"Trading" or "buccaneering" rifle
UNITED STATES
19th century
Steel, wood, brass, copper
Long. total: 145, Length. barrel length: 106.5 cm
Caliber: 17 mm
Round barrel, with flats at the breech, marked "US NWP" and stamped.
Wooden frame decorated with upholstery tacks in iron and brass.
Stock with cheekpiece adorned with a piece of copper chiseled with geometric patterns.
Iron buttplate marked "US".
Flintlock with heart-shaped hammer and straight steel crest, brass pan, engraved "US", "E. WHITNEY", "NEW HAVEN 1837".
Wooden chopstick.
Control punches.
Firearms were introduced to North America by the Spanish in the 16th century. A century later, during the Canadian Wars, French troops armed their Huron and Algonquin allies with flintlock rifles to fight against the British and their Iroquois allies.
These weapons were reminiscent of luxury items that Indians could obtain from trading posts and appropriate by decorating them according to their taste.
Ref.: 7081
Text and photos © FCP CORIDON
+33681153179
ff.coridon@wanadoo.fr
www.proantic.com/galerie/coridon/
