item details
NameDouble barrelled shotgun (fowling piece)
ProductionForsyth & Co.; gunsmith; circa 1810; England
Classificationfirearms, shotguns, fowling pieces
Materialssteel, wood, brass
DimensionsOverall: 65mm (height), 1200mm (length), 80mm (depth)
Registration NumberDM000299
Credit linePurchased 1951
Overview
Double-barrelled shotgun, made by Forsyth Company, London, about 1810.
The gun is fitted with 'scent bottle' type percussion locks invented by the Reverend Alexander Forsyth [ 1768 - 1843 ]. The 'scent bottle' is reservoir for mercury fulminate powder, a substance which explodes when struck. Rotating the 'scent bottle' deposited a small quantity of fulminate on the gun's touchhole. This primed the gun so that when the trigger was pulled the hammer struck the fulminate; and the flame ignited the gunpowder charge in the barrel.
Forsyth's system was the first practical method of igniting firearms by percussion.