Macabre French Grave Robber Trap Gun 18th C.

Jim McDougall · 29th August 2009, 06:50 AM

Once in a while something really bizarre comes along, and I thought it might be interesting to others here.
In the 18th century, grave robbing for the anatomy schools became a profound problem, and enterprising 'resurrectionists' in the dark of night harvested thier 'scientific goods' for sale in a morbid and lucrative trade.

In many cases, worried families guarded the graves of loved ones for periods of time after burial to insure that they would not be 'exhumed' by these ghouls. Eventually heavy iron gates were installed and locked, and sometimes other devices were used.

In this case, a trap gun, sometimes referred to as a chicken thief gun, was employed as a deterrent against the 'tradesmen' (as Jerry Cruncher called himself in Charles Dickens "A Tale of Two Cities").

This rare example was sold in 2007, by Greg Martin auctions, and is an 18th century French example with a Charleville lock, and a 12" blunderbuss barrel.
This elaborate rig was camoflaged by the grave, and according to some of the detail with the sale item, a man disguised as a mourning woman sometimes visited the grave in daylight to verify and defuse the gun.

Just a bit of esoterica

Best regards
Jim

29th August 2009, 06:50 AM	#1
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,954	Macabre French Grave Robber Trap Gun 18th C. Once in a while something really bizarre comes along, and I thought it might be interesting to others here. In the 18th century, grave robbing for the anatomy schools became a profound problem, and enterprising 'resurrectionists' in the dark of night harvested thier 'scientific goods' for sale in a morbid and lucrative trade. In many cases, worried families guarded the graves of loved ones for periods of time after burial to insure that they would not be 'exhumed' by these ghouls. Eventually heavy iron gates were installed and locked, and sometimes other devices were used. In this case, a trap gun, sometimes referred to as a chicken thief gun, was employed as a deterrent against the 'tradesmen' (as Jerry Cruncher called himself in Charles Dickens "A Tale of Two Cities"). This rare example was sold in 2007, by Greg Martin auctions, and is an 18th century French example with a Charleville lock, and a 12" blunderbuss barrel. This elaborate rig was camoflaged by the grave, and according to some of the detail with the sale item, a man disguised as a mourning woman sometimes visited the grave in daylight to verify and defuse the gun. Just a bit of esoterica Best regards Jim Attached Images