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Earliest blunderbuss?
What is the earliest evidence of distinct and possible blunderbusses that you all can post?
I have an early 18th century reproduction and it has been more fun that I expected so I would like to see how far back I can find examples and what they look like.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by R Iacovelli on
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The first use of Gunpowder in the Western World was at around 1267 when Roger Bacon’s Epistola de secretis operibus artiis et naturae was written. The first firearms where all a style of blunderbuss, using natural stones for shot. Landsknecht’s used firearms in some sort by at least 1512 at the Battle of Ravenna if not earlier. As noted there where cannons and shot at that battle. If you would like woodcut examples let me know and I can e-mail some to you…
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Permalink Reply by Karl on
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Yes, I would like to see any woodcuts of distinctly flared blunderbusses (blunderbi?) from the 16th century. I have a 14th century gonne (pipe-on-a-stick) but would like more documentation to work with on a very early blunderbuss. Apart from the picture above they did not seem to have become popular until after the English Civil War when they already had a name of Dutch/German origin.
http://www.middlesexvillagetrading.com/images/thumb_MDBB_right.JPG circa 1690 dog-lock.
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Permalink Reply by Gustav Johannes Losen on
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I have a pic of an early carbine lengthed wheelock with a flared barrel somewhere let me see if I can dig it up .its not officially a blunderbuss but an early fowling gun but they are of the same origins it was 1530-1550 german or austrian if memory serves me well ,
Gustav
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http://img55.imageshack.us/img55/1169/beznazwy1kopiaxw9.jpg
Does anyone recognize the significance of this gunner "uniform?" The houpeland like top and tights? WHo were they and where were they from?
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Yet another teasing image of a blunderbuss in this case carried by a more mainstream (Austrian?) Landsknecht. The barrel looks surprisingly similar to the ones above. There might have been more or less one place that was manufacturing them (?)
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Apparently a couple of these actual matchlocks were recently auctioned off: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpost.php?p=117432&postcount=3...
They were supposedly made in northern Italy in the early 16th century which might be a clue as to who these peculiar troops were.
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http://pic.photobucket.com/spacer.gif
There seems to be another one of these distinctly uniformed gunners hiding in the back (dark sleeves). I am getting more curiouser about who these gunners were.
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Permalink Reply by Johannes Jensen on
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The link doesn't seem to work...
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Johannes - I had to search again to get the link to work. I found a better color picture (with extended borders) and it seems that the like dressed soldier is actually holding a pike.
http://www.historiclife.com/Essays/landsknecht.htm
Matthias - thank you for posting that link too. I am beginning to think that the origins of the blunderbuss are lost in the mists of legend. BTW have you seen this collection: http://history-gatchina.ru/museum/arsenal/arsenale1.htm ? I am sure that there is at least one 16th century blunderbuss in someone's attic yet.
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Permalink Reply by matthias pogner on
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http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~dispater/handgonnes.htm
try this, i found a lot of useful info on this site. i5t might have what you are looking for
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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ee/Early_Mode...
It seems a little off that something as tricky to use as handmortars would have developed before blunderbusses. I am still searching for more 16th century examples.
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