FRENCH AN IX 'ESPINGOLE' ?

thinreadline · 19th June 2014, 12:31 PM

A friend has just sent these ( awful ) pictures of a swivel gun he found in a building he has bought . Lucky chap !

Richard G · 19th June 2014, 03:05 PM

Possibly a harpoon or line throwing gun?
Regards
Richard

thinreadline · 19th June 2014, 03:26 PM

no , I dont think so , I am sure it is a French swivel gun from the late 18th C .. here is a picture from Gilkerson of the same with the flintlock mechanism in place

Andreas · 19th June 2014, 06:17 PM

Michel Brézin (1758-1828) was an important French canon manufacturer, with foundries in Paris and Normandy, operating since the 1790’s and a major supplier of guns to the French military during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras. I believe that in French the term perrier for these swivel guns is more common than espingole, although the latter is also used, but the main meaning is blunderbuss. This particular piece was made in 1812 (as per the inscription), was there an An IX (1800-01) model?
Regards,
Andreas

thinreadline · 19th June 2014, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andreas

Michel Brézin (1758-1828) was an important French canon manufacturer, with foundries in Paris and Normandy, operating since the 1790’s and a major supplier of guns to the French military during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras. I believe that in French the term perrier for these swivel guns is more common than espingole, although the latter is also used, but the main meaning is blunderbuss. This particular piece was made in 1812 (as per the inscription), was there an An IX (1800-01) model?
Regards,
Andreas

Yes , very interesting Andreas , I say An IX simply because as you can see in the pic from Gilkerson , that is what he ID s it as . An IX is around 1802 isnt it ?

fernando · 19th June 2014, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinreadline

Yes , very interesting Andreas , I say An IX simply because as you can see in the pic from Gilkerson , that is what he ID s it as . An IX is around 1802 isnt it ?

As Andreas says and also readable in the book, An IX (of the revolution)corresponds to 1800/1801. Interesting is that that this type of gun already existed prior to that; An IX was the year in which t was redesigned.
Peculiar gun, one should say

dana_w · 19th June 2014, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinreadline

A friend has just sent these ( awful ) pictures of a swivel gun he found in a building he has bought . Lucky chap !

I don't know about "awful". Those picture gave me a good chuckle.

Why don't I ever find something like that?

fernando · 19th June 2014, 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dana_w

...Why don't I ever find something like that?

Each one gets what he deserves

Norman McCormick · 19th June 2014, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fernando

Each one gets what he deserves

Oh s--t !!!

P.S. Great gun

I wonder where in the house it was found.

thinreadline · 20th June 2014, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norman McCormick

Oh s--t !!!

P.S. Great gun

I wonder where in the house it was found.

Well Norman . apparently it was a Kardomah Coffee House ! I have spent a lot of time in coffee houses and never found anything more exciting than a plastic butter knife !

M ELEY · 20th June 2014, 04:58 AM

Unbelievable!!!! I could only be so lucky! I've been trying to land a swivel gun over the past decade and here we have a chap that finds one in a deserted building!! I think I'll take up renovating-

Very nice naval piece, BTW.

thinreadline · 20th June 2014, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M ELEY

Unbelievable!!!! I could only be so lucky! I've been trying to land a swivel gun over the past decade and here we have a chap that finds one in a deserted building!! I think I'll take up renovating-

Very nice naval piece, BTW.

Yes and to make it worse he is not interested in weaponry at all , but neither does he seem keen to sell it ... very frustrating !

fernando · 20th June 2014, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M ELEY

... Very nice naval piece, BTW.

It had to be naval; can't it be swiveled it on a horse saddle or the like ?

fernando · 20th June 2014, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinreadline

Yes and to make it worse he is not interested in weaponry at all , but neither does he seem keen to sell it ... very frustrating !

Make him an offer he can't refuse ... where have i heard this ?

thinreadline · 20th June 2014, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fernando

Make him an offer he can't refuse ... where have i heard this ?

That's always a tricky negotiation ... if you make a really good offer then they always think .. 'wow it must be worth MUCH more than that ! ' .

kronckew · 20th June 2014, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fernando

It had to be naval; can't it be swiveled it on a horse saddle or the like ?

seek and ye shall find. funny lookin' horse tho.

fernando · 20th June 2014, 06:29 PM

Outstanding Wayne

Mind you, if the sailor smokes a couple joints and looses his hands firmness, he might shot the horse's head

Norman McCormick · 20th June 2014, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinreadline

Well Norman . apparently it was a Kardomah Coffee House ! I have spent a lot of time in coffee houses and never found anything more exciting than a plastic butter knife !

Hi,
You'll never guess, I've found another book that definitely identifies this object as an old style mass produced French coffee grinder and believe it or not I've just got a new kitchen and the one thing I'm lacking is, you guessed it, a coffee grinder.

Now, after much deliberation and no mean physical effort I've levered open the sporran and there are twenty one shiny new shillings, THAT'S A WHOLE GUINEA!!!, waiting to be spent on or according to the wife squandered on this rusty old French coffee grinder. Ye might think my name is Carnegie offering all that money but a'm just a poor wee Scotsman in dire need of a coffee grinder.

Yours,
Norman.

fernando · 20th June 2014, 07:15 PM

Give up the fight, lads

I am the only one who owns a decent boat to install this thing

.

kronckew · 20th June 2014, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fernando

Outstanding Wayne

Mind you, if the sailor smokes a couple joints and looses his hands firmness, he might shot the horse's head

i will NOT mention the XXX joke about why the camel is called the 'ship of the desert'. it will get me banned.

i leave that to your fertile imaginations.

nice barca, fernando. you might want to beef up the gunwales* a tad, they look a bit flimsey for that coffee grinder.

gunwales, or gunnels is of course derived from gun walls, the extension of the hull planking (and later, plating) upwards past the weather deck to which swivel guns (and lines and ropes of all sizes and descriptions) were attached.

sadly, you would need to drill a rather large hole in a horse to mount this swivel gun. which kind of defeats the purpose as the horse would not like that.

fernando · 21st June 2014, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

i will NOT mention the XXX joke about why the camel is called the 'ship of the desert'. it will get me banned.

i leave that to your fertile imaginations.

English pun; no sense in portuguese

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

...nice barca, fernando..

It is called a lancha (from the malay lancharam ... go figure), in a version exclusive from my fishing home town.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

...you might want to beef up the gunwales* a tad, they look a bit flimsey for that coffee grinder...

Wrong angle. This may be a replica but its total length is almost 80 cms ( 31" in your lingo), and its 'amuradas' are thick enough to bear a couple coffee grinders like the one posted by Richmond

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

...sadly, you would need to drill a rather large hole in a horse to mount this swivel gun. which kind of defeats the purpose as the horse would not like that.

The hole is already there; the swivel gun position would be an odd one, though. Ah, now comes the ban

kronckew · 21st June 2014, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fernando

...
The hole is already there; the swivel gun position would be an odd one, though. Ah, now comes the ban

i never considered it from that angle.

maybe as a mobile anti-aircraft weapon?

after all, leonardo invented the airplane back in the 15/16c., 300 or so yrs earlier, so they must have thought of a defence by 1812.

p.s. - googling lanch poviera brought up some images of slightly larger ones, nice looking boats. well capable of mounting his find.

fernando · 21st June 2014, 01:48 PM

You got it Wayne. When a kid, i used to play inside the last of them, when ashore (during the fifties).
Pity the whole fleet has disappeared. The present one is just for fun

Dave Parkhill · 20th June 2021, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinreadline

no , I dont think so , I am sure it is a French swivel gun from the late 18th C .. here is a picture from Gilkerson of the same with the flintlock mechanism in place

Hello. Could you tell me title of this book please?

Thanks
Dave

Norman McCormick · 20th June 2021, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Parkhill

Hello. Could you tell me title of this book please?

Thanks
Dave

Hi Dave,
Boarders Away by William Gilkerson.
Regards,
Norman.

M ELEY · 20th June 2021, 08:37 PM

I just bid on one of these in a London auction several months ago. needless to say, I didn't even come close to winning! Just like this example from the old thread, t was missing it's flintlock mechanism, which I'm told is as rare as the gun itself!

BTW, Thinreadline, does your friend still have this piece? Still not interested in selling?

Dmitry · 3rd January 2026, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M ELEY

I just bid on one of these in a London auction several months ago. needless to say, I didn't even come close to winning! Just like this example from the old thread, t was missing it's flintlock mechanism, which I'm told is as rare as the gun itself!

BTW, Thinreadline, does your friend still have this piece? Still not interested in selling?

How much did it go for? Also, how would you have it transferred to the USA? What legal documents would you need?
Edit: is that what you were bidding on?
https://bid.candtauctions.co.uk/lot-...ass-Swivel-Gun

M ELEY · 5th January 2026, 04:00 PM

Hello Dmitry,

Yep, that was the one. It's been a while and my memory is more foggy these days, but I seem to remember that it went for around $1999 dollars(U.S.), not bad for a swivel, but that didn't include auction percentage and shipping/handling.

You asked a good question about shipping/customs, but then again, Fernando sold me his 1680 doglock blunderbus and shipped from Portugal to me in the US with no problems. I know one has to be careful with customs these days (I just purchased a sword from the UK. He's sending it as a 'gift' to avoid extra pricing and just listed it as 'antique item'). Many years ago, I had a gentleman in Canada send me a sword listed as 'antique sporting goods'. I guess this has now become a gamble. For Christmas, we sent a gift basket containing makeup to a friend in Canada. It was rejected and sent back to us via customs. We've sent the same stuff almost every year in the past! Very strange.

Jim McDougall · 5th January 2026, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Norman McCormick

Oh s--t !!!

P.S. Great gun

I wonder where in the house it was found.

In rereading this thread, it brought back memories of my brother and I as kids, in our very Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn adventures living at what had been a WWII air base. Tramping through a field we came upon an inert /empty 500 lb. practice bomb, and carried it home (to neighbors dismay!).
My dad grumbled, and later placed it in the attic after the intrigue wore off.

When we moved away, I noted as we went into the new home states away, the bomb was missing! My dad chuckled as he admitted, he forgot to get it out of the attic.

Always wondered what the new owners thought when they found this!!!!

The things found in old houses!

19th June 2014, 12:31 PM	#1
thinreadline Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Wirral Posts: 1,204	FRENCH AN IX 'ESPINGOLE' ? A friend has just sent these ( awful ) pictures of a swivel gun he found in a building he has bought . Lucky chap ! Attached Images

19th June 2014, 03:26 PM	#3
thinreadline Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Wirral Posts: 1,204	no , I dont think so , I am sure it is a French swivel gun from the late 18th C .. here is a picture from Gilkerson of the same with the flintlock mechanism in place Attached Images

20th June 2014, 07:15 PM	#19
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Give up the fight, lads I am the only one who owns a decent boat to install this thing . Attached Images

21st June 2014, 01:48 PM	#23
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Lancha Poveira You got it Wayne. When a kid, i used to play inside the last of them, when ashore (during the fifties). Pity the whole fleet has disappeared. The present one is just for fun

20th June 2021, 08:37 PM	#26
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,214	I just bid on one of these in a London auction several months ago. needless to say, I didn't even come close to winning! Just like this example from the old thread, t was missing it's flintlock mechanism, which I'm told is as rare as the gun itself! BTW, Thinreadline, does your friend still have this piece? Still not interested in selling? Last edited by M ELEY; 20th June 2021 at 09:14 PM.

19th June 2014, 03:05 PM	#2
Richard G Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 417	Possibly a harpoon or line throwing gun? Regards Richard

19th June 2014, 06:17 PM	#4
Andreas Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Ionian Islands, Greece Posts: 96	Michel Brézin (1758-1828) was an important French canon manufacturer, with foundries in Paris and Normandy, operating since the 1790’s and a major supplier of guns to the French military during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras. I believe that in French the term perrier for these swivel guns is more common than espingole, although the latter is also used, but the main meaning is blunderbuss. This particular piece was made in 1812 (as per the inscription), was there an An IX (1800-01) model? Regards, Andreas

20th June 2014, 04:58 AM	#11
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,214	Unbelievable!!!! I could only be so lucky! I've been trying to land a swivel gun over the past decade and here we have a chap that finds one in a deserted building!! I think I'll take up renovating- Very nice naval piece, BTW.

20th June 2014, 06:29 PM	#17
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Outstanding Wayne Mind you, if the sailor smokes a couple joints and looses his hands firmness, he might shot the horse's head

5th January 2026, 04:00 PM	#28
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,214	Hello Dmitry, Yep, that was the one. It's been a while and my memory is more foggy these days, but I seem to remember that it went for around $1999 dollars(U.S.), not bad for a swivel, but that didn't include auction percentage and shipping/handling. You asked a good question about shipping/customs, but then again, Fernando sold me his 1680 doglock blunderbus and shipped from Portugal to me in the US with no problems. I know one has to be careful with customs these days (I just purchased a sword from the UK. He's sending it as a 'gift' to avoid extra pricing and just listed it as 'antique item'). Many years ago, I had a gentleman in Canada send me a sword listed as 'antique sporting goods'. I guess this has now become a gamble. For Christmas, we sent a gift basket containing makeup to a friend in Canada. It was rejected and sent back to us via customs. We've sent the same stuff almost every year in the past! Very strange.