English civil war lead powder cap

Martin Moser · 15th March 2014, 12:38 PM

Truly amazing pictures, Michael! I love the details, which I have been able to get a view of so far. Some of these are in your collection you say? Wow!
Can you tell perhaps how the leather is attached to the apostles? Glued or sewn on or a combination of both?

Matchlock · 15th March 2014, 12:53 PM

Hi Martin,

I'm glad you like my pieces as all these bandeliers, bundles of matchcord and caps for Gothic powder measures are in my collection.

Marcus will remember seeing most of them when attending me. I'm not sure though whether he noticed the small Gothic brass caps in one of my glass cases. They range among the greatest rarities of historic weaponry.

The leather was scratched down to an extremely thin layer, watered and wrapped tightly around these powder measures/'apostles'/powder flasks; no glue was needed. It can be easily scratched off nowadays, which makes these items so fragile!

Best,
Michael

Marcus den toom · 15th March 2014, 01:33 PM

Visiting your collection was the most educational experience i ever had, but due to our time limit we didn't get to the gothic brass caps

. I am sure you could tell a story about every item of more than an hour each, but i didn't have a sleeping bag so we will save that for next time (i hope

)

Why was the complete powder measurer made out of lead on your bandelier from the Emden armory? It would seem to me that they are haevier and more fragile than the wooden ones? Only the weather factor is of less importance on these lead powder measures. The powder inside such a lead measurer would, i think, be less prone to humidity and thus be more effective when shot?

Matchlock · 24th March 2014, 03:48 PM

As so many specimens are dug up in Great Britain we may safely suppose that in the Cromwellian Age, the caps of wooden powder holders on English musketeers bandeliers were often made of lead, certainly due to the moist weather on the island.
The term 'powder cap' used in some desriptions on the site linked here is not quite correct of course; actually they are not caps for powder but for powder holders or measures.

http://finds.org.uk/database/search/...objecttype/cap

m

Marcus den toom · 1st April 2014, 07:04 PM

Thank you Michael,

I recieved the lead end cap today and made better pictures of this common gold

This neat little thing smells like sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride), anyone knows why this might be? I read on the internet that ammonium chloride was used to clean metals for tin coating...

fernando · 1st April 2014, 08:20 PM

I guess Michael will not react for a while. He is off to the orthopedic clinic

.

24th March 2014, 03:48 PM	#4
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	As so many specimens are dug up in Great Britain we may safely suppose that in the Cromwellian Age, the caps of wooden powder holders on English musketeers bandeliers were often made of lead, certainly due to the moist weather on the island. The term 'powder cap' used in some desriptions on the site linked here is not quite correct of course; actually they are not caps for powder but for powder holders or measures. http://finds.org.uk/database/search/...objecttype/cap m Attached Images Last edited by Matchlock; 24th March 2014 at 04:07 PM.

15th March 2014, 12:38 PM	#1
Martin Moser Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Near Munich, Bavaria, Germany Posts: 12	Truly amazing pictures, Michael! I love the details, which I have been able to get a view of so far. Some of these are in your collection you say? Wow! Can you tell perhaps how the leather is attached to the apostles? Glued or sewn on or a combination of both?

15th March 2014, 12:53 PM	#2
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Hi Martin, I'm glad you like my pieces as all these bandeliers, bundles of matchcord and caps for Gothic powder measures are in my collection. Marcus will remember seeing most of them when attending me. I'm not sure though whether he noticed the small Gothic brass caps in one of my glass cases. They range among the greatest rarities of historic weaponry. The leather was scratched down to an extremely thin layer, watered and wrapped tightly around these powder measures/'apostles'/powder flasks; no glue was needed. It can be easily scratched off nowadays, which makes these items so fragile! Best, Michael

15th March 2014, 01:33 PM	#3
Marcus den toom Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Netherlands Posts: 534	Visiting your collection was the most educational experience i ever had, but due to our time limit we didn't get to the gothic brass caps . I am sure you could tell a story about every item of more than an hour each, but i didn't have a sleeping bag so we will save that for next time (i hope ) Why was the complete powder measurer made out of lead on your bandelier from the Emden armory? It would seem to me that they are haevier and more fragile than the wooden ones? Only the weather factor is of less importance on these lead powder measures. The powder inside such a lead measurer would, i think, be less prone to humidity and thus be more effective when shot?

1st April 2014, 07:04 PM	#5
Marcus den toom Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Netherlands Posts: 534	Thank you Michael, I recieved the lead end cap today and made better pictures of this common gold This neat little thing smells like sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride), anyone knows why this might be? I read on the internet that ammonium chloride was used to clean metals for tin coating...

1st April 2014, 08:20 PM	#6
fernando (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	I guess Michael will not react for a while. He is off to the orthopedic clinic .