Blunderbuss with Cork Mail markings

[Jim McDougall]

Richard,
My apologies for the delay in responding. Thank you so much for the great and detailed answers to the questions I placed on these guns and some of the characteristics of the materials used.
As I begin to learn more of the history of these firearms it is been pretty exciting to add huge dimension to my lifelong passion with edged weapons.

As noted, most of what I have written has been somewhat cursory research which gave me enough perspective to at least gain some working knowledge (very limited!). The reference on only one highwayman falling to some form of coaching gun surely cannot be accurate, though it of course sounds like hubris oriented lore describing these.

Much appreciated,

Jim

[Pukka Bundook]

Good morning Jim,

Besides one highwayman that we are aware of, I suppose you know the case of (I think )Thomas Thynne?...going by memory...where a B-buss was used to do away with an "inconvenient" husband. ?

[fernando]

Surely many characters were taken down with a blunderbuss, including notorious personalities. Blunderbusses were said to have been used to kill King Dom José I, in the night of September 3rd 1758, on his way back from a night visit to his mistress Marchioness Dona Teresa Leonor, wife of the Marchis de Tavora. In an ambush to the King's sege, various shots were fired, the Monarch surving badly wounded.
Also virtual scenes are recorded, 'glorifying' this type of gun, one of them featuring a 19th century famous Brasilian religious rebel leader, backed by his bodyguards, in a attitude to stop the progression of the Republic.

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[corrado26]

Just for Information: There has been a blunderbuss-gun introduced in the Austrian cuirassier-regiments. 12 men of these regiments used so called "trombones M 1759" with a horizontally very wide muzzle. These guns had brass mountings, whereas the following model of the same characteristics but with iron mountings was introduced in 1781. These guns were loaded with 12 small bullets or hacked lead.
corrado26

[Fernando K]

Norman Dixon "Blunderbusess"

[fernando]

Originally Posted by corrado26

... There has been a blunderbuss-gun introduced in the Austrian cuirassier-regiments. 12 men of these regiments used so called "trombones M 1759" with a horizontally very wide muzzle ...

Suggestive example, corrado; thanks for sharing it. If i may say, this one falls into atypical connotation, both because blunderbusses generally have flared muzzles and its nickname trombone doesn't reflect its actual barrel shape ?.
But speaking of muzzles, one may consider the 'duck beak' version (as we call it here), in a French example of the XVIII century, here scanned from the catalogue of the Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa (Portugal).
From the same armoury, we may also appreciate an English fortress/navy blunderbuss, from the same period, with a rather 'scary' muzzle.
... and another example for a similar purpose, this time Portuguese, from the XVII-XVIII century, with a steel octogonal/tronco-conic barrel with silver decoration, equipped with prominent brass sights, an iron swivel device and a typical Portuguese lock.

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[corrado26]

Originally Posted by fernando

this one falls into atypical connotation, both because blunderbusses generally have flared muzzles and its nickname trombone doesn't reflect its actual barrel shape ?.

No, "trombone" has nothing to do with the barrel shape. It may have been my fault to translate the Austrian name "Kürassiertromblon M 1759" into an English obviously wrong expression - sorry!
corrado26

[fernando]

Oh, i see; Tromblon, the French term for blunderbuss. BTW, the term in portuguese is Bacamarte.