Rococo Engraving styles

[Gustavo Hoefs]

Soo..... I am still having trouble defining the difference between snaphaunce and miquelet. There are similarities here between the two. Shape of the cock, shape of the hammer, through hole for the sear , is it the exterior mainspring that carries the distinction?

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Snaphaunce was a northern European invention that included a separate battery and pan cover, lateral sear (through the plate), and internal mainspring. The pan was opened automatically during firing by a push rod attached to the tumbler. Many snaphaunces were converted during the early 1600s to type 1 English locks by combining the pan cover and battery into a "single "frizzen" and eliminating the push rod, thus simplifying the mechanism. The name "miquelet" is a 19th century term that refers to the "Spanish" or "Mediterranean" lock that evolved during the late 16th century. Those locks had external main and frizzen springs, a combination battery and pan cover, lateral half and full cock sears moving through the lockplate, and a very sturdy and safe half cock mechanism. They had few internal parts and consequently, less wood was removed from the lock mortice compared with other locks. The throw of the cock was short and powered by a very strong main spring. The locks were very reliable and sturdy, which is why the Spanish held on to the design for a long time.

dave

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

Dave, thank you for the amazing rifle pics you post.

Every time I stare at your rifles, there is always some extra detail or nuance I missed on the previous look. :shocked2:

 

[jerrywh]

Dave.
You will soon be criticized for being too good for an American long rifle builder.
It won't be long before you will be building high art French guns.
The carving on American long rifles is mostly poorly done and perverted rococo done by country amateurs who really didn't know what the real thing was supposed to look like. I congratulate you for saying so with so much tact and pc.
That said, I still admire them for doing so much with so little and in such challenging circumstances. Everybody should read Thomas Jefferson a life. Then they would understand the circumstances those people worked under before and during the revolution. Life was hell under king George the third.
PS. Now we have books and the computer. Back then books were rare and too expensive for most people. Some colonial gunsmiths probably never saw any real rococo carving. There were no photos in books only engraved images.

 

[dave_person]

Hi Jerry and thanks for the compliment,
It would sure be hard to follow your act on those fantastic French show pieces you create. Despite the distraction of some American long rifles and fowlers that help pay my living expenses, I have this 18th century British thing going on. It involves a fowler, rifle, turn-off pistol, and horse pistol in addition to my second cased pair of dueling pistols. Then I get into the "way back" machine and head for the 16th and 17th centuries. I just hope I live long enough for all of my ambitions. Take care, Jerry.

dave