Beware The Early 19thC Night Watchman

[Rick]

He just might be toting one of these.
Any similar examples out there?
The bore looks huge.

[kronckew]

An early laser sight. Gangsta style..

Bore? Maybe it's a shotgun to ensure coverage of the lantern spotlight.

Modern example:

[fernando]

I know why you fancy these, Rick ... no use to deny it; shark night hunting .

[Kmaddock]

Looks like the trigger is bar I have labeled 1 which activates sear as I have indicated, actions 2, 3 and 4 then follow.
am i correct ?

I know the lamp is british victorian from the 1870-1900 as issued to on the beat police men
I still have my great grand fathers one at home, they used whale oil as the flammable substance.

The torque on firing would have been vicious with the hand being so far horizontal up from the muzzel.

I wonder if it was ever seriously uses

thanks for image

Ken

[batjka]

Seems that British cops of old were better armed than the ones today. One shot is better than no shot.

[Rick]

Originally Posted by Kmaddock

Looks like the trigger is bar I have labeled 1 which activates sear as I have indicated, actions 2, 3 and 4 then follow.
am i correct ?

I know the lamp is british victorian from the 1870-1900 as issued to on the beat police men
I still have my great grand fathers one at home, they used whale oil as the flammable substance.

The torque on firing would have been vicious with the hand being so far horizontal up from the muzzel.

I wonder if it was ever seriously uses

thanks for image

Ken

Yep, I think you've got the firing sequence right Ken; they also made those bullseye lamps on this side of the pond.
It's not mine; I just stumbled across the picture online and thought you fellows might find it interesting.
The bore looks big enough for a load of buck and ball which is what I would reckon the optimum load to use if you only had one shot in close quarters.

[Kmaddock]

Thanks Rick for the posting real interesting gun set up

It is the chimney set up on the lamp that would make it standout as a British police lamp to me

There are lots of "layers" to the chimney so that it would not get too hot on top.

There is a belt loop on the back of the lamp on my example and the police man was supposed to be able to hang the lamp on their belt and warm their hands on the chimney without burning their fingers.

Maybe this was same for you guys on the other side of the pond

we wont turn this tread into a lamp discussion though

cheers,

ken

[Jim McDougall]

Its always fascinating to see these 'novelty' items …...the guys in India thought they had the market cornered on innovation !!! The 'Firearms Curiosa' (from the excellent book by Winant by this title)….were well known with swords with gun barrels mounted and of course the legendary Elgin cutlass pistol......but these novelties are, in a word...…...BIZARRE!


Great topic and well worth more research and examples!


Here is one that always intrigued me...…….the mysterious GRAVE ROBBERS GUN. These were apparently around in the 18th into 19th c. to thwart potential grave robbers (very Edgar Allen Poe) and seems to have operated with trip wires. I think we'll avoid this becoming a thread on graves or robbing too.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Kmaddock

Looks like the trigger is bar I have labeled 1 which activates sear as I have indicated, actions 2, 3 and 4 then follow.
am i correct ?

I know the lamp is british victorian from the 1870-1900 as issued to on the beat police men
I still have my great grand fathers one at home, they used whale oil as the flammable substance.

The torque on firing would have been vicious with the hand being so far horizontal up from the muzzel.

I wonder if it was ever seriously uses

thanks for image

Ken

Ken, most interesting! Your great grandfather was a policeman in those days......that must be some exciting history. So you say these were actually issued? As you have well noted, actual use must have had challenges and it would be great to know if actual use occurred.

[Pukka Bundook]

An interesting subject!
I think most of these spring guns were used by gamekeepers.
Someone sneaking through the coverts at night might get a nasty surprise.
The trip wire of course, swivels the gun into the direction of the trespasser before it goes off. They were also used against animals, to protect game.

Laws of 1824 forbade their use against humans and also banned the use of man-traps. An old pal at home still had two man-traps. One with overlapping teeth about 2 inches long, and the other the later "Humane " version, that merely broke your leg. :-)

Best,
Richard.

[Kmaddock]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Ken, most interesting! Your great grandfather was a policeman in those days......that must be some exciting history. So you say these were actually issued? As you have well noted, actual use must have had challenges and it would be great to know if actual use occurred.

Hi Jim
He was issued with the lamp not the gun, sorry for confusion
His service weapon was a .455 webley revolver
I have no stories at all from him, he served in Dublin and took part of the 1916 Rising but not on the side that gets all the glory in Ireland’s history.
Regards
Ken