after it was fired. After the thread completely unwound it would release the shot. They were wrapped with varying length of thread that corresponded to how many yards away the target was that you wanted to shoot. Some early reviews of the system noted that the hunter would need to be good at judging the distance needed in order to correctly choose the right cartridge; especially since at closer distances it would be a large solid projectile until it fully unwound.

A lark mirror, known in French as le miroir à alouettes, was a tool to help hunters entice small songbirds to their location so they could be harvested.

In 1680, an early French dictionary referred to these mirrors for catching larks and ortolans. It defined them as:

A piece of wood carved into an arch where there are several notches which small mirrors are glued & which is supported by a peg in the middle of which there is a hole to put a string in order to make this mirror turn, that is driven into the ground between two sheets to catch ortolans & mainly larks.

Ortolan Bunting

These small songbirds were considered to be a delicacy and were cooked and eaten whole, in one large bite; head, bones and all. Ortolans were the most coveted and eating them has been represented in paintings and media over the centuries as a gluttonous, almost shameful act. Modern, French preparation of this delicacy would make the use of ortolans that were captured alive and blinded or kept in dark cages where they were force fed until they were twice their normal size. They were then drowned and roasted in Armagnac, a type of Brandy from the Armagnac region in southwest France.

I have not come across many advertising posters like this that mention pinfire cartridges so I jumped at the chance to buy this one when it came up for auction. This early color lithograph was printed between 1885 and 1889 and was likely provided to various gunmakers and ironmongers who sold Eley cartridges to the public.

It would have functioned as both an in-store advertisement as well as a quick reference guide to the various types of cartridges and accessories that Eley manufactured, as shown when turning it over.