Help with info - Richardson muzzleloader

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spectyr

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I have inherited two muzzleloaders from my mother-in-law and am trying to identify them.

The one I am starting with is marked Richardson and is obviously a percussion cap model muzzleloader. Single barrel and has what looks like the original rod with it. The mother-in-law says it's been in here family for at least 100 years.
The barrel is 34" long and looks to have a bore of approximately 0.70" (18mm).
The hammer is in rough shape but the action cycles. I do not want to fire them but want some information on them so I can wall mount them.

What can I look for for better identification?

See Google Photos link for pictures.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/3xcGSipUwX2YTBhTA
 
It looks to be a better than average grade British shotgun made in the mid third of the 19th century.
 
I agree with Tiriaq; it is/was a fine shotgun. Please resist any urge to clean it beyond a bit of soap and water, a sponge or soft brush, and elbow grease! Or a toothbrush and olive oil...

The proof marks under the barrel near the breech plug, if present, will tell whether it was proofed in London or Birmingham. A picture of these would be helpful.

Is there any address of any kind on the barrel? It might be faint.

Joseph Richardson was operating in Darlington, County Durham, from 1826 to 1850; he could be a possible maker of your gun (he was at Horse Market from 1826 to 1834, and recorded in 1850 at 32 Park Street). However, there was also a George Richardson in Cork, Ireland, listed as a gunmaker from 1824 onwards, with his own business starting in 1844 (at 87 Patrick Street) and closing in 1875. His early guns may have simply been signed 'Richardson,' as yours is. Irish guns are valued by collectors, being generally of high quality and fewer in number. Also, some Irish guns lack proof marks altogether, as Ireland did not have a proof house, and sending the gun to the mainland for proof testing added to the cost of the gun. Not having proofs was illegal, but human nature is what it is! Does your family have an Irish historical connection?

There was also a Richardson in Edinburgh, Scotland, around 1840-1850, but virtually nothing is known of him (one pistol with his name is recorded). There was also a James Richardson, Gunmaker, Cutler & Surgical Instrument Maker, in Deansgate, Manchester, 1793-1830. However, from its styling, your gun appears to me to have been made after 1830. Finally, there was a GL Richardson, at 36 Lord Street, Liverpool, possibly 1820-1850, about whom nothing is known at all.

The open acanthus scroll engraving on your gun is particularly attractive, as is the stepped barrel and the exquisitely shaped lock plate. A real quality piece.
 
Thanks for the replies. I've found a stamp mark near the breach plug but it doesn't seem to match any proofs I can find online. I've added a picture of it to the album link above. Any thoughts?
 
spectyr said:
Thanks for the replies. I've found a stamp mark near the breach plug but it doesn't seem to match any proofs I can find online. I've added a picture of it to the album link above. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

That would be the barrel maker’s mark. Without anything else to go on, I’m afraid it doesn’t help much. However, if that is the only mark at all, it might strengthen the possibility of it being a un-proofed Irish gun. Are there no other proof marks at all?

I take it there is no trace of an address on the barrel?
 
No signs of any other markings at all on the barrel. The mother-in-law says that her great grandmother was Irish but most of the family is from Scotland.
 
spectyr said:
No signs of any other markings at all on the barrel. The mother-in-law says that her great grandmother was Irish but most of the family is from Scotland.
Click to expand...

Proof in Great Britain dates back to 1637 when the Gunmakers' Company of London was granted its Royal Charter. The Gunmakers' Company secured its Ordinances in 1670 and from that time was enabled to enforce Proof in and around London. The Birmingham Proof House was established in 1813 by an Act of Parliament requested and obtained by the Birmingham Gun Trade. Since 1813 it has been an offence to sell or offer for sale an unproved arm anywhere in the United Kingdom (which, in the mid-19th century, included all of Ireland). There were successive acts of parliament that required the proofing of gun barrels; in the 19th century, these are dated 1815, 1855 and 1868. To sell a gun without proofs was an offence that carried a twenty-pound fine, a huge amount in those days; forging a proof carried a penalty of up to three years of hard labour (which, I’m guessing, was pretty hard back then).

All that said, it was not unheard of that an Irish maker would forego the expense of sending an Irish-made barrel to Birmingham or London to have it proofed, then returned, if the client was not bothered and appreciated the savings. It was risky, but it happened.

Your gun is a quality piece that certainly looks like a British gun. That it lacks proofs is a puzzler, but I would say my best guess is that it was made by George Richardson of Cork, Ireland, who saved a few pence by foregoing the trip to the Proof House.

I considered if it might have been made on this side of the Atlantic, but no, the design, features and decoration do not look the part.

By the way, that it does not have a serial number is not unusual. Makers made so few guns that numbering them often served no purpose. They weren’t thinking that someone in the year 2022 would be wondering about provenance, or their business.
 
This is all amazing information! The mother-in-law is very pleased with it all.

I just found a picture of an actual Richardson pistol (uploaded a screenshot of it to the album) and the name on the action appears to be identical to mine.

Is there a chance it could have had the barrel replaced at some point once it came to Canada? Maybe that would explain the lack of proofs as well?

Either way, I am suddenly enjoying a little mystery! Next I'll be starting a thread on the double barrel muzzleloader....it does have a ton of markings on the breach block so it hopefully will be easier to identify.
 
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