Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

rickystl · 29th July 2011, 09:09 PM

I sent these photos to Mr. Brian Godwin in the U.K. for his opinion. Brian is considered one of the foremost autorities on the Snaphaunce lock. Here is his response:
Hi Rick,

Many thanks for the images of your snaphance lock. In my opinion it is North African and absolutely typical of its type. As you rightly say, they do copy the English snaphance of the early 17th century but there are subtle and very characteristic differences. Among these differences are the lockplate, which is generally much narrower (as you point out); the frizzen face, which is usually much wider; and the presence of a pan cover guide or retainer fixed over the pan (your image 003 - I have never seen one on an English snaphance). Most importantly, almost every English snaphance I have examined, whether a plain or a highly decorated version, is very well made and each component is carefully crafted and fits together well. This is just not the case for the North African snaphance which, generally, varies greatly in quality between good and bad, but they are never as well made as the English original. Your lock looks to be in very good condition and none of the components appear to be missing. I’m not trying to be negative about your lock but there are huge differences between the North African and the original English made examples.

As your lock type copies the early 17th century snaphance it is very difficult to date but the most likely period is somewhere in the 18th or 19th century and it was almost certainly produced locally. The most likely area is Morocco, as you mention. Some have the part rounded type components while others have flat components. I would suggest that the marks on the hammer (cock) are accidental.
I hope you are not too disappointed. It would have been great if it had been an English snaphance but it seems so very few have survived and none have to light through my Website enquiries yet. The North African snaphance is still a fascinating mechanism and you seem to have a very good example of one.

The best literature on the North African snaphance is found in;

“Firearms of the Islamic World” by Robert Elgood, London 1995, and “The Snaphance Muskets of al-Maghreb al-Mqsa” by Jim Gooding, Canadian Arms Collecting Journal, 1996.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Brian

Well, there goes my 15 minutes of fame

In the back of my mind, I thought this might actually be a North African lock. Especially after one of the photos Michael sent me. It's just in the best condition I ever seen on or off a gun. As Brian says, too many differences. Anyway, I didn't pay much for it. It will make a nice addition to my lock collection. Thanks for looking. Rick.

29th July 2011, 09:09 PM	#13
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,621	UPDATE I sent these photos to Mr. Brian Godwin in the U.K. for his opinion. Brian is considered one of the foremost autorities on the Snaphaunce lock. Here is his response: Hi Rick, Many thanks for the images of your snaphance lock. In my opinion it is North African and absolutely typical of its type. As you rightly say, they do copy the English snaphance of the early 17th century but there are subtle and very characteristic differences. Among these differences are the lockplate, which is generally much narrower (as you point out); the frizzen face, which is usually much wider; and the presence of a pan cover guide or retainer fixed over the pan (your image 003 - I have never seen one on an English snaphance). Most importantly, almost every English snaphance I have examined, whether a plain or a highly decorated version, is very well made and each component is carefully crafted and fits together well. This is just not the case for the North African snaphance which, generally, varies greatly in quality between good and bad, but they are never as well made as the English original. Your lock looks to be in very good condition and none of the components appear to be missing. I’m not trying to be negative about your lock but there are huge differences between the North African and the original English made examples. As your lock type copies the early 17th century snaphance it is very difficult to date but the most likely period is somewhere in the 18th or 19th century and it was almost certainly produced locally. The most likely area is Morocco, as you mention. Some have the part rounded type components while others have flat components. I would suggest that the marks on the hammer (cock) are accidental. I hope you are not too disappointed. It would have been great if it had been an English snaphance but it seems so very few have survived and none have to light through my Website enquiries yet. The North African snaphance is still a fascinating mechanism and you seem to have a very good example of one. The best literature on the North African snaphance is found in; “Firearms of the Islamic World” by Robert Elgood, London 1995, and “The Snaphance Muskets of al-Maghreb al-Mqsa” by Jim Gooding, Canadian Arms Collecting Journal, 1996. I hope this helps. Regards, Brian Well, there goes my 15 minutes of fame In the back of my mind, I thought this might actually be a North African lock. Especially after one of the photos Michael sent me. It's just in the best condition I ever seen on or off a gun. As Brian says, too many differences. Anyway, I didn't pay much for it. It will make a nice addition to my lock collection. Thanks for looking. Rick.