Post Revolution
1796-Dated Military India Pattern 3rd Model Brown Bess Flintlock Musket Made for the British East India Company
1796-Dated, British Military India Pattern 3rd Model Brown Bess Flintlock Musket, Made for the British East India Company, the stock is stamped "I P" (possibly for Joseph Perkin/s who was an Arms maker), Choice Very Fine.
This excellent British Military India Pattern 3rd Model Brown Bess Flintlock Musket was made for the British East India Company. It has a 39", .77 caliber, smooth-bore steel barrel that is struck on the top of the breech with two "Crossed Scepter" Tower of London Proof marks, a "CROWN" over "4", a "CROWN" over "8", and a "CROWN" over "1" being the Inspectors marks. It has full standard 3rd Model India Pattern all brass furniture. The top portion of the butt plate is Engraved with Regiment & Rack inventory numbers, "1" over "43". The convex lock plate is maker engraved "THOMSON", a known contractor to the ordnance department of the East India Company. Also engraved with a "CROWN" over "1" (Inspectors mark), and the East India Company "HEART" logo (below the date) "1796" on the tail of the lock plate. This Musket is in its original Flintlock configuration. The stock is solid with a few expected nicks, chips, dings, and scratches from years of actual service. The right side of the comb has two Tower of London arsenal stamps, one with a visible date of "1800", and has an Inspector's stamp at the rear of the trigger guard. The left side of the stock is stamped "I P" (possibly for Joseph Perkin/s who was an arms maker, and served as a superintendent for the American Revolutionary War forces), and an unidentified "R C". These same "I P" initials can also be found stamped on the interior of lock plates of some of the arms made at Rappahannock Forge in Virginia used during the Revolutionary War. The stock retains the original varnish, comes complete with a correct steel button head ram rod and sling swivels. A impressive example for display.
Notes on JOSEPH PERKIN/S:
Among the many surviving British, French, and European muskets imported into the United States during the Revolutionary War, many feature stocks marked with the initials "I P". These same initials can also be found stamped on the interior of lock plates of some of the arms made at Rappahannock Forge in Virginia during the Revolutionary War. Fowling pieces, pistols, and rifles from the 1770s and 1780s feature "PERKIN" engraved on their lock plates in serif letters, or within a scrolling banner.
Perkin's had a roughly 40-year career as a gunsmith from the 1760s until his death in 1806. Perkins finished his career as the First Superintendent of the Harpers Ferry Armory, being one of two armories established by the United States following the adoption of the Federal Constitution in 1787.
Merritt Roe Smith's classic book titled, "Harpers Ferry Armory and the New Technology: The Challenge of Change analyzes Perkin's crucial role in establishing Harpers Ferry and overseeing its initial production runs." Notably, Perkin led the design of the Model 1803 rifle, the "first regulation rifle to be manufactured at the government armories". Perkin left his mark on Federal-era arms making, but scholars of American firearms know little about the early days of his career.
KEYWORDS:
Historic Weapons and Guns