FRENCH AN IX 'ESPINGOLE' ?

Richard G · 19th June 2014, 03:05 PM

Possibly a harpoon or line throwing gun?
Regards
Richard

thinreadline · 19th June 2014, 03:26 PM

no , I dont think so , I am sure it is a French swivel gun from the late 18th C .. here is a picture from Gilkerson of the same with the flintlock mechanism in place

Andreas · 19th June 2014, 06:17 PM

Michel Brézin (1758-1828) was an important French canon manufacturer, with foundries in Paris and Normandy, operating since the 1790’s and a major supplier of guns to the French military during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras. I believe that in French the term perrier for these swivel guns is more common than espingole, although the latter is also used, but the main meaning is blunderbuss. This particular piece was made in 1812 (as per the inscription), was there an An IX (1800-01) model?
Regards,
Andreas

thinreadline · 19th June 2014, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andreas

Michel Brézin (1758-1828) was an important French canon manufacturer, with foundries in Paris and Normandy, operating since the 1790’s and a major supplier of guns to the French military during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras. I believe that in French the term perrier for these swivel guns is more common than espingole, although the latter is also used, but the main meaning is blunderbuss. This particular piece was made in 1812 (as per the inscription), was there an An IX (1800-01) model?
Regards,
Andreas

Yes , very interesting Andreas , I say An IX simply because as you can see in the pic from Gilkerson , that is what he ID s it as . An IX is around 1802 isnt it ?

fernando · 19th June 2014, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinreadline

Yes , very interesting Andreas , I say An IX simply because as you can see in the pic from Gilkerson , that is what he ID s it as . An IX is around 1802 isnt it ?

As Andreas says and also readable in the book, An IX (of the revolution)corresponds to 1800/1801. Interesting is that that this type of gun already existed prior to that; An IX was the year in which t was redesigned.
Peculiar gun, one should say

Dave Parkhill · 20th June 2021, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thinreadline

no , I dont think so , I am sure it is a French swivel gun from the late 18th C .. here is a picture from Gilkerson of the same with the flintlock mechanism in place

Hello. Could you tell me title of this book please?

Thanks
Dave

Norman McCormick · 20th June 2021, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Parkhill

Hello. Could you tell me title of this book please?

Thanks
Dave

Hi Dave,
Boarders Away by William Gilkerson.
Regards,
Norman.

M ELEY · 20th June 2021, 08:37 PM

I just bid on one of these in a London auction several months ago. needless to say, I didn't even come close to winning! Just like this example from the old thread, t was missing it's flintlock mechanism, which I'm told is as rare as the gun itself!

BTW, Thinreadline, does your friend still have this piece? Still not interested in selling?

Dmitry · 3rd January 2026, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M ELEY

I just bid on one of these in a London auction several months ago. needless to say, I didn't even come close to winning! Just like this example from the old thread, t was missing it's flintlock mechanism, which I'm told is as rare as the gun itself!

BTW, Thinreadline, does your friend still have this piece? Still not interested in selling?

How much did it go for? Also, how would you have it transferred to the USA? What legal documents would you need?
Edit: is that what you were bidding on?
https://bid.candtauctions.co.uk/lot-...ass-Swivel-Gun

M ELEY · 5th January 2026, 04:00 PM

Hello Dmitry,

Yep, that was the one. It's been a while and my memory is more foggy these days, but I seem to remember that it went for around $1999 dollars(U.S.), not bad for a swivel, but that didn't include auction percentage and shipping/handling.

You asked a good question about shipping/customs, but then again, Fernando sold me his 1680 doglock blunderbus and shipped from Portugal to me in the US with no problems. I know one has to be careful with customs these days (I just purchased a sword from the UK. He's sending it as a 'gift' to avoid extra pricing and just listed it as 'antique item'). Many years ago, I had a gentleman in Canada send me a sword listed as 'antique sporting goods'. I guess this has now become a gamble. For Christmas, we sent a gift basket containing makeup to a friend in Canada. It was rejected and sent back to us via customs. We've sent the same stuff almost every year in the past! Very strange.

19th June 2014, 03:26 PM	#2
thinreadline Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Wirral Posts: 1,204	no , I dont think so , I am sure it is a French swivel gun from the late 18th C .. here is a picture from Gilkerson of the same with the flintlock mechanism in place Attached Images

20th June 2021, 08:37 PM	#8
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,219	I just bid on one of these in a London auction several months ago. needless to say, I didn't even come close to winning! Just like this example from the old thread, t was missing it's flintlock mechanism, which I'm told is as rare as the gun itself! BTW, Thinreadline, does your friend still have this piece? Still not interested in selling? Last edited by M ELEY; 20th June 2021 at 09:14 PM.

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19th June 2014, 03:05 PM	#1
Richard G Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 417	Possibly a harpoon or line throwing gun? Regards Richard

19th June 2014, 06:17 PM	#3
Andreas Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Ionian Islands, Greece Posts: 96	Michel Brézin (1758-1828) was an important French canon manufacturer, with foundries in Paris and Normandy, operating since the 1790’s and a major supplier of guns to the French military during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras. I believe that in French the term perrier for these swivel guns is more common than espingole, although the latter is also used, but the main meaning is blunderbuss. This particular piece was made in 1812 (as per the inscription), was there an An IX (1800-01) model? Regards, Andreas

5th January 2026, 04:00 PM	#10
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,219	Hello Dmitry, Yep, that was the one. It's been a while and my memory is more foggy these days, but I seem to remember that it went for around $1999 dollars(U.S.), not bad for a swivel, but that didn't include auction percentage and shipping/handling. You asked a good question about shipping/customs, but then again, Fernando sold me his 1680 doglock blunderbus and shipped from Portugal to me in the US with no problems. I know one has to be careful with customs these days (I just purchased a sword from the UK. He's sending it as a 'gift' to avoid extra pricing and just listed it as 'antique item'). Many years ago, I had a gentleman in Canada send me a sword listed as 'antique sporting goods'. I guess this has now become a gamble. For Christmas, we sent a gift basket containing makeup to a friend in Canada. It was rejected and sent back to us via customs. We've sent the same stuff almost every year in the past! Very strange.