Original Item: One of a Kind. This a fantastic very early production Land Pre-Brown Bess Pattern Musket, which predates the official introduction of the pattern in 1722. Unlike the first official pattern, it does not have any nose cap, and is all iron mounted, including the ramrod pipes and the escutcheon on the back of the wrist that the upper trigger guard screw threads into. This is almost certainly the earliest example we have had of a flintlock design that would morph and later serve the British Empire for over 100 years! 

This 1719 piece is among a diverse group of infantry patterns issued in the 'teens when King George I assumed the throne and the Board of Ordnance began to seek features for a more widely standardized infantry musket for the British army. Such efforts stepped up through the 1720's, and would result in the design known as the King's Pattern Land Musket (aka the Pattern 1730 Brown Bess).The design features of muskets in the 'teens were largely at the discretion of the Colonel's who were each charged by the Crown with equipping their own regiments. This is therefore a rare surviving example of a "Colonel's" musket of the 'teens. But this specific musket is designed and in large part produced in the Tower for the Board of Ordnance, rather than being designed and produced for a British household armory. 

Regardless of who ordered and who produced these Colonel's Muskets, to varying extents, these muskets had design cues taken from the large orders of Dutch Infantry muskets previously acquired under Queen Anne to wage the War of the Spanish Succession. The striated trigger guard with pinched ends and the needle-like projection from the buttplate tang are typical of the aforementioned Dutch infantry muskets. The 46"  0.75 cal barrel, serpentine sideplate, the forestock swell, and the deeply grooved handrail of the butt stock are further examples of ideal features of the Dutch muskets which the Board of Ordnance placed on "the King's Pattern wish list" to be eventually adopted as standard features for the Brown Bess. Many of these design and ergonomic features are notable improvements over the preceding British-made Pattern 1703 muskets. Design-wise, this musket is a cousin of Colonel's muskets made about the same time for British regiments by Predden. In terms of overall scale, design, and ergonomics, this Tower Musket and the Predden musket are recognizable links in the chain of development which would result in the Brown Bess a decade later.

The initials JM carved in the stock also merit mention and could denote American Colonial use. By the time of British colonial wars in North America in the mid to late 1700's, pre-Brown Bess arms would be considered obsolete. Such obsolete arms were therefore shipped to North American for use by Colonial militias in the mid to late 18th century. By the time of the American Revolution, an American patriot, un-constrained by rules of the Crown would have gladly denoted ownership by carving his initials in the stock.

This example features a very early flat unbeveled "banana" shaped lock marked with the correct CROWN / GR under the hammer for King George I, and TOWER / 19 on the lock plate tail for manufacture in 1719. It also has a CROWNED BROAD ARROW "lock viewer's" marking under the flash pan, which is the correct type with a rear shield. It is an early style three screw lock, which has only a single screw behind the hammer, a style changed between 1757 and 1762 that indicated the use of a shorter sear spring. It also has a simplified "swan neck" cock, and there is no frizzen support "bridle" going from the pan, the earliest design for these. The lock is fully functional, holding at half cock and firing at full, though it definitely is a bit stiff. We also noted that the frizzen has had a new face soldered or brazed on, covering what was most likely a very worn surface. The musket looks to have seen long and relatively heavy use, indicated by the amount of powder burn around the touch hole, and the bore is also worn out to about 0.76" from the original 0.75".

The barrel has an overall peppered patina, but does not show any major rust scaling or pitting, except near the touch hole.. It is marked with what looks to be 20 on the left side of the breech. The top of the barrel has the correct CROWN / GR marking over a CROWN / CROSSED SCEPTERS marking, indicating Pre-1813 military inspection at the Ordnance Proof house on Tower Wharf close to the Tower of London. There are no other markings that we can see on the musket.

The stock has a lovely brown color, showing wear and stress cracks from being over 250 of age. It was most likely finished solid brown at one point, but cleaning over the centuries has removed a good deal of that, though it is still visible on the fore stock areas. There is some cracking and chipping around the lock plate, which is typical, an there is also some wear and missing material on the fore stock next to the barrel. There look to be some old repairs along the barrel wood line, though we cannot tell if new wood was grafted on or not. The swell in the stock where the ramrod enters is still fully apparent, as is the "bannister rail" on the butt stock, which shows some personalization on both sides. Both sling swivels are still present and easily moveable, and the iron fitted wooden ramrod is in lovely condition, with a clearing worm on the narrow end.

A wonderful example of a Land Pre-Brown Bess Infantry Musket, the precursor to the model of a musket used around the world for over 100 years. Ready to research and display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: 1719
Caliber: 0.76"
Ammunition Type: Lead Ball & Powder
Barrel Length: 46 inches
Overall Length: 61 5/8 inches
Action: Flintlock
Feed System: Muzzle-Loaded

"Brown Bess" is a nickname of uncertain origin for the British Army's muzzle-loading smoothbore flintlock Land Pattern Musket and its derivatives. The musket design remained in use for over a hundred years with many incremental changes in its design. These versions include the Long Land Pattern, the Short Land Pattern, the India Pattern, the New Land Pattern Musket, and the Sea Service Musket.

The Long Land Pattern musket and its derivatives, all 0.75 inches caliber flintlock muskets, were the standard long guns of the British Empire's land forces from 1722 until 1838, when they were superseded by a percussion cap smoothbore musket. The British Ordnance System converted many flintlocks into the new percussion system known as the Pattern 1839 Musket. A fire in 1841 at the Tower of London destroyed many muskets before they could be converted. Still, the Brown Bess saw service until the middle of the nineteenth century.

Most male citizens of the thirteen colonies of British America were required by law to own arms and ammunition for militia duty. The Long Land Pattern was a common firearm in use by both sides in the American War of Independence.

In 1808 during the Napoleonic Wars, the United Kingdom subsidized Sweden (during the period when Finland was under Swedish rule) in various ways as the British government anxiously wanted to keep an ally in the Baltic Sea region. These included deliveries of significant numbers of Brown Bess-muskets for use in the Finnish War of 1808 to 1809.

During the Musket Wars (1820s–30s), Māori warriors used Brown Besses purchased from European traders at the time. Some muskets were sold to the Mexican Army, which used them during the Texas Revolution of 1836 and the Mexican–American War of 1846 to 1848. Brown Besses saw service in the First Opium War and during the Indian rebellion of 1857. Zulu warriors, who had also purchased them from European traders, used them during the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879. One was even used in the Battle of Shiloh in 1862, during the American Civil War.

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IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.

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