Original Item: Only One Available. This is an unusually desirable British made East India Company Model F percussion musket signed MANTON & CO. / LONDON & CALCUTTA and fitted with an English Birmingham proofed 39" .75 caliber barrel. British made examples formed only a small portion of the East India Company percussion muskets recovered from the historic Nepal cache, and examples carrying the Manton name are particularly appealing. This musket was originally acquired during our 2003 Nepal cache purchase, was hand selected from our inventory years ago, and has now returned to us after time in a private collection.

This is an antique black powder firearm manufactured before 1899. Under federal law, it may generally be owned within the United States without a special license or permit and does not require transfer through a Federal Firearms Licensee. However, state and local laws may vary. This firearm is sold solely as a historical collector’s item and has not been test fired or inspected for firing safety by a professional gunsmith. Any mechanical or bore observations provided below describe only its present condition and should not be interpreted as confirmation that the firearm is safe to load or fire. The purchaser is solely responsible for complying with all applicable federal, state, and local laws.

The East India Company's Model F represented the final development of its traditional large bore smoothbore percussion musket family. Approved in 1845, the Model F retained the familiar full length military musket form inherited from the earlier flintlock era while incorporating percussion ignition. It belongs to the last generation of smoothbore East India Company infantry arms before the rapid transition to smaller caliber rifle muskets during the 1850s.

The musket measures approximately 54 3/4" overall and is fitted with a 39" smoothbore barrel in approximately .75 caliber.

The lock plate is clearly signed:

MANTON & CO.
LONDON & CALCUTTA

This marking is especially interesting. Manton & Co. of Calcutta was founded in 1820 by Frederick Manton, a nephew of the celebrated London gunmaker Joseph Manton. The Calcutta concern became one of the most important gun and sporting goods businesses in British India and retained the Manton name for generations. The marking on this musket therefore represents the famous Manton gunmaking tradition, but it should not be confused with Joseph Manton's original London business.

The barrel is clearly British made and carries Birmingham commercial proof and view marks:

CROWN
CROSSED SCEPTERS
B P C

and:

CROWN
CROSSED SCEPTERS
V

These are Birmingham proof house markings used on privately manufactured arms and provide strong evidence that the barrel was produced and proved in England before shipment for East India Company service.

The musket follows the general Model F configuration but shows several interesting construction details that differ from the more commonly encountered Company examples. The ramrod pipes are comparatively plain and lack the decorative or turned profiles seen on many standard Model F muskets. The trigger guard also differs in form, having a rectangular raised section or standoff at the forward screw attachment that more closely resembles features seen on earlier East India Company musket furniture. The brass side plate retains the centrally positioned screw characteristic of East India Company musket construction.

Taken together with the Manton & Co. lock marking and Birmingham proofed barrel, these variations suggest a distinct British supplied contract or production group. We have not located documentation establishing the exact destination or quantity of this particular Manton configuration, so we would not assign it to a specific presidency, regiment, or issue contract beyond its East India Company association.

The musket retains both its front sight and fixed rear notch sight. The original style ramrod remains beneath the barrel. It has the correct general form, including the squared section immediately below the head, and faint threading is still visible at the narrow end. Both sling swivels are present and move correctly.

The percussion lock remains mechanically functional during careful manual inspection. It holds securely at half cock and releases correctly from full cock. The metalwork has developed a particularly attractive aged appearance. The barrel and associated iron components now show a mature gray oxidized patina with scattered areas of light old pitting, particularly along the stock wood line where moisture was historically trapped. The lock plate has a mottled gray and brown surface. Its Manton markings have softened somewhat through age, oxidation, and cleaning but remain fully legible.

The brass furniture has developed an attractive mellow color after restoration and cleaning following its long storage in Nepal. It presents very well while retaining the character expected of a mid 19th century military musket. There are Nepalese markings present on some of the furniture.

The stock is in very good overall condition for its age and history. It shows the expected dents, dings, scratches, abrasions, and storage wear accumulated through service and many decades in the Nepalese arsenal. There is some cracking near the muzzle. A wood graft repair is present immediately adjacent to the nose cap. This may have been undertaken during service to strengthen or replace damaged wood in an area important to proper bayonet fit, although the exact reason for the repair cannot be established.

This musket was among the relatively small number of British made East India Company percussion arms recovered from the old Lagan Silekhana arsenal complex in Kathmandu during our historic 2003 Nepal cache acquisition. Most of the Company muskets encountered in that collection reflected Indian or later Nepalese production and maintenance, making a clearly British proofed example signed by Manton & Co. especially interesting.

The transition from smoothbore percussion muskets such as the Model F to the .577 caliber rifle musket formed part of the broader modernization of East India Company arms during the 1850s. The controversial cartridges associated with the new Enfield rifle became one immediate catalyst for the uprising of 1857, when rumors spread among sepoys that the cartridge grease contained cow and pig fat offensive to Hindu and Muslim religious practice. The rebellion had much deeper political, military, economic, and social causes, but the cartridge controversy became one of its most famous flashpoints.

With its scarce British manufacture, MANTON & CO. / LONDON & CALCUTTA lock signature, Birmingham proofed 39" barrel, distinctive East India Company furniture, surviving ramrod and sling swivels, strong mechanical condition, and direct provenance from the Nepal cache, this is a particularly desirable example of the final generation of East India Company smoothbore percussion muskets. It would be an excellent addition to a collection of East India Company arms, British colonial firearms, Manton related weapons, Nepal cache material, or military arms illustrating the transition from the smoothbore musket to the rifle musket in the years immediately preceding the uprising of 1857.

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: circa 1850
Maker: Manton & Co.
Caliber: .75 inches Smoothbore
Ammunition Type: Lead Ball & Powder with Percussion Cap
Barrel Length: 39 inches
Overall Length: 54 3/4 inches
Action: Side Action Percussion Lock
Feed System: Muzzle-Loaded
Federal Classification: Pre-1899 Antique

Official records tell us that the British East India Company procured or made no Flintlock Muskets after the late 1820s and it appears they were very swift to take advantage of the newest in firearms technology- the percussion ignition system. In 1840 the EIC began producing the world's very first massed produced percussion musket that later became known as the EIC Model "C".

A brief history of how this model came to being- The shortened 39" barrel Brown Bess musket was first developed and adopted by the EIC in 1771. This was a full 25 years before the Board of Ordnance in London followed suit with a 39" Brown Bess Musket dubbed the "India Pattern" in 1796. This is a testament that private enterprise has seemingly always got things done long before government bureaucrats. In 1839 the British Government officially adopted a converted to percussion Brown Bess musket (P-1796/39) but in the Great Fire of the Tower of London of 1841 over 400,000 of these converted Muskets were destroyed leaving the British Government very short handed. The result, once again, was to copy the current EIC Percussion Musket, the Model "F" and designate it the "Lovell's Pattern of 1842". By that time, the EIC had already developed and refined the .75 bore Percussion musket through six models- A to F.

Models A and B were EIC flintlock muskets converted to percussion. However, the Model C was the very first purpose built percussion issue, although, it appeared to be a conversion; it was in fact made from all new percussion oriented parts. It was fitted with what was referred to as an "Old Series" side lock that looks like it was once a flintlock. It was also originally intended only to accept the Brown Bess socket bayonet secured on the foresight block. In general the vast majority of these "Old Series" muskets were later adapted with either Hanoverian or the Model F bayonet catches. The differences between the various EIC Models are generally minor; as stated Model A and B were Brown Bess flintlock conversions, Model C and D were purpose built percussion muskets but had the "Old Series" side locks with differing trigger guard styles, while the Model E and F both had the "new series" side locks and had either the Hanoverian Catch on the Model E or the EIC bayonet catch on the Model F.

Please See David Harding's stellar work Smallarms of the East India Company 1600-1856, published in four volumes by Foresight Books in 1997. Specifically, please see Volume 2, pages 97-124 for a mass of information concerning the vary EIC Model muskets.

NOTE: International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.

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.

These antique guns are not sold in "live" condition, and are not tested for the ability to feed or load any type of cartridge. They are sold as collector's items or as "wall hangers" not for use, and we make no guarantees regarding functionality aside from what is stated in the description. Any attempt at restoring an antique gun to be operational is strongly discouraged and is done so at the risk of the customer. By purchasing an antique gun from IMA you thereby release IMA, its employees and corporate officers from any and all liability associated with use of our Antique guns.

Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.