SHORTER NOTES I 215

brasA s sportin daten ggu d 1624 by Stuart Maxwell

n 197I Museue 3th m bought fro antiqun ma e 'speciaa dealer f o d ,l ai witpurchas e hth e grant' from the Treasury, a sporting gun of brass, bearing the date '1624' and the maker's initials 'IL' (upside down), identified as James Low of Dundee (pis 29-32b); only the firing butte th f , o whic mechanis d 48-s i en (1-23 hn n 5i e take gu th longsteelf ) o e e 2 d m s th i an Th ,. form of a pierced crown, can be extended another 3-6 in (91 mm) on two brass rods controlled sprino bt weighi ytw d g an catcheinne e s) th butte rn mm o s e borsidth 3 th f ;0-5s e(1 i o e n 2i 7 Ib If 02. The firing mechanis bees mha n altered from snaphaunc coven d dogloco pa t e an r e th k- steel now form one piece and the lock can be held at half cock by an outside safety catch, a development which may date from about 1665 (Whitelaw 1925). The gun's mechanism was altered therefore about forty years after its making, probably within its working life. The top jaw of the cock and its screw, and the trigger and its guard are replacements. A later owner's name and date, 'John Brown/C/1755' have been added in what was originally a void shield on the barrel. decorates i n gu engraviny e db Th barrele th n go , frettee stoc buttd th alsd kan n an do ,o butt-extension. The raised parts of the barrel (at the muzzle where there are three 'collars', just before the stock, where there are two half 'collars', and at the lock end of the barrel) have been chiselled to add to the decoration. The engraved decoration derives from European Renaissance styles, mainly strapwork panels enclosing stylised roses and acanthus leaves in between curving lined leaan sf scrolls e remaininTh . g origina e lstee th part lf o sloc k also have tracef o s engraving. All-metal pistols are the characteristic productions of Scottish gunsmiths from before 1600 18te th hf centuryo earlies e d brassf th o en d e e t.ar ,an th Guns o t , however muce ,ar h less common than pistols, and the only other brass sporting gun known is that now in the Armouries of HM Tower of London and described by William Reid in the Connoisseur (Reid 1966); its number inventore th Armourie e n i th f yo XIIs si originas .it los n s 1786l a ha tal s t I l.ha steew lno locd kan orthodox flintlock mechanism; unfortunately this means thaoriginae th t l lock platlongeo n s ei r there and with it has gone the maker's mark; part of the raised breech of the barrel was cut away in the conversion, which removed the last numeral of the date engraved over the breech. Reid is of the opinion that the remaining upper loop suggests that the date was 1612, 1618 or 1619. He also comments that the barrels of brass pistols signed 'IL' and the Tower gun 'were probably engraved by the same hand'. Comparison of the two brass guns leaves the writer in no doubt of accurace th Reid'f yo s confidentle opinionb n ca t I . y asserted, thereforee th ,n i tha gune w th t sno Tower Armourie Nationae th d san l Museum were both mad 'IL'consequency e eb .On thas ei t ti can be assumed the Museum's gun will originally have had a trigger-guard very like that of the Tower gun, described by Reid as 'a simple curve from a forward screw to a disc finial [engraved with a rose] at the rear'. The Tower gun has a barrel of 33-75 in, a bore of 0-47 in and weighs e correspondinth ; oz I8 1 b g e Museum'figureth r fo s se sam gunth en i , measurementse ar , 36-15 in and 0-52 in and 7 Ib If oz. Before considerin engravede gth gunso decoratiotw ,e otheth f o nr comparisone b y ma s made. Reid has described the expanding butt device on the Tower gun, 'This is a notched brass slide endin frettea n gi d royal crown e slidTh .e fits int osockea t withi holloe nth ws i butd an t retained in any one of six positions by a spring bolt working upwards in the toe of the butt to 216 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1974-5 engag differene th en i t notches. Museum'e 'Th extend brasn o sgu tw sn rodso s (one being defective, broke secone nth oft a fd innermost notch), controlle fivn di e extended position sprino tw y gsb catches, in what is probably an improved, more stable way of making the extension. The two crowns are very alike, rather crude, English crowns with a central cross flanked by fleurs de lys witincompleto htw e crosseoutsidese th Towen e crowe o s th endn Th .n ngu ro s rather weakly and the outer bar is plain; on the Museum's gun the arches of the crown are surmounted by a central roundel containin ga cros s flanke alternatiny b d g small circle e d pointsth an sd an , heel bar is shaped; it seems probable that the heel of the Tower gun has been damaged and repaired. Reid dreLivrustkamae th w n i attentio n gu a Stockholn rno i t m wit 'armorialn ha ' extension, 'a shield plate witScottis e arme th h th f so h d familan Spenf d yo ro a s drawn e whico b t n nhou ca locked wit hsprina paia Scottisf o butt'o rt e g righe d th catc th f an ,o th n h o pistol privata n si e collection dated 1614 with extending butts; the pistols are also by 'IL'. He considered that the presenc English-typn a f eo e Towecrowe th mean n n no gu r mads membeta thar wa efo t i t f o r James VI and I's family, and he designated Prince Charles, the later Charles I, as the most likely owner. thoughe H t tha interlacee th t d C-Scrolls whic featur a decoratio e e th h ar f ebuto e th tf no supporte cases cited hi an ,d armou Towee th t ra r long associated with Charle othed san r items associated with Charles I and II which have addorsed C's in their decoration. If a crown-shaped butt-extension signifie royaa s l owner Museum'e th , alsn osgu qualifie royaa s a s l gun. Clueo st the owner's identity are absent from the decoration on the faces of the butt; there are, however, small, addorsed C's in the first strapwork panel on the barrel, near to the date; these appear to write e vere th b yo rt muc hdecoratione sampare th f th to t e a tim t ,bu e the identicae yar forn li m with the more prominent C's on the Tower gun. The pair of brass pistols in the Museum, again by 'IL', associated with Loui 326d s an XII) 5 hav Francf I32 o e H theie(L r owner's nam armd ean s on top of the barrel, a more normal position. There were originally void shields on both guns, thesd an e would see e obvioumth s place proclaio t s m royal ownership, whic s surelt hwa yno somethin hiddene b o gt . Both shield surmountee ar s badly db y drawn crowned helmetse th ; crown dissimilare sar Towee th ,bein e on r g Museue spik th thad n ycrushean n o t mgu d almost f existenceo t ou . The decoration of the gun is so closely linked with that of the Tower gun that they are best described together. Superficially they are different because of their colour, the rich brown of the earlier, Tower gun and the bright brass of our later example, but they are so alike in proportion and design that the engraver was faced by the same situation in both. The upper side of the barrel Museum'e oth f divides i n sgu d into panel strapwory sb k which interlace t intervalssa , witha four-petalled rose in roundels formed at each join. The panels contain flowers and leaves, either in scrolls or arranged on each side of a central stalk, stylised versions of acanthus decoration. The result lacks the variety of the decoration on the barrel of the Tower gun ('panels of chevronny, cheeky, leaf and tendril pattern') because the strapwork is more prominent and cuts down the space available for the motifs within the panels. There is an elongated key pattern along the sides stoce ofth k supportin barrel e runnina g th d an , g scrol half-acanthuf o l undero stw leavee -th n so sides; the Tower barrel has a similar key pattern, but rather weak S-chains on the undersides. The acanthus-type scroll is repeated further along the stock and the underside of the butt, except at the broader part under the lock where there are two opposing chevrons with leaves and flowers Towee th anglese in th o r s guna , . Lengthways alon stoc e sidee th three g th f kar so e parallel panel ornamentf so , wit fourtha insertee hon d wher bute ewidth s ti e enoug tako ht e it; these ear divided into small irregular compartments by a ribbon which is straight top and bottom and has rounded corners; within each compartmen stylisee th e tar d flower leaved an s s already described, SHORTER NOTE | S21 7 in varying sizes brase Th . s lock-plat similas eha r flower leavesd san , also simple S-chainst a d an , 'lean i t plate f cu th form eac s edecoratiod i e hen Th . stocTowen e buto d th n kan f t n o rplategu s is simila t freerbu r , t becauswithino confinee s i 3-ne th t ei 4th f bandso s ; par f thio t s freedom consist incorporatioe th f so addorsee th f no d C-scrolls already mentioned. Dundeprincipae th s ewa l makincentre th r firearmef fo g o Scotlann si late th e n d16ti d han early 17th centuries (Blair 1975). Possibl tradins yit g relations wit Baltice hth , Germane th d yan Low Countrie bearina d s ha cas a alsgs t hereoha bu bee e- n importance madth r efo Englisf eo h influenc Scottisn eo h gunsmiths (Eaves 1970). From 158 165o 7t 0 there wer gunmaker1 e2 n si Dundee, about one-fift whole th f eo h Hammermen's craft t frobu ,m 1651, when Dundes ewa sacked by Cromwell's troops, to 1750 there were only 5 gunmakers (Millar 1888, 280). By correlating 'signatures', initials weaponn o , s wit namee hth Dundef so e hammermen numbe,a f ro weapons have been matched with their makers, notably Robert Allison who signed the 1614 gun with a wooden stock which is in the Tower Armouries, another weapon once in the French royal collection; Andrew Philip was the maker of Sir John Grant's gun in the Seafield collection, a gun which indeed proclaims the town of its origin by having the pot of lilies and one of the supporting dragons of the arms of Dundee inlaid in silver on the butt. The surname Low appears several 'Lockitimee th n si t Bookburgessee th f o ' Dundeef so . John Low, 'faber' (smith), occur 1523n si , and there is a James Low, 'pellio' (skinner), in 1570; in 1588 a second James Low, 'faber', became a burgess in right of his father. This James is probably the maker of the guns. I am indebted to Miss Helen Waddell, City Archivist, Dundee, for this information, and to our Fellow, Geoffrey Boothroyd r confirminfo , g that lisa f master o e craftn i ,th tf o sdate de Dunde 158th n 7i e Hammermen's records, there is a James Low, lockmaker, presumably the same man. According Whitelaw'late E th eC o t s ms dictionar Scottisf yo h weapon makers, however ,sai s Jamei dw sLo havo t e been admitted freema 159n ni 3 (Hoff 1955, 213) Whitelaw's dictionary also list Johsa n Leirmonth, a contemporary 'gunner' in St Andrews, but the presence of other known gunmakers in Dundee would seem to tip the scales in favour of 'IL' working there. A remarkable number of guns and pistols by 'IL' have survived. In order of date, where known, these are paia : f walnut-stockeo r d fishtail-butt pistols with snaphaunce e lockth n i s Tojhusmuseet, Copenhagen, dated 1602 (Hoff 1955); a pair of brass fishtail-butt pistols with snaphaunce Nationae lockth n i s l Museu 325-6)H m(L , dated 1611 (these have Louis XIII's arms, were originall Frence th n yi h Royal Armour werd yan e bought from Russia, where they had been taken after the French Revolution, by Charles Whitelaw); a brass fishtail-butt pistol, converte a flintlock o Tojhusmuseete dt th n i , , Copenhagen, dated 1613 (Hoff 1955) paia ; f o r brass lemon-butt pistols with snaphaunce lock d extendinan s g buttsn Englisa n i , h private collection, dated 1614 (Blair, 1975) brasa ; s pistol wit hfishtaia l butt, converte flintlocka o dt n i , Nationae th l Museum (Colville collection . 1949-91L , ) dated 1617 paia ; snaphauncf o r e pistols with mahogany stocks inlaid with engraved mother of pearl (they have crests on the barrels, 'a running hound under a crescent') in the Hermitage, Leningrad, dated on the barrels and locks 1618 (Tarrasuk 1971); the latest date for the brass gun in the Tower of London armouries is 1619 pistoa ; l wit brasha s lock signed date'ILd ) an 162'sols d (? t Sotheby's d1a wa , 19.3.73, Nationae t dat19e th lo f th ; eo l Museum's 1624 s brasi n pistoa ;sgu l dated 'about 1624 'ILy b ' ' was describe Scottishe th n di 1954y FieldMa ; n finalli y ther paia brases f i r o s pistols with lemon- shaped butts, converted to flintlocks, in the Royal Armoury, Stockholm dated 1627 or 1629 (Hoff 1955) Towee NationaTh d . an r l Museum guns three th , e pistolMuseue e th th n si d man pai Russin ri theiad havha rl braseal s gilded, presumabl preveno yt t tarnishing stees a , l pistols were blued or browned, as well as to enhance their appearance. Other 17th-century pistols examined in the Research Laboratory were found not to have been gilded. When this is added to 218 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1974-5 royae th l connection mano s f s yo doub o weapon n lef e n i ar t t e abou Jamew y sb impors w thi sLo - tance as a gunmaker. I am grateful to my colleague David Caldwell for helpful discussion in writing this note.

REFERENCES Blair C ,197 5 'Scottish Firearms', Bull American Armsc So Collectors, (Sprin1 3 g 1975), 61-101. Eaves, I 1970 'Some notes on the pistol in early 17th century England', J Arms Armour Soc, 6,11 (1970), 277-344. Hoff, A 1955 'Scottish pistols in Scandinavian Collections', / Arms Armour Soc, I, 12 (1955), 199-214. Millar, AH 1888 'Notic steea f eo l pistol wit hDundea e mar ' Proc . Antiq c . k. So Scot, (1887-8)2 2 , 276-80. Reid, W 1966 'A Prince's Gun from Dundee', The Connoisseur, 163 (1966), 148-50. Tarrasuk L ,197 1 Antique European Americand an Firearms Hermitagee th t a Museum. Leningrad. Whitelaw E 192 C , 5 'VariationLocg Do k e ...'th f ,so Proc Antiqc So Scot, (1924-5)9 5 , 211-21.