BRITISH BLUNDERBUSS
Mid-to late-18th century blunderbuss, 27" barrel, 42 1/2" overall, 1 3/4" fluted bore at the muzzle. The wood stock, possibly walnut or cherry, ends 2 1/2" from the muzzle. A wooden ramrod, present but broken, is secured by two brass tubes beneath the barrel. The lockplate is marked "GRIFFIN", and the top of the barrel at the breech end bears three indistinct proof marks, two of which include crowns. The lockplate is secured on the opposite side of the weapon by a plate of finely worked brass in a floral motif. The breech end of the weapon shows several fractures continuing all the way around the wrist, with a large (approx. 1" x 2") fragment of wood missing altogether immediately behind the breech and adjacent to the hammer. The underside of the muzzle end of the stock also bears a hairline crack, approx. 3 1/4", with two small filled holes on the left side, and the weapon as a whole shows expected age wear, else very good. This blunderbuss was obtained from a collector in North Carolina, who received it in trade from a hunting guide at Harkers Island. The story associated with it claims that it was salvaged from a contemporary shipwreck at Cape Lookout.