EXTREMELY RARE BREECHLOADING DOGLOCK MUSKET.

EXTREMELY RARE BREECHLOADING DOGLOCK MUSKET. NSN. 74 Cal. 44-1/4” part oct bbl. No markings are visible. The lockplate, brass triggerguard, buttplate, sideplate and faucet escutcheons are engraved. A .781 plug 1-5/8” long is screwed into the bottom of the bbl to contain the chamber. A 1/2” wrench is needed to extract it. This musket came from the W. Keith Neal Collection and has been the subject of numerous articles and book chapters concerning 17th C. Tudor or English siege weapons, including Neal & Back’s Great British Gunmakers 1540-1740. (See Plates 44-a through e for the exact gun.) It was sold along with parts of his collection in 1995. Copies of the provenance listed in that catalog accompanies the lot. It is variously described as having a flat lockplate, “engraved with strawberry foliage and with dog-catch in the form of a bird’s head”, with a sideplate in the form of a monster and a thumb piece with “a caricature head”. This figure of a soldier wearing a helmet has a very long nose. The gun came from Timsbury Manor near Bath, England and dates around 1670. To load it, it was turned upside down and the screw plug removed with a wrench, the powder was poured in and the gun tipped up so the powder would go to the rear and the ball was inserted on top of the powder and the screw put back in. The lock was then ready for priming and firing. In J. N. George’s book, English Guns & Rifles, he indicates that guns of this type may have been used in the towers by snipers during a siege to shoot the officers of the siege force. The dragon sideplate is possibly replaced. There is very light raised carving around the bbl tang. There is no hammer screw on the outside of the lock. The lug on the back of the hammer extends through the lockplate and through the tumbler and is secured by a pin passing through the lug. The sear is also secured by a pin and operates against the top of the hammer, unlike most, later flintlocks. There is no bridle on either the tumbler or the frizzen. The front lockplate hook appears to be a replacement. There is a long extension on the tang of the buttplate with block engraving matching that on the breech plug escutcheon. The large v-notch rear sight has a folding leaf with three peepholes drilled in it. There is a large turned ring at the muzzle which has a brass bead sight on top. CONDITION: Lock has a smooth gray patina with some light pitting. Bbl and rear sight have very heavy pitting. Brass furniture has a mellow patina. Stock shows minor repairs and the rear of the lockplate and sideplate with a repaired crack through the wrist. Mechanically fine. 4-59136 FS778 (10,000-20,000)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 2006

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	37	$8,050.00	EXTREMELY RARE BREECHLOADING DOGLOCK MUSKET. NSN. 74 Cal. 44-1/4” part oct bbl. No markings are visible. The lockplate, brass triggerguard, buttplate, sideplate and faucet escutcheons are engraved. A .781 plug 1-5/8” long is screwed into the bottom of the bbl to contain the chamber. A 1/2” wrench is needed to extract it. This musket came from the W. Keith Neal Collection and has been the subject of numerous articles and book chapters concerning 17th C. Tudor or English siege weapons, including Neal & Back’s Great British Gunmakers 1540-1740. (See Plates 44-a through e for the exact gun.) It was sold along with parts of his collection in 1995. Copies of the provenance listed in that catalog accompanies the lot. It is variously described as having a flat lockplate, “engraved with strawberry foliage and with dog-catch in the form of a bird’s head”, with a sideplate in the form of a monster and a thumb piece with “a caricature head”. This figure of a soldier wearing a helmet has a very long nose. The gun came from Timsbury Manor near Bath, England and dates around 1670. To load it, it was turned upside down and the screw plug removed with a wrench, the powder was poured in and the gun tipped up so the powder would go to the rear and the ball was inserted on top of the powder and the screw put back in. The lock was then ready for priming and firing. In J. N. George’s book, English Guns & Rifles, he indicates that guns of this type may have been used in the towers by snipers during a siege to shoot the officers of the siege force. The dragon sideplate is possibly replaced. There is very light raised carving around the bbl tang. There is no hammer screw on the outside of the lock. The lug on the back of the hammer extends through the lockplate and through the tumbler and is secured by a pin passing through the lug. The sear is also secured by a pin and operates against the top of the hammer, unlike most, later flintlocks. There is no bridle on either the tumbler or the frizzen. The front lockplate hook appears to be a replacement. There is a long extension on the tang of the buttplate with block engraving matching that on the breech plug escutcheon. The large v-notch rear sight has a folding leaf with three peepholes drilled in it. There is a large turned ring at the muzzle which has a brass bead sight on top. CONDITION: Lock has a smooth gray patina with some light pitting. Bbl and rear sight have very heavy pitting. Brass furniture has a mellow patina. Stock shows minor repairs and the rear of the lockplate and sideplate with a repaired crack through the wrist. Mechanically fine. 4-59136 FS778 (10,000-20,000) Auction: Firearms - Fall 2006 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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