First antique: Manton cape gun.

[Chris Olsen]

Lucked into a 16ga/.45(ish) SxS gun. Damascus barrel. Marked London on the top rib with Birmingham proof marks. Pretty gun, bright bores and good rifling. (if you have never used one of those bore cameras try it! I'm trying to find out more about it, though. One of the things that strike me is the hammers, they are dog's heads.

 

[TFoley]

Some full-length images would be gooder, please.

 

[Maddman]

Joseph Manton (6 April 1766 – 29 June 1835) is considered by many to be the "Godfather" of the London gun trade. He made many innovations to the firearm world of his time, including the "Pill Lock" and many cannon innovations to name a few. When dealing with guns marked Manton, it is hard to decipher which company actually made it, because guns marked "Manton" and also "J. Manton", were mostly made by Henri Pieper and Company S.A. of Liege in Belgium, which is "most likely" the maker of this piece. But, bear in mind that a multitude of other "Unknown" gunsmiths slapped the name on as well. So, very hard to tell. look on the under side of the barrels for Belgian proof marks.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
I don't believe the gun has any connection to the Manton family of gun makers. I suspect it is a generic but good quality Birmingham made gun. They made many of them for export and some makers engraved "Manton" on the locks and "London" on the barrels to help market them. It appears that the "London" is filled with silver wire, which would have looked nice against the browned barrels when the gun was new.

dave

 

[Chris Olsen]

I'll get some full length pics when I get home. Maddman, the second to last image is the proof marks, Birmingham. I figured it isn't a *real* Manton, it didn't cost nearly enough from what I have sen. It is definitely higher quality than other guns of the same era I looked at. I'd love to find info on the hammers. Is there a book about figured hammers?

 

[Maddman]

I'll get some full length pics when I get home. Maddman, the second to last image is the proof marks, Birmingham. I figured it isn't a *real* Manton, it didn't cost nearly enough from what I have seen. It is definitely higher quality than other guns of the same era I looked at. I'd love to find info on the hammers. Is there a book about figured hammers?

One would be hard pressed to find info on just the hammers themselves. These were probably a generic (Be it nice) casting of the local market at the time. There are many examples of animal (Mostly "Hound") shaped percussion lock hammers, ranging from nice to immaculate. The fancier lock image is from a Le Page shotgun and the simpler is a readily available on still on the market and can be found here https://www.logcabinshop.com/catalog.php?path=183_165_209&product_id=84410. Other than that, make a list of possibilities and throw a dart at it, lol.

 

[ugly old guy]

simpler is a readily available on still on the market and can be found here https://www.logcabinshop.com/catalog.php?path=183_165_209&product_id=84410. Other than that, make a list of possibilities and throw a dart at it, lol.

Interesting. Does anyone know off hand what the hammer throw is of the Thompson Center (coil spring) lock used on their Hawken?
That would be a "nifty" dress-up on my T/C .58 caliber Hawken, if it will fit and work.