All works in Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum

A. Francotte

Percussion Revolver with Accessories in a Box

Liège, London, 1852 - 1870

Object data

iron, brass, copper, wood, leather, linen and paper

gun: length 30 cm × calibre 11 mm
box: height 5.5 cm × width 35.4 cm × depth 20 cm

Inscriptions

  • inscription, on the box: MANUFD BY A. FRANCOTTE, LIEGE / Licensed by / DEANE, ADAMS & DEANE, / GUN MAKERS, / BY APPOINTMENT / TO H.R.H. Prince Albert, 30 King William Street, / LONDON BRIDGE. / PATENT 7 OCTR 1851 / LICENSE 16 NOVR 1852
  • inscription, on the gun: A. FRANCOTTE A LIEGE / ADAMS PATENT 16322; ADAMS / 1850 / PATENT
  • inscription, on the small bag with percussion caps: MANUFACTURERS LONDON / ELEY’s / METAL-LINED / ANTI-CORROSIVE / PERCUSSION CAPS / Made expressly for / ADAM’s / PATENT REVOLVER
  • mark: various assayer’s marks

Provenance

...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883

Object number: NG-MC-1080

Copyright: Public domain

Entry

Deane-Adams revolver, a rifled percussion six shooter, with accessories in a box.

The gun is made of blued steel and has an octagonal barrel with minor decorations. The cartridges are loaded through the front of the cylinder and can be rammed by means of a lever alongside the barrel. The percussion caps are placed on nipples at the back of the cylinder. In the box there is a scratcher, a bullet mould, a cartridge mould for making paper cartridges, a powder flask, a grease pot and a small leather bag with percussion caps.

The holster, cartridge bag, five spare nipples and two screwdrivers referred to in the original inventory, were not found. The execution points to a rather luxurious weapon, in contrast to NG-MC-1096.

Literature

J.M. Obreen et al., handwritten inventory list for items 944 to 1431, 1884, manuscript in HNA 476 RMA, inv. no. 1089, no. 1080; J.D. Jansen and G.R. Hof, ‘De bewapening van het Nederlandse leger in het tijdvak 1813-1840’, De wapenverzamelaar 4 (1966), pp. 3-24 and ‘De bewapening van het Nederlandse leger in het tijdvak 1840-1867’, De wapenverzamelaar 5 (1967), pp. 3-10, vol. 2, p. 7; W.A. Dreschler, ‘De Adams revolver’, De wapenverzamelaar 9 (1971), pp. 42-44

Citation

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'A. Francotte, Percussion Revolver with Accessories in a Box, Liège, 1852 - 1870', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.244895

(accessed 23 April 2024 11:48:41).

Footnotes