Shooting the War

When the revolver, or pistol with a revolving chamber, was first adopted in the British Army, the principle was by no means a new one ash gateleg extenstion table. As far back as the middle of the seventeenth century John Dafte of London had made a revolver-carbine with a cylinder, turned by hand, containing six chambers johnson “antique card table”. Powder and ball were inserted into the front of each chamber, and a spring catch on the barrel engaged in slots to hold chambers in turn in the firing position bookcase islamic style.dwg. Each chamber had a 17th century dutch small cupboard value. separate flash-pan, with a sliding pan cover which was opened by a link attached to the cock, as the latter struck the steel 18th century chambersticks. The lock was of the snaphaunce variety with a separate steel 19th century dressers.
Nevertheless) after a certain initial popularity in the seventeenth century, little more was heard of revolver-pistols or carbines until the appearance on the gunmaking stage of Elisha Hayden Collier edwardian c19th construction buildings. Collier was an American gunsmith of Boston, Massachusetts antique english knights dining tables. In about 1810 he succeeded in making a practical pistol with a revolving cylinder, which was turned by hand china made in czechoslovakia. He was not, of course, the first to do this, but the Collier mechanism was infinitely superior to anything which had preceded it coop dresser. The priming mechanism was ingeniou§ meissen harlequin kandler. There was only one flash-pan, instead of one to each chamber, and this was recharged automatically from a magazine after each shot walnut versus maghony drop leaf table. The magazine was fitted on the flash-pan cover and incorporated a ratchet and pawl mechanism which was actuated by the closing of the pan art deco furniture  antique shop california. Collier used a novel and ingenious system to align the chambers with the bore of the barrel antique furniture 1800. The front of each chamber was countersunk and fitted over a cone on the rear of the barrel pictures of antique spider leg tables. A spring held the cylinder in position, and to move the cylinder round, it was pressed back against the spring to free the chamber which had been in the firing position from its cone seating century hepplewhite walnut card table. During the actual moment of firing the pressure of the spring was augmented by a steel wedge operated by the movement of the cock antique small oval drop leaf table. This mechanism produced a very close and firm union between barrel and cylinder antique tudor furniture. All Collier revolver weapons operated on the same principle carved top gateleg coffee table.
The Collier revolvers were extremely good, but, unfortunately, very expensive to manufacture czechoslovakian lusterware. Collier was unable to interest either American private capital or the United States Government, and, accordingly, he left for England in 1811 robert jupe table. There he established a shop at 45 The Strand, London, and was granted a Royal Patent,
In England Collier seems to have made a number of revolving arms for the forces of the East India Company, including both pistols and carbines “english cabinet”  dining  antique  amsterdam. The pistol was 14 inches long, with octagonal smooth-bore barrel, 61 inches in length and with a calibre of ‘47 inch trestle table lyre base. In 1852 he returned to the United States and reopened his old gunshop in Boston francois linke.
During the first decade of the nineteenth century Samuel Colt was born in Hartford, Connecticut, in the United States finest candelabras. The son of a merchant, he was destined to become the most famous maker of revolving pistols: so much so that the terms revolver and Colt were at one time almost synonymous art deco antique dresser. Samuel Colt, however, does not seem to have had any ambitions to become a gunsmith in his earlier days anantique pembroke tables with two drawers. Indeed, at a comparatively youthful age he announced his intention of becoming a lecturer revolving bookcase drum table. Even in the United States lecturing cannot have offered a promising career, and one does not imagine that Colt’s parents greeted the idea with any enthusiasm regency ironstone marks blue. Nevertheless, he chose the somewhat original subject of laughing gas, and whilst still below the age of twenty gave platform demonstrations of his subject art deco furniture dining table  copy of the duke. He travelled under the name of Dr painted antique wine cooler. Coult of New York, London and Calcutta, and his lectures really did take him to these places antique oval dutch table. Whilst in Calcutta, in fact, he took notes on a Collier arm wooden arm chair pedestal castor antique oak. This was probably one of the revolvers which had been made by Collier for the East India Company pine “coaching table”.
It may have been this Collier weapon which first really aroused Colt’s interest in firearms stone china george jones stoke on trent. At any rate he took careful note of its construction and complex mechanism indian interior low seating drawing room. During the voyage back to America Colt whittled away at a piece of wood, shaping the design of a model of a revolver which should be based on Collier’s system but have a much simpler mechanism antique table top wooden book stand.
After his return to the United States, Colt took his wooden model to a pattern-maker of Hartford named Anton Chase, From this Chase made Colt’s first revolver english antique consoles. Whilst in many respects a great advance on the Collier arms, the first Colts suffered from a faulty cylinder design which could result in the explosion of one charge igniting all the others antique dutch rococo serpentine pine chest. In front of the cylinder was a plate which was intended to prevent the balls rolling out of the chambers scandinavian aesthetic. This plate, however, had the disadvantage that a lateral flame leak from the firing chamber was liable to be deflected by it to another chamber, resulting in a chain of explosions in all the remaining chambers in the cylinder french gesso painted 18th century console. Apart from the damage to the weapon, the random discharge of bullets was, at the least, disconcerting antique carved trestle table.
Colt’s laughing-gas show was apparently still a very profitable source of income; for he used it now to finance his revolver experiments german buffet furniture. Indirectly, too, the laughing gas was responsible for Colt revolvers being ultimately adopted by the United States Army fake ironstone pottery. Colt was booked to give his lectures at the Baltimore Museum, and there he met and interested Joseph Walker the director tilt top bird cage table 1740’s. Walker had a relation of the same name who was a captain in the Army; and some time later it was his influence which led the military authorities to accept Colt’s invention art deco sideboard legs.
Colt’s first essay at production seems to have been in conjunction with a gunsmith named Pearson, who was to receive a fixed salary in return for paying the rental of a shop and forge antique ceramic wine coolers. The combination resulted in a small number of revolving pistols and rifles 12 arts and crafts dining chairs. Colt’s income, however, was not yet on a very sound basis, and the partnership broke up somewhat abruptly owing to Pearson’s salary being chronically some months in arrears arts and crafts furniture, antique collectors.
The flame leak trouble in Colt’s arms was finally remedied by removing the frontal plate, and providing a loading lever which drove a slightly oversize ball into the chamber reproduction quality 19th century louis xv fauteuil (armchair) with a rococo hand-carved, floral-scrolled, giltwood frame,. This both prevented the nuisance of the bullet rolling out accidentally and sealed the charge biedermeier gothic commode.
Colt obtained patents in Great Britain, France and the United States in 1835, and his fortunes began to improve hepplewhite revival foldover dining table. The Patent Arms Manufacturing Company of Paterson, New Jersey, set up a plant for the production of Colt rifles and revolvers barker brothers furniture. The revolvers were turned out in a number of different models vienna-style trembleuse. There were three different sizes of frame, and a variety of different barrel lengths and calibres antique french ormulu furniture. In the smallest category the barrels ranged from 21 inches to 4J inches in length, and there were calibres of -28, -31 and ‘34 inches drop leaf table stable base. The next size frame was intended to be carried on a belt, and embraced barrels of from 4 to 6 inches and calibres Of -31 and ‘34 parts of chambersticks. The largest size was a holster weapon with barrels ranging from 4 to 12 inches, all with a calibre of ‘36 etling france 110 “opalescent glass”.
In 1840 the Patent Arms Company failed financially, and five years later the Colt plant was forced to close antique oak drop leaf table with casters. Samuel Colt art deco ceramics. was now back on the rocks with no establishment, no machinery and precious antique pottery matt green tea decanter. little money opalescent etched glass. At this juncture, however, fortune presented Samuel Colt with a war; for in 1846 hostilities broke out between the United States and Mexico sedish design daybed. Ten years previously Captain Walker had used Colt revolving rifles in one of the Indian campaigns, and had been very favourably impressed with them czechoslovakian antique porcelain. He now obtained authority from the Secretary of War to order i000 Colt revolvers hankerchief table mahogany. To meet this order Colt persuaded Eli Whitney, Junior; to undertake the manufacture, and embodied some improvements suggested by Walker as a result of practical experience kent extending antique table.
These first military Colts were of -44 calibre with a barrel length of nine inches table octagon marquetry drawer. Their immediate success resulted in an order for a further i000 antique 17th century drop leaf tables. By this time Colt had established a factory of his own at Hartford, and was consequently able to manufacture the revolvers for the new order himself european antique lectern pedestal table. They differed from the 18th century austrian porcelain. earlier batch in having shorter barrels of 71 inches, and the length of the cylinders was reduced by a quarter of an inch “french trestle tables”. They were subsequently known as ‘Hartford Dragoons’ antique desk makers collector.
In 1848 Colt produced the best known and most successful of all his muzzle-loading revolvers antique draw table trestle. This was the so-called `Navy Colt’ oriental writing bureau cabinet. It had the same barrel length as the ‘Dragoon’ but was a much lighter weapon, with a calibre of only -36 inch josef hoffmann chair. It had a rifling of seven grooves and a six-chamber cylinder secretaire art deco. The mechanism was single action, and cocked by the thumb antique rosewood dining table lion feet. On the earlier models, at any rate, the cylinder was engraved with the picture of a fight at sea, and this is supposed to have been the reason for the popular name of the weapon pictures of early to mid 1800 dressing tables.
The Navy Colt was not without its faults “lit en bateau”. Certain of the components were very liable to break, but Colt overcame this drawback by supplying an enormous quantity of spares for the weak parts, and distributing them to all the establishments of contemporary American civilization where they were likely to be requested art nouveau sideboard.
The Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace was opened in 1851, and Samuel Colt, now a Colonel, seized the opportunity to assault the English market serving sideboards. Subsequent events have been most entertainingly described by Mr antique dresser with turned leg. R silver forks. Scurfield in his outstanding article, ‘Early British Regulation Revolvers’, published in the Journal of the Society for ,Yrmy Historical Research porcelain butterfly: french symbolist poets, verlaine. He says:
`It is notable that (except in America) all revolvers were regarded with suspicion before 1851—the year of the Great Exhibition—although they had been in fairly wide circulation from the x82o’s, when the first hand-rotated “pepperpots”, built on the bodies of centre-hammer percussion pocket pistols, appeared end table ivory inlaid india wwii. The reason for this distrust was a two-fold one: in the first place, all the pre-1852 English types (with perhaps one exception) had radial nipples (i antique desk when thay were made.e rectangular oak gateleg table., nipples at right-angles to the bore), and the result was that in the small calibres generally used fouling accumulated in the chambers under the nipples and caused miss-fires; in the second place, the actions were so defective in design (and often in workmanship as well) that they could not be relied upon to work properly; result, more miss-fires, especially in the very numerous self-cocking pistols double roll antique desk. Thus, so far as the armed forces were concerned, the authorities found their inevitable reluctance to introduce a new weapon for the rank and file supported for once by well-founded practical and technical considerations, while officers (although a few did experiment with larger calibre “pepperpots” and “transition” revolvers, the latter mostly thumb-cocking) hesitated for the most part to discard their powerful and trustworthy single or double-barrelled pistols telescoping dining table. The net result was that the revolver was ignored, or condemned as a new-fangled toy, in the Army and Navy indian vernacular furniture. `But the Great Exhibition changed all that pennsylvania dutch antique china cabinet hand painted pictures. Not only was the Colt revolving pistol on show, in several calibres and barrel lengths, but the great Colonel Sam Colt himself came to London, equipped with a large number of presentation revolvers (engraved, silver-plated, and ivory-butted) for distribution in interested and influential quarters, and exercising his undoubted talent for commercial publicity (of which dubious art he can be regarded as the father); and to everyone’s surprise the English gun trade produced, and exhibited, a rival to the Colt—a rival at least as good, if not better art deco inlay dresser. This was the Adams revolver, the invention of Robert Adams, a partner in the firm of Deane, Adams & Deane, of King William Street in the City birmingham silver finial designs. Adams, too, had a very good idea of the value of publicity and surprise, for he appears to have kept his new arm perfectly and completely in the dark until the Exhibition opened; it was not even patented until February, 18 5 1 17th century japanese imari porcelain.
`But there was to be no more indifference to the revolver in those circles interested in firearms decoart. The value of the Adams and the Colt was plain to all, and the old objections no longer held good; but a prolonged and most entertaining controversy, based essentially (apart from personalities, especially the personality of Sam Colt, who seems to have made as many enemies as friends) on the relative excellence of self-cocking (Adams) and thumb-cocking (Colt) actions went on intermittently until it was eventually decided (for Englishmen, at any rate) in favour of the Adams antique hanging corner display cabinet. The most amusing event in the squabble seems to have been a public lecture on his revolver by Colonel Colt, which was interrupted by a partisan of the Adams (some say Robert Adams himself) leaping to his feet brandishing a specimen of that make of pistol, and shouting to make himself heard in its praise-, after which the proceedings degenerated into a wrangle which soon became a free-for-all german cabinet-makers of the 18th century.’
Robert Adams, who had produced such a dramatic challenge to Colt, was associated with his brother John and John Deane in the firm of Deane, Adams and Deane 3 tiered dessert table mahogany antique rectangular. The partnership was only formed in 1851, presumably to manufacture the Adams revolvers, and was dissolved again five years later victorian tripod small table pillar and claw. In this short period, however, both the original revolver and all the various modifications to it appeared imatation marble antique bedromm suit.
At this stage, before describing Robert Adams’ designs, it would be well to consider the terms single-action and double-action as used in connection with revolvers; for their meanings seem to have altered during the course of the years antique victorian wood stool chamber pot. Originally `thumb-cocking’ was applied to an action in which the hammer was cocked by hand, and the movement at the same time actuated the pawl which rotated the cylinder to the next chamber and locked it in position while the shot was fired 1970s ashtray “art deco” style. `Self-cocking’, on the other hand, was used of an action where the pull on the trigger first cocked the hammer, at the same time performing the other actions mentioned above, and then released the hammer to fire the shot new deco furniture. Both these types were called single-action ebonized aesthetic movement credenza. A double-action revolver implied one which could be either self-cocked or thumb-cocked george ii burr walnut tallboy. But now, in the Fighting Services at any rate, thumb-cocking is described as single-action, and self-cocking as double-action antique bed acanthus paw feet. The future use of these terms in this work will refer to their modern meaning candelabra made in england.
Samuel Colt used single-action, whilst Robert Adams’ revolvers were double-action delatte nancy. Single-action was popular since only a light pull was required to release the hammer: a great help to accurate shooting antique coffee tables carved with romans playing instruments under oval glass. In addition it permitted very rapid fire, by ‘fanning’ the hammer 18th century chest antique. This method of shooting consisted of tying back the trigger, or holding it in the fire position, and flicking the hammer back with the palm of the free hand wedgewood porcelain swan base for pots de creme. An expert could fire six aimed shots in under three seconds, which made this method of using a Colt very popular in those parts where the American way of life was still somewhat uninhibited antique mahogany satin wood inlay and metal tray antique mahogany satin wood inlay and metal tray.
Double-action, on the other hand, had many advantages in the heat of battle when targets might present themselves quickly and from unexpected* directions doucai ming. It was then simpler and safer to pull the trigger only, rather than to co-ordinate the actions of finger and thumb cabriole iron legs table. Further, if slower than `fanning’, double-action could produce a much faster rate of fire than single-action antique dressing table with mirror for women ( designs).
Adams’ revolvers differed most-strongly from Colt’s in being double-action oval lacquer tea table. In addition, however, they were far more strongly made, since the barrel and body were forged in one piece english ironstone pottery. The cylinder, on the other hand, only had five chambers as compared with six in the case of the Colt bentwood rocking chair 1880 uk.
There were five models of the first Adams revolvers english hepplewhite revolving rent table. The largest had a 71-inch barrel of -50-inch calibre antique furniture 1800. The next size was much smaller with a 543-inch barrel and a calibre of ‘45 inch louis xv dining tables 8. Following this, a slightly longer barrel of 6 inches was combined with a smaller calibre of ‘38 inches antique commode on legs. Then came-a 41-inch barrel with -32 calibre; and a very small weapon with 3-11 lions paw on antique furniture.- inches of barrel and only -24-inch calibre royal vienna porcelain signed meyer.
In 1854 the ‘Government set up a Select Committee on Small Arms, and this body arranged for tests at Woolwich Arsenal to assess the relative merits of the Colt and Adams revolvers checkoslovakian glass decanter. The tests do not seem to have established a marked superiority by, either weapon gate leg drop leaf tables. The Select Committee preferred the Adams, but their report presumably showed that the margin value for antique china made in austria.of preference was very narrow, for the War Office purchased a large number of Colts in the following year cylinder bureau german. Most of these were issued to the Navy how to repair veneer table on couch.
In 1855 a great improvement was made in the Adams revolver by the incorporation of an invention by Captain F 19th century english cabinet makers. B staffordshire pearlware figures french revolution. E english george iii hepplewhite satinwood bedside cabinet. Beaumont, R paul de lamerie reproduction.E louis sue furniture dressing table 1933., by which the weapon could be used for either single- or double-action antiqu. This pattern of revolver was accepted for the Army, since it obviously embodied the advantages of both the Colt and the original Adams gateleg table imperial furniture. The following year it was succeeded by a similar but slightly improved model, and the last revolver which Robert Adams designed mid centru drum side table.
The Beaumont invention ruined Colt’s English market, and in 1857 the new Pimlico factory and the shop and show-room at No “brass drum tables”. i Spring Gardens, Cockspur Street, London, were closed down, and the American technicians recrossed antique rococo figurines. the Atlantic antique gate legged drop leaf table. The Colt connection was retained by a sales and show room which was established at 14 Pall Mall, where Colt arms made in America could be purchased rosewood chaise lounge 19c. Nevertheless, in spite of the short life of Colt’s English establishment, his revolvers lasted for a long time in the Navy art nouveau france origins. They remained as standard arms until 1862, and some may have remained in use until after 1880 can decorative moulding be antique bookcase.
The Adams revolvers were purchased by the Government, rather oddly, in two different calibres: -So and ‘45 inches; and were apparently issued quite indiscriminately; though there were far more of the smaller calibre serving tables.
In 1856 the Deane and Adams partnership split up antique tambour dining table -clock -desk. Robert and John Adams formed with the assistance of John Kerr (of Kerr & Co arita imari mark., gunmakers, in which he was in partnership with his brother James) the London Armoury Co arita kraak. This new firm took over all the Adams patents antique double pedestal dining room table. In 1858 Kerr & Co antigue oak mid century dining table with draw out leaves. produced a single-action revolver with a 51-inch barrel and made in two made in czechoslovakia initials. different calibres of ‘44 and ‘38 inches fire screen table. A year later they made a double-action revolver late pembroke breakfast table value. The Kerr patents were taken over in turn by the London Armoury Co antique spiral leg oak dropleaf table., and the revolvers were adopted officially by the Portuguese Army and purchased by the Confederate States of America berkey and gay.
In the meantime John Deane had opened his own establish-ment in London Bridge Stfeet, in London; and in 1858 had taken over the percussion revolver patents of William Harding 1930s drop leaf sofa tables. The weapon which was subsequently manufactured was known as the ‘Deane-Harding’ revolver antique 6 ft. st. louis credenza values. It was a double-action piece made in two calibres of ‘44 and -32 inches collapsible antique wardrobe. It had a very complicated lock, and for this reason was rejected as a Service weapon 16th century trestle refectory table. It was, however, much purchased privately by officers of both the British and ‘John Company’s’ Armies what types of materials were used in george hepplewhite furniture. In addition, the Confederate Government purchased a number of Deane-Hardings antique 19th mahogany hepplewhite card table.
Closely associated with the Adams brother’s was a relation or connection named William Tranter; a Birmingham gunsmith who later opened an establishment in London antique talavera for sale. There he manufactured many of the Adams revolvers grand furniture russia. In 1853 he patented a revolver of his own antique trestle refectory table. This had the peculiar feature of two triggers vilas furniture antique. One was for cocking the hammer and the other for firing rookwood nursery tiles. Three years later he brought out an improved type which had only, one trigger and double-action leopold stickly table 1959. There were three classes of this model: the ‘Dragoon’, of -So calibre and a barrel length Of 71 or 8 inches; the ‘Navy, ‘44 calibre and barrel 51 or 6J inches; and the small ‘Pocket’, ‘32 calibre and barrel 4 inches pattern for making victorian wash stands. Of these, the ‘Dragoon’ could be supplied with a detachable carbine stock 18th century antique gate leg table.
In 1858 Tranter secured a Government contract for his `Dragoon’ and ‘Navy’ models italian,furniture,maker,address.

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MINIATURES
WHEN, during the last ten years of his life, Holbein painted a series of small circular portraits in opaque watercolour on vellum, he was not so much inventing a new art-form as giving authority to one which had been in the process of evolution for some time. Miniature-portraiture, as we know it, can trace its ancestry to two separate traditions: the tradition of the illuminated manuscript, which flourished in this country and on the Continent throughout the Middle Ages, and the tradition of the portrait-medal, which had its origin in Roman times and was revived in the Renaissance. The fusion of these separate traditions can be seen in the attempts of artists in the latter part of the 15th century to produce small painted portraits which united the portable quality of medals and the jewel-like colour of illuminations. But it was not until Holbein brought his consummate genius to the problem that the tradition can be said to have been firmly established. In a space of a few years Holbein brought to perfection the experiments of his immediate predecessors and set a standard for all those who came after him.
Holbein’s miniatures – or ‘limnings’, as they were called – all belong to his second visit to England: that is, to the period between 1532 and his death in 1543• According to the most recent authorities, not more than a dozen of the limnings sometimes attributed to him can be accepted as authentic; of these the two most readily accessible to the visitor (the Anne of Cleves and the Mrs Pemberton in the Victoria & Albert Museum) are of superlative quality. The characteristics of Holbein’s vision and technique were a minute sensitivity of draughtsmanship, an intense and glowing colour and a completely unflattering psychological penetration into the personality of his sitter. This detailed concentration he combined with a largeness of conception and design which gives a paradoxical monumentality to portraits which average little more than an inch in diameter.
After Holbein’s death there was a short period during which it may have seemed that his challenging example was not to be taken up. But with the maturity of Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619), any doubts for the future of the art were triumphantly laid to rest. For just as Holbein in his miniatures and his other portraits had preserved for all time the outward appearance of the court of Henry VIII, so Hilliard’s miniatures became the perfect visual counterpart of the age of Elizabeth I. Hilliard was the son of an Exeter goldsmith, and though his work naturally reflects the influence of Holbein and, to a lesser degree, that of other Continental artists, it remained, essentially English. While sharing Holbein’s absorption in the character of his sitter, Hilliard shared with the leading spirits of his age that curious quality which can best be described as a kind of half-frivolous melancholy – the quality which is most familiar from some of Shakespeare’s sonnets. Though it is more evident at some times than at others, this complicated and characteristic sentiment is never far to seek in his miniatures. Hilliard is perhaps best known as the portraitist par excellence of Queen Elizabeth, and from 1584 he was granted the monopoly of the Queen’s portraits ‘in little’. Although lie lived far into the reign of James I, his best work belongs to the Elizabethan period.
Hilliard’s pupil Isaac Oliver (d. 1617) is often spoken of as his rival; in a purely worldly sense he probably was so. But we can now see that the personalities and the achievements of the two artists were quite dissimilar. Though his earlier works may often be confused with those of his master, from about 1590 onwards Oliver developed a vision new to British art. The dramatic lighting which he increasingly brought to bear upon his subjects was, in fact, a reflection of the type of lighting adopted by his Flemish contemporaries in oils, and the naturalism of his modelling can be traced to
the same source. Nevertheless, Oliver was a perfectly inte-
grated artist, and external influences never disfigure his works in their crude state. Just as Hilliard found his ideal milieu in the Elizabethan court, so Oliver found in the court of James I a field of expression for which his talents were by nature adapted. A Huguenot by birth and cosmopolitan by temperament, he also proved an excellent filter through which Continental influences could reach this country.
Both Hilliard and Oliver had sons who practised their fathers’ art. The next important miniaturist to be considered, however, is neither Peter Oliver nor Laurence Hilliard but John Hoskins, an artist who was roughly their contemporary. Hoskins was born in the 159os, and his earliest signed works, which belong to the 1620S, show a natural and attractive development from the art of Hilliard rather than of Oliver. But from the 1630s, when Van Dyck settled in England, a change is seen to come over his work, and Hoskins’ great historical importance consists no less in his becoming, as it were, a diminishing-glass for Van Dyck’s large-scale innovations in English portraiture, than in his carrying on the classic tradition of his predecessor. For a short time the influence of Van Dyck seems to have unsettled Hoskins’ style, but gradually he absorbed and digested it, and the miniatures of his maturity — that is, from about 1635 until his death in 1665 — show an entirely satisfactory fusion of his natural English vision with the baroque qualities of Van Dyck.
Hoskins had two nephews who were brought up under his `care and discipline’. These were Samuel and Alexander Cooper, the first of whom was to become the greatest English miniaturist, if not the greatest English portrait-painter on any scale, of his century. He was born in I 6og and died in 1672. It seems almost certain that his uncle was his teacher as well as his guardian, and it may be that some of his earlier works have become confused with those of the older man. There are, however, a few miniatures by Cooper which can be assigned to the 163os, and from 1642 until his
death there is a coherent body of signed work on which to base our estimate of his achievement. In technique Cooper brought a new freedom of brushwork into miniature-painting. He also introduced a new system of lighting, whereby a single source of illumination threw the modelling of his subject into striking relief. But such technical devices were developed not so much on their own account as in order to assist what seems to have been Cooper’s major preoccupation – the expression of character. In this he was pre-eminently successful; his portraits of Oliver Cromwell, Catherine of Braganza and the young Duke of Monmouth, which cover the range from severity to youthful grace, are among the great European portraits of the century. During the last ten years of his life Cooper was limner to Charles I I, and his high reputation extended far abroad. His elder brother, Alexander, was also a miniaturist. His career is less well documented than that of Samuel, but he is known to have worked much on the Continent, in Holland, and at the court of the King of Bohemia, and h~ is said to have died in Stockholm in 166o. His works are rare but excellent, though he does not seem to have developed along the fully baroque lines of his brother.
Of those who followed the lead of Samuel Cooper the most distinguished artist was Thomas Flatman (163588), who was also a barrister and a poet of some repute. His earlier miniatures, belonging to the 166os, are very much dependent on Cooper. But during the last twenty years of his life a personal brilliance comes into his work, along with a further loosening of brushwork, which enable us to see in him a genuinely original artist. The miniaturists R. and D. Gibson, who may perhaps have been father and son, also reflect many of the same influences and are to be included among those who take their cue from Cooper. This is not so, however, of Nicholas Dixon, who was appointed Court Limner after Cooper’s death. Neither his date of birth nor of death is recorded, but his earliest works belong to the  and he is known to have been still living in 1708. In
style Dixon shows little or no dependence upon Cooper, springing, it seems, directly from Hoskins. In vision, however, he came strongly under the influence of Lely’s mannerisms, and this may perhaps help to account for a gradual deterioration in his work.
The miniaturist Lawrence Crosse (d. 1724) was roughly the contemporary of Kneller. He may perhaps have been the son of an earlier miniaturist, P. Cross, who was the first in England to introduce the technical device of occasional stippling, instead of drawing throughout with fine continuous brush-strokes. Lawrence carried this technique even further, and as a result his miniatures have a characteristically powdery appearance which is most attractive. At his best he was very good indeed, and his work forms a fitting conclusion to the first great period of miniature-portraiture in England.
At the beginning of the 18th century portraiture seemed to be suffering a decline, and the art of the miniaturist, no less than that of the full-scale oil-painter, reflected this. The fact that the moment coincided with the introduction of a radically new technique can hardly be said to have simplified the miniaturist’s problem. Up to this point miniatures had continued to be painted in essentially the same way: that is, in more or less opaque water-colour on vellum. But about 1700 the use of ivory was introduced as a base; the introduction is credited to Rosalba Carriers, the Venetian pastellist and miniaturist. The aesthetic advantage of ivory over vellum is that it gives superior luminosity. But in order to exploit this to the full, transparent pigment would have to be used throughout; and during the first part of the century this fact was not realized. Thus, when we look at them from the standpoint of history, the miniatures of Bernard Lens (1682-174o) and of his sons, Andrew Benjamin (1713 ?–after 1779?) and Peter Paul (1714 ? 50?), may perhaps seem unsatisfactory in their somewhat uninventive use of their new medium. Nevertheless, mini-atures of the Lens school have a certain stolid charm, and their literalness of vision, which might easily become pompous if enlarged to the full scale of oil-paintings, has made them attractive tokens of the somewhat stolid society which they mirrored. Contemporary with Bernard Lens was the enamellist C. F. Zincke (1683?-1767), who continued with enormous success the craft which had been perfected in the previous century by Jean Petitot (1607-91).
About the middle of the 18th century the primness of style which we have remarked in Bernard Lens began noticeably to relax, and we find a group of miniaturists at work whose qualities have for too long been underrated. The main characteristics of the miniatures of this period are a smallness of size and an understatement of effect. These qualities have led Mr Graham Reynolds, the most recent writer on the subject, to name them ‘The Modest School’. Such artists as Gervase Spencer (d. 1763), Luke Sullivan (1705-71), Nathaniel Hone, R.A. (1718-84) and Samuel Cotes (1734—r818) all worked mainly within this idiom during the period in question. Although none of them achieved the lightness of touch and the rococo brilliance which was to result from the looser draughtsmanship of their followers, they were capable of a delicacy and a naturalness beyond the scope of their immediate predecessors.
The last thirty years of the 18th century produced the climax of excellence in the miniature painted on ivory. That this period coincided approximately with the great epoch of English portraiture in oils can be held only partly responsible for the efflorescence; for although it would be absurd to maintain that miniature-portraiture pursued its own path independently of large-scale portraiture, nevertheless the greatest miniature-painters, such as Hilliard, Cooper and several who are about to be considered, produced a consistent series of works which can be judged solely on their own merits. It would be truer to say that the same impulse which lay at the root of a flourishing school of oil-portraiture, quickened also the school of miniaturists.
The first miniature-painter in England to embody the later 18th-century virtues was Jeremiah Meyer, R.A. (1735-89), a German who came to England in 1749. He received some instruction in enamel from the elderly Zincke, and began to exhibit in the 176os. From the early 177os he was painting in perfectly transparent water-colours on ivory, and in this medium he developed a linear delicacy and brilliance which had previously been impossible. The result was a remarkable subtlety of modelling and an increased sensitivy of effect in such features as the flesh and hair of his sitters. The fact that an exaggerated heightening of female coiffures occurred during the 1770s may help to account for an increase in the size of miniatures at this time. The miniatures of Meyer were among the earliest to embody this trend. His works are seldom signed, but they may be recognized both for his personal calligraphy of draughtsmanship and for his predilection for pale lavender tints.
Richard Crosse (1742-1810) might appear to represent a transitional stage of development between the innovations of Meyer and the fulfilment and later degeneration of the school, if it were not that his works normally achieve a realization of intention which is complete. Like Meyer, he painted in enamel as well as in water-colour, and, like Meyer, he was master of a calligraphic style of great delicacy. Perhaps the most evident feature of his practice is the greenish-blue colouring which usually pervades his portraits. Crosse exhibited with success from 176o, but during the last twenty years of his life his output steadily declined in quantity.
There follow the three best-known miniaturists of the late 18th and early 19th century. Richard Cosway, R.A.
(1742?-1821), John Smart (1741?-1811) and George
Engleheart (1750-1829) were all of the same generation, and, although their styles were quite distinct, they are normally considered together to form the dominating influence in the late Georgian miniature. The early works of each of these artists already reveal minor mutual diver-genes, and from about 1780 their personal characteristics
were fully formed. Cosway, the best known of the three, obtained the patronage of the Prince of Wales, and the delicate bravura of his manner can be readily associated with the temperament of a fashionable portrait-miniaturist such as he rapidly became. Cosway’s mature miniatures show a striking economy of colour and a sensitive dash of draughtsmanship that tempted many indifferent imitators. The works of his finest period, however (roughly 1785-1805), were, in fact, inimitable and stand amongst the most excellent of the century. Cosway virtually never signed his miniatures on the front, though he often wrote an elaborate Latin inscription on a piece of paper at the back. Thus, miniatures purporting to be by Cosway which have initials or a signature on the front are in the highest degree suspicious.
John Smart, who was Cosway’s approximate contemporary, was master of a very different style. Unlike Cosway, he was not fitted to scale the pinnacles of fashion, and the subtle, meticulous manner which he developed in his earlier works remained his medium of expression for the rest of his life. Smart’s miniatures are nearly all signed on the front with his initials, and dated; and those miniatures which he painted during his ten years’ sojourn in India, between 1785 and 1795, are distinguished by the addition of the letter ‘F. Such systematic habits of documentation are perfectly in accord with his temperament as expressed in his work. His miniatures have a striking charm when one first approaches them – a charm of colour, finesse and elegance – but their hardly varied smoothness and relative lack of characterization reflect a certain prosaic and generalizing quality of vision. A single miniature by Smart produces an immediate and delightful effect, whereas a large group tends to emphasize their sameness. Nevertheless, his exceptional technical accomplishment and his never less than charming gifts entitle him to his place near the head of his profession.
George Engleheart was a few years younger than Cosway and Smart. In his youth he worked for a time in Reynolds’ studio, and his earlier miniatures retain something of the vision of his master, as well as many of the technical characteristics of the ‘Modest School’. During the 1780s, however, he arrived at the distinct and personal style of his middle period, a style which was typified by a brittle and crimped manner of drawing hair and drapery, no less than by the emphatic concentration of the eyes and the effective illusion of a third dimension. Many of Engleheart’s best works belong to this period. Before the end of the century, however, he had developed his third and final manner. The size of his ivory and the scale of his forms increased, and, although his technical excellence remained with him until he died, there is noticeably less distinction of imagination in these later works.
It is impossible here to do more than mention even a very small proportion of those miniaturists of the late 18th century who were contemporaries of, or slightly younger than, the three leading artists just considered. It was a time in which patronage of this art reached its highest intensity, calling forth a multiplicity of minor artists whose individual styles are often difficult to disentangle. Of these, one should first mention Ozias Humphry, R. A. (174.2-1810), who was on occasion capable of reaching the highest contemporary standards; of roughly the same generation, and often met
with, are Samuel Shelley (1750?-1808) and Edward Miles (1752—r828). The brothers Andrew (1763-1837) and Nathaniel (d. 1822 ?) Plimer had considerable reputations in their day, and are still highly esteemed by some collectors. The enamel tradition of Zincke was carried on to the end of the century by Henry Spicer (c. 1743-1804), amongst others.
During the first thirty years of the 19th century some fine miniaturists emerged; but one can also detect in their work the beginnings of a rapid decline in the art. Contemporary taste called for ever larger miniatures and a new solidity of manner ‘founded upon the Great Master’s works’, by which was unfortunately meant the great masters of oil-painting. Works satisfying these conditions were supplied in increasing quantities by the artists who succeeded Cosway and Engle-heart. Such artists as Andrew Robertson (1777-184.5) and Sir W. C. Ross, R.A. (1794-1860) were able to retain some of the essential linear quality which can be seen at the basis of the art of all our great miniaturists, but gradually the art began to succumb to a surfeit of rich colours, gummed Shadows and inappropriate forcefulness. It needed only the invention of photography to deal the final blow.
The literature of British miniature-painting is not a very extensive one. Full bibliographies are contained in two essential books, B. S. Long’s British Miniaturists (London, 1930) and Graham Reynolds’ English Portrait Miniatures (London, 1952). Although foreign miniaturists do not come within the scope of this contribution, Ernst Lemberger’s Meister-miniatures aus Fiinf 7ahrhunderten (Stuttgart, 1911) may be mentioned as providing a helpful introduction to this wider subject.

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They were very similar to their predecessors; except that the metal furniture was now brass instead of iron, and the musket had a new lock with some minor modifications meissen porcelain louis xiv . The Royal cypher, when used, was the ‘A R’ of the reigning sovereign porzellan clock spain . The barrel of the musket was forty-six inches, or slightly longer than the James II pattern computers internet blog .
With the issue of these arms slings were fitted to all muskets for the first time trestle table lyre base .
The universal use of flintlocks in the Army, as well as on private firearms, resulted in the flint industry becoming of prime importance british longcase makers . It was a very ancient industry directoire sofa . The art of chipping, or `knapping’, flints had been practised in neolithic, times, when arrowheads, spearheads, axes, tools, etc cast regency period candlestick ., had been manufactured from the flint deposits at such places as Brandon in Suffolk antique neoclassical furniture side cabinet . For many years, however, there had been little requirement for flint, except for the comparatively low standard stone used for ordinary ignition epergne art deco glass . The arrival of flintlock arms created a new and increasing demand for high-quality flint marc duplantier . Nevertheless the process available was tedious and inefficient, and yielded indifferent flints indian vernacular furniture . Gradually the art was re-learnt, and by the end of the eighteenth century English flints had become famous throughout Europe antique hot water plate warmer . In 1686 a Government factory was established important pieces art deco furniture .at Brandon, and all flints for the Army were made there during the whole remaining life of flintlock firearms drawing ornaments for furniture .
Until the early eighteenth century flints were generally made from the brown flintstone which was gathered from the fields antique tables small . This broke rather easily, for its irregularity in grain made it brittle empire gateleg table . The much superior black flint was subsequently discovered at depths of from 5o to zoo feet, and from about the middle of the eighteenth century all flint was quarried antique paper mache pedestal table .
Flints were divided into different sizes according to the type of weapon sheriton clock . As far as the Army was concerned, these consisted of the musket, the carbine and the pistol; and they were each again divided into ‘Best’, ‘Second’ and ‘Common’ according to their quality, which was assessed by the colour of the stone (the darker the better) and by the regularity of the shape antique kidney table lion ball legs . A good flint knapper could gauge the size of a flint by the naked eye to within a sixteenth of an inch and could trim it to a chisel edge 18th century trestle table .
`Best’ flints could be expected to give from forty to fifty shots, without fear of a misfire, whilst ‘Common’ flints would only give about half this number ornate italy shell spoon . Most musket flints were the cheap ‘Common’ variety redwood trinket box .
Flints were sold by the thousand and were packed in half casks, which held 2000 of t1w musket size, 3000 of the carbine and 4000 of the pistol antique spanish sideboard .
In the seventeenth century it was the practice of both officers and other ranks to wear their side arms when off duty identify antique paper mache trays . When the bayonet was added to the sword it appears that there must have been some temptation to use this handy little weapon in local brawls with the civil population century furniture chinoiserie dining table chair credenza . This is reflected in the following order which was promulgated in 1687:
`For the prevention of mischief that may happen by the carrying of bayonets We hereby strictly forbid all officers and soldiers of what quality soever within Our pay or entertainment to carry a dagger or bayonet at any other time than when such officer or soldier shall be upon duty or under their arms upon pain of being punished at Direction of a Court Martial and the officers and commanders in chief of Our several regiments, troops and companies and Governors of Our Garrisons are hereby required to cause these Our commands to be forthwith read and published at the head of each respective regiment, troop and company that all persons may give obedience thereunto meissen figures on bronze bases .
`Given at Our Court at Whitehall the 4th day of March,
1686/7
`By His Majesties Command antique meissen porcelain .’
It is quite likely that this order was drafted personally by King James II furniture design . It is very like the tone of some of his letters dealing with military organization and administration antique posset pots .
Grenadiers and Musketeers seem to have worn swords throughout Marlborough’s campaigns draw-leaf tables . The armament of a Grenadier was particularly impressive; for it comprised (according to the Exercise of hoot of 16go) firelock, bayonet, sword, hatchet and grenades antique french campaign chair .
There is an interesting hint of regimental insignia on swords in a notice of a deserter in the Post Man in 1703 care of antique oak chest woodworm rot . The man belonged to Lord Lucas’s Regiment (later the 34th Foot) and is described as wearing a sword with brass mounting and an ‘L’ on the shell norman bel geddes desks . How far this was a common practice is not known sarcophagus chests andre-charles boulle . The detail on a sword depended entirely on the taste of the Colonel, and the swords for a regiment were, in fact, purchased by the Colonel out of the money allowed him by the Government for the provision of all clothing, swords and necessaries of the other ranks under his command antique maple drop leaf dining table .
The Duke of Marlborough would allow no weapon other than the sword to be used by mounted troops jupe patent mechanism . The pistol he regarded as the enemy of effective cavalry action antique victorian writing table . Brigadier-General Richard Kane, in his Discipline of Horse of 1745, said:
`They should handle their swords well, which is the only Weapon our British Horse makes use of when they charge the enemy; more than this is superfluous empire revival benches . The Duke of Marlborough would allow the Horse but three Charges of Powder and Ball to each man for a Campaign, and that for guarding their Horses when at Grass, and not to be made use of in action roman tripod table .
`Dragoons should be well instructed in the use of arms, having often occasion to make use of them on foot; but when on horseback, they are to fight as the Horse do sheraton period cutlery urn .’
The type of swords supplied to the cavalry, however, does not seem to have been beyond criticism baroque paper mache plate . In 1691 Sir Albert Cunningham, Colonel of the 6th Dragoons, wrote to the Secretary at War, ‘We want good broad cutting swords with three-barred hilts’ how drop leaf table evolved . In 1706 Colonel J designs for dressing table glasses . Crofts of the Royal Dragoons said in a letter that, ‘It was impossible to get flaming (i antique pembroke tables .e antique dining table stored legs . curved) blades but I pitched upon the best sword for service I could find’ antique duncan phyfe mahogany coffee table with brass claw feet . A year later his successor, Colonel St barrel leg oak dining table .-Pierre, wrote “chest of drawers” +cherry +1840s . ‘The swords are good, but a handfull too short, there is no dealing with the French but with good swords, they have excellent ones antique wooden handle forks . We are resolved, whatever it cost, if we come to Baralina and can find German blades, to buy them and put them upon our handles, which are large enough clarice cliff aj wilkinson teardrop plate .’
It is apparent that there must have been considerable variety in the swords carried by the cavalry japanese tray table w/ folding legs . There is a tantalizing bill of 1689 for a steel horseman’s sword with a rich gilt handle, apparently belonging to the loth Horse secession style furniture .
Towards the end of the seventeenth century there was some improvement in the gunpowder antique wood trestle table with leaves . The proportions were altered to six parts of saltpetre to one each of charcoal and sulphur antique console table carved wood . But the most noteworthy advance was in the quality of the saltpetre goldscheider ceramic figurines+made in austria. 1920 . Previously it had been chiefly obtained by the laborious and probably uncongenial task of washing out earth collected from underneath long-established dung-hills drop leaf table stable base . It was now imported from foreign countries where it could be found in a free state 3 leg drum table with leather top .
BROWN BESS
At some period in the earlier part of the eighteenth century there appeared the most famous weapon that was ever placed in the hands of the British soldier 3 leg drum table with leather top . This was the musket which became popularly known as ‘Brown Bess’ “edwards & roberts” furniture satinwood . The actual date of its introduction is unknown edwardian satinwood combination wardrobe . It*is popularly supposed to have been designed in the reign of Queen Anne 19th century mechanical desks . Nevertheless there is an old tradition that the musket was chosen by the great Duke of Marlborough when he was Captain-General and Master-General of the Ordnance german art deco porcelain harlequin . The earliest one known to the author is in the Tower of London, and bears the date 1717 on the lock plate 1920’s walnut buffet, four drawers .
The origin of the name is as much a mystery as Brown Bess’s date of birth, and there have been many theories to account for it antique gateleg card table . However, the ‘brown’ probably referred to the colour of the weapon, or part of it; and this was most likely the stock, which was of walnut wood stained a reddish brown 17th century drop leaf table . The stocks of all the British Army’s previous firearms had been black sofas . It has been said, also, that the barrel was browned by pickling in an acid bath asian chest with fake drawers . It may have been issued in this condition, but during most of the years when this musket was in use the barrel appears to have been highly polished; in accordance with the British Army’s normal practice with any piece of metal, unless ordered to do otherwise 1800’s library table . Bess’ may have been a mere term of affection; on the other hand it may have been derived from ‘buss’,a German word for a gun and used in ‘arquebus’ and `blunderbuss’ antique english tea tables .
That such a gun should acquire a nickname was, however, almost inevitable french oak, “barley twist” chest of drawers . It was noteworthy in two respects antique card table brass feet folding . It had the beautiful lines of the private fowling-pieces of the day, and, for ease of handling and for performance, it was the finest smooth-bore firearm in any army for the whole of its active existence antique hexagon ladles . These qualities undoubtedly earned the affection of the soldiers who handled it, and if troops become fond of a piece of equipment, maintenance and cleanliness present few difficulties antique wooden pot cupboard .
Of Brown Bess Mr glass front marquetry cabinet . Scurfield in a notable article on ‘British Military Smoothbore Firearms’, which he contributed to the journal of the Society for drmy Historical Research, says: ‘I have seen and handled many muskets of the eighteenth century, and have no hesitation in saying that for workmanship, handiness and appearance (much more important in those days than in these) the Old English musket was, as the armament of the “common soldier”, unsurpassed 1940’s marble tables . Compared with her predecessors and contemporaries, such as the French Model 1717, which was not radically altered until 1754, Brown Bess has the grace of a fowling-piece, the lightest stock compatible with capacity to stand up to a campaign, well-shaped moulded brass furniture, and a lock which had a reputation for giving fewer missfires, “flashes in the pan”, than that of any other military firearm georgian serving tables . Wherein lay the superiority of the English lock is now quite beyond ascertainment; but modern amateurs of historic arms, such as the late Major H vincennes gilded porcelain asian design . R 19th century lion claw pedestal table . S expensive marble tables . Brown, Mr 19th century apostle spoon . Mark Dineley, and others, confirm that it is less unreliable in igniting the charge than any other military lock they have experimented with anitque side cabinet .’
The barrel length of the first model was about 451 or 46 inches malard furniture . The bore was 11, or a shade over •75 calibre 18th c, hot water plate . The bullets vere 131 or 14 to the pound, which would slip easily down a barrel of this diameter a & s smee finsbury . The mounts were brass throughout jean dunand pottery . These comprised the buttplate, small shield (or escutcheon), side plate (on the side opposite the lock plate to receive the latter’s screws), trigger guard and four ramrod pipes apartment for milliner suzanne 1929 . The ramrod was of wood with a brass tip muller freres primavera . The butt-plate was a heavy moulded piece, and, in conjunction with the light fore-end, served to keep the balance of the gun fairly well back in spite of the long barrel small square drop leaf table with 2 chairs . The lock was of an improved type with a steel bearing, or ‘bridle’, to support the tumbler and prevent it from pressing against the lock plate antique wine cooler and stand . The escutcheon, which was on the top of the small of the butt, was primarily intended to take the screw which passed right through the small from the rearward extension of the trigger guard art nouveau cupboard . It was also frequently engraved or stamped with the company letter and individual number antique canning jars with good luck on them . The lock plate, which was of iron, bore the crowned Royal cypher, and, in addition, either the word ‘Tower’ or the contractor’s name empire drum night table . This was to become the standard practice for many years cabriole legs . Previously the Royal cypher had been, as already mentioned, limited in its use king charles silver flatware . The contractor’s name had sometimes appeared, but often the plate was devoid of any inscription gilbert rhode . The word ‘Tower’ indicated that the arm bearing it had been assembled at the Tower of London from parts supplied by contractors 1940’s art deco black and gray lacquer bedroom set prices . At a later period arms were similarly assembled in Ireland at Dublin Castle, and the lock plates were marked ‘Dublin Castle’ century furniture drop leaf table . Those arms made and assembled by contractors sometimes had the date of manufacture after the name of the maker 17th century georgian sideboards .
The bayonet was of the same basic pattern, with triangular blade, as that adopted in the reign of Queen Anne; but it was much improved matthew boulton roast cover . The socket was four inches long; and the blade length was now seventeen inches, and remained so until about z 70 spanish revival italian walnut trestle library table . The scabbard was of leather, and carried suspended from a cross-belt over the right shoulder baroque style depression furniture with walnut and walnut veneers . Another cross-belt over the left shoulder supported a cartridge pouch and two brass pickers for cleaning the vent silver tray with top .
The cartridge used with the Brown Bess musket consisted of a tube of stout cartridge paper, sealed at both ends with pack thread antique scroll maker . It contained six to eight drams of powder and also a lead bullet saxony flowers 1700s . antique octagon table with twelve legs . This type of cartridge had been in use for some time by mounted troops derby porcelain figurines mark r 1762 . The soldier bit off the rear end of the cartridge, squeezed a small portion of the powder into the flash-pan and emptied the remainder down the barrel art deco glass vase . He then inserted the bullet and rammed it with the paper cartridge on top as wadding antique chinese chamber pot . With this method of loading the soldier could fire about two to three rounds per minute; but the loose-fitting bullet ‘limited the range of reasonably accurate fire to some fifty yards making pottery . Various unauthorized methods of loading to ease the soldier’s task and speed up the rate of fire had been adopted with the matchlock musket at least as early as the reign of Charles I wodden chair dining table leaf design . The powder was poured into the barrel and the bullet dropped on top of it without the use of wad or ramrod antique mahogony carved dressing table . The charge was then firmed home by banging the butt on the ground winthrop china cabinet . Range and penetration, of course, both suffered double scroll legs desk art deco .
The same procedure was adopted with the flintlock, but as the powder used was fine enough to be used for both primer and charge, the private soldier, ever a genius at finding laboursaving devices, managed to eliminate another of the normal loading tasks early soft paste teapots . Having shut the pan after firing, he discovered that banging the butt on the ground not only consolidated the charge but also sent sufficient powder through the touchhole into the pan to prime the musket haviland france deco cup . The rate of fire was increased to from four to five rounds a minute, but there was a considerable proportion of misfires owing to insufficient powder reaching the pan, and the fire was horribly inaccurate wood antique tripod table glass top 1950 .
In certain circuirfstances loading with a loose bullet withoui wadding was a recognized practice, and was known as loading with ‘running ball’ antique gateleg table new york . Sentries’ arms loaded with running ball, for instance, could be unloaded by holding the barrel downwards and letting the bullet run out myott son & co blue hanley est: 1880 . If the wadding was inserted the only way of unloading was to discharge the musket gate leg table oak antique round .
Even Brown Bess, the best of smooth-bore muskets, could not compare in accuracy or speed of fire with the old English long bow greek marble console table . Colonel Hanger, in his book To d11 Sportsmen of X 814, said: ‘A soldier’s musket, if not exceedingly ill-bored (as many are), will strike the figure of a man at 8o yards; it may be even at a hundred; but a soldier must be very unfortunate indeed who shall be wounded by a common musket at 150 yards, provided his antagonist aims at him; and as to firing at a man at 20o yards with a common musket, you may as well fire at the moon and have the same hopes of hitting your object a dutch walnut and burr-walnut longcase clock . I do maintain and will prove, whenever called on, that no man was ever killed at 20o yards, by a common soldier’s musket, by the person who aimed at him antique empire table .’
In about 1841 a special test was carried out by the Royal Engineers to find out what Brown Bess could really do primevera crackle glaze bird . The results were not impressive art noveau furniture . The range of the piece was-an), thing from ioo yards to 700, according to the elevation of the barrel antique dining room table rectangle +connected double pedestal . At every elevation tried, however, there was at least a hundred yards’ variation in the possible range, and at some elevations this exceeded 300 yards bronze chair french . At iSo yards a target about twice as high and twice as broad as a man was hit three times out of four art deco writing sets . At any greater range, even with the musket fixed in a rest, this same target was not hit at all regency card table value . At a range of 2 5o yards a target twice as wide again was fired at, but of ten shots none registered a hit and no one discovered where they went goldscheider figures women . This test certainly bore out Colonel Hanger’s contention, In addition to the inaccurate shooting of the flintlock, there were always some misfires; and in a lengthy test carried out in 1834 against a percussion musket these worked out at i in 6-1pL burr walnut art deco dresser bakelit .
Nevertheless, for the close-order fighting, short ranges and volley firing of its day Brown Bess was a great weapon; and few viewed its supersession without regret
It was not till 1794 that any new pattern musket was introduced, but as this event took place during the Napoleonic wars, when firearms were at a premium, there was no question of Brown Bess being withdrawn from service antique walnut tall boys . In fact, the old musket must have been in the hands of a large proportiop of the British infantry until the reduction of the Army after the battle of Waterloo 17 century dining tables .
The modifications which were effected during this long career were comparatively few ” american card table” . The most important was the reduction of the barrel length to forty-two inches somewhere about the middle of the century islamic arts ivory inlaid wood cabinet . However, there was no immediate replacement of the forty-six-inch barrel muskets, and some of these were undoubtedly still in service at the time of the American War of Independence antique music stand london . Mr rent baroque wood carving furniture . Scurfield, irx citing the evidence of American students of military affairs for this, mentions an interesting theory as to the use of the long muskets square walnut and burr elm coffee table . He says: ‘Several such amateurs have informed me that among arms left in the United States after the Revolution are a number of extra long firelocks which they describe as “British Grenadier Muskets” wedgwood forgeries . I see no reason to doubt the accuracy of this statement, except perhaps spanish revival italian walnut trestle library table . that part of it which links the long musket with Grenadiers; although my informants were knowledgeable collectors of arms, it may be a romantic embellishment 1940s enamel chronographs .

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SWINEFEATHERS apostle spoons .
Top: A Swinefeather and its Case antique gateleg extention table .
Bottom: Combined Musket-rests and Swinefeathers antique spanish sideboard .
Dragoon—A flintlock (not a silver tripod table . matchlock) musket (which I hold much better for dragoon service, being upon occasion they may be able to make use of their snaphaunces on horseback, and upon any service in the night they may go undiscovered’); a belt to hang the musket on; a long tuck; a swinefeather identify furniture legs 1930 .
THE BIRTH OF THE REGULAR ARMY
With the restoration of the Monarchy the large and well-trained army of the Commonwealth was disbanded rococo medallion sofas . But from it, and from the exiled followers of the new King, was formed the British Regular Army art deco china cabinet . It was only a small army: a mere handful of regiments of horse and foot porcelain jug representing the four continents and a queen as europa . Its requirements in equipment were therefore comparatively small, and easily satisfied from the vast stocks of military stores which were available after the disbandment of Cromwell’s troops regency sofa . The King was far too poverty-stricken to provide his Army with more modern arms; and thus through the whole of his reign the troops were armed with substantially the same weapons with which the Civil War had been fought dining room table with white pillar legs .
The first scale of arms for the Army is contained in two contemporary documents gothic iron garden seat . In a M leaves for old oak table? .S latter carving on pembroke table . book which contains the establishment of the Army as it was formed in 1661, it is laid down that:
`Each horseman to have neoclassical regency furniture period . palissy dishware . marquetry semi-circle drop leaf . a sword, a case of Pistolls, the Barrells whereof to be not under fourteens inches length, and each Trooper of the Horse Guards is also to have a carbine 19th century regency furniture . The Musquet of every Musquettere is to be three feete in length in the Barrell, And the Bore to bee for Bullets of twelve in the pound, and each Pikeman to have a Pike made of Ash not under sixteens feete in length Head and Foote included antique furniture 1800 .’
Two years later the ‘Orders and Instructions’ of the Sth May 1663 directed that: antique gateleg table small . upholstered desk chair with cabriole legs . bob-box century . each Horseman to have what is a harlequin pattern . black leather armchair for desk . antique writing utensils . A sword, a Case of pistolles, the barrells whereof are not to be under fourtecen Inches in length, and each Trooper of Our Guards to have a Carbine, besides the aforesaid Armes, And the foot to have each Souldier a Sword, and each Pikeman a Pike of 16 foote long and not under, and each Musqueteer a Musquet, wth a Collar of Bandaliers, the barrell of which Musket to be about foure foot long, and to conteine a bullet fourteen well shall weigh a pound Weight antique black irish dresser .’
Whilst these documents are in substantial agreement, there is a surprising difference iii two lengths given for the musket barrel antique cherry drop leaf tables . Four feet was the normal measurement, but it may be that when the Army was first formed some relaxation was allowed in order that some of the non-standard arms available could be issued antique bookshelf design . As regards the apparent differences in the musket bore, one of these probably related to the nominal bore and the other to the actual weight of the bullets swansea duck egg .
There are two further points of interest: a trooper of the Horse Guards carried a carbine as well as two pistols; and the pike had been reduced in length to sixteen feet song dynasty bluish green glazed earthenware .
The eventual doom of the pike was heralded in two extracts which appear in Book W 5 leg antique table .O antique stemware+cobalt blue . 47/5 in the Public Record Office:
4 14 March, 166,2 antique english dressing table . Ordered that the french pikes and ye short swords or Byonettes that lately were recd finmar aalto artek . from Dunkirk be surveyed & an accompt presented to the office of their defects to ye end a Contract may bee made for their speedy repaire antique bedroom furniture with fan brass handles .’
4 17 March, 166-2 console tables tubular uk . Ordered yt ye Byonettes lately recd from Dunkirk to be issued to the psons foil antique wood inlayed wine cellaret photos . to be by them made cleave and repaired & returned with io daies space at rod ape antique chinese carved wood nest of tables .
It would thus appear that Soo bayonets were obtained from France, and that they had already seen hard service and required overhauling japanese antique boxes . Bayonets were already issued to at least part of the French Army, for in his oval loudon floral 1783-1843 .4rt de la guerre Puys6ger notes their use in 1647 valuable antique basketry marks . They were plug bayonets with handles and blades which were both twelve inches long classic furniture.dwg . It is probable that Charles II or his officers had seen and admired them in France, and it may be that this worn lot were obtained either very cheaply or as a gift from the French King cabriole design .
The plug bayonet apparently originated in the short, broad-bladed knife which was carried by hunters, and which had a round handle which could be fitted into the barrel of the gun in an emergency what is a double gate leg table .
The trial of the bayonet in the British Army was evidently a success; for a Royal Warrant of the 2nd April z 67 contained the following:
CHARLES R antique draw leaf dining table .
`Our Will and Pleasure is, that a Regiment of Dragoons, which we have established and ordered to be raised, in Twelve Troopes of fourscore in each beside officers, who are to be under the command of Oure most deare and most entirely beloved Cousin Prince Rupert, shall be armed out of Our stores remaining within Our office of the Ordinance antique paintings of trinidad west indies . gillows decorating firm . king george sofa table with iron lion legs . the soldiers of the several Troopes aforesaid, are to have and carry each of them one match-locke musquet, with a collar of bandaleers, and also to have and carry one bayonet or greate knife angouleme dihl .’
After this initial issue to one regiment, the adoption of the bayonet throughout the Army seems to have been somewhat slow george scheidt enamel . This was only natural, as the combination of musket and pike was a well-tried one in the infantry, and, war being a dangerous pastime, there is always an understandable reluctance to replace proved weapons by new and to act as escort to the artillery, and the light fuzil was better suited to their particular duties than the cumbersome matchlock mahogany coffee tables that incorporate a glass display case in centre . It will be noted, however, that the fuzil, although of carbine bore, was built as an infantry weapon, for the barrel was of matchlock length swan plate kandler .
Rests still formed part of the equipment of the musketeer, but they were seldom taken on active service, and were generally only used for ceremonial parades and duties carved african tripod table with chess board .
The introduction of Grenadiers into the new British Army marked the recognition of a weapon which had proved its value in the Civil War imperial gateleg table with japanese decorations . Explosive hand missiles had been used in warfare for very many years, but they were crude in manufacture and fairly ineffective in use first antique table de chevet . Those first used in the Civil War were also of doubtful value antique regency furniture . The filling aperture was generally closed by means of a wooden plug, in the side of which was a slot so that one end of a piece of slow match could be pushed into the interior nineteenth century gillow chair . The other end of the match was lit before the grenade was thrown wedgewood stoneware . The disadvantage of this method was that it was difficult to judge the correct length of match antiquite dressers . If it was too long the enemy often had time to throw it back again before it exploded sheriton roll top antique bureau . If it was too short it exploded in the air or even in the thrower’s hand maurice dufrene, design . The difficulty was surmounted by a most ingenious device antique extend side table . The wooden plug, instead of having the single slit, was bored with several holes chicken coups made into dressers . Into one of these a piece of match was inserted, and a bullet was fastened to the end inside the case sofa french 4 legs . Twigs were pushed into the other holes to act as a rudder like the feathers of an arrow and ensure that the match was kept to the rear during flight antique carved trestle table . When the grenade hit the ground or target the momentum carried the bullet forward and the lighted end of the match was pulled inside the case so causing the explosion walnut escritoire .
The grenades adopted for the Army in 1677 were better made and designed, but the percussion-ignition system was retained antique sideboards and buffets 1920 dutch . The military grenade weighed about 21 pounds and was 2-1 inches in diameter italian wood armchairs .
The subsequent life of grenades spanish vargueno . in the Army was comparatively short were exports scenes common in the chenghua period . During the eighteenth century they gradually dropped out of use; probably owing to the introduction throughout the Army of efficient flintlock weapons flatware forks types . The trench warfare of the Crimea brought them back into favour: and then they reappeared for some reason in the Sudan in 1884, But it was not till the First World War that the prestige of the grenade was restored to the level which it had acquired in the late seventeenth century antique drop leaf painted table 1800 .
Officers and sergeants of the infantry were still armed primarily with shafted weapons edge simplicity tub chair . These, however, were as much a symbol of rank as for serious use english stoneware marks . In 166o captains carried pikes, but by 1680 they had eight-foot spontoons antique hepplewhite sofa . Lieutenants started by carrying partizans, but in 168? they received pikes instead antique,dinning room table,gateleg,drop leaf . The sergeants were armed with halberds, which they retained until very nearly the end of the eighteenth century vintage gateleg dropleaf table .
In spite of the introduction of bayonets, musketeers were still equipped with swords american oak drop leaf table antique . Whilst there was no regulation
ti
pattern, something more serviceable than the rapier had gradually been evolved, with a straight cut-and-thrust blade and a simple guard with counter curved quillons, one of which was usually extended towards the pommel to form a knuckle bow paris style art deco desk .
It does not appear, however, that swords were popular with musketeers nancy galle furniture . According to the French writer Louis de Gaya, in his Traitl des armes of 1678, the English infantry seldom drew their swords but preferred to use the butts of their muskets at close quarters renaissance italian furniture style a bambocci and cupboards . This is understandable, since, without dropping the musket, the effective use of a sword must have been a difficult matter louis xviii style furniture . De Gaya was a captain in the Regiment of Champagne, and probably fought alongside the troops of King Charles II on the Continent antique double claw pedestal dining room table .Somewhere about x685 a sword with a short curved blade was introduced in supersession, or partial supersession, of the long straight-bladed sword antique english queen anne china cabinet with cabriole legs . This new weapon was known as a ‘hanger’ christening bowl used for . The blade was single-edged, curved towards the point, and about twenty-four inches in length art dec countries . The hilt’ was brass, and consisted of a rather flat double-shell and knuckle bow 19th century furniture archives . The grip was generally of wood and bound with wire boulle card table .
The first troops to be equipped with the hanger were the Grenadier companies of the infantry regiments; and it appears to have been, in fact, the first sword with which they were issued kem weber furniture designer prices .
The rapier was worn by officers long after it was discarded as an other ranks’ weapon, and it was probably carried by infantry officers during most of the reign of Charles II antique oval table with middle drop leaf . The sword which gradually replaced the rapier was of a somewhat similar type to that carried by the musketeers mahogany dining table cabriole legs . The blade was generally straight and intended for both cutting and thrusting antique little silver . The hilt was brass, and the guard comprised quillons and knuckle bow aaron burr desk .
From about 1685 officers of the Grenadier companies were armed with fuzil and plug bayonet, and thus carried neither sword nor shafted weapon 1800’s library tables .
At the end of Charles II’s reign privates of Horse and Dragoons had a sword with a straight blade and a steel full basket hilt inexpensive antique wardrobes . The blade was generally about thirty-eight inches long and sometimes double-edged universal statuary co mirror .
An improved method of carrying powder on the infantry soldier began to make its appearance during the 168o’s antique mahogany fretwork hanging cabinets . The bandolier, with its suspended and clattering wooden chargers, made silent movement by a body of troops virtually impossible sheffield plate 19th century . In its stead there was introduced a cartridge pouch, in which was placed a supply of made-up paper cartridges; each containing the requisite amount of powder (but not the ball) for one round of ammunition chamber pot cabinet commode 1800 . Such cartridges had already been in use for some time for the carbines and pistols of the cavalry antique book ends .
MARLBOROUGH’S ARMY
Charles II was succeeded by his brother, James II, a first-class administrator, who proceeded to expand the Army and to forge it into an efficient fighting machine repaint ceramic lamp .
One of the first results of the new regime was the production of a new scale of firearms to replace the many worn-out antiques which were still in service french makers of consoles gibier style 18th century . The effect of this was to give the Army a fairly standard armament, and, for the first time, regulation designs rococo writing table .
The new musket could be fitted either with a matchlock or a flintlock austro-hungarian +antique +furniture . It was a very substantial and heavy weapon lion head sphinx paws revival art chair . The* barrel was 451 inches long and made of very thick metal important american girandole mirror . The stock was painted black, and the barrel probably `russeted’ maples of london cabinetmakers . The matchlock was fashioned something after the style of a flintlock; the pan and cover being attached to the lock plate instead of, as previously, to the barrel petite french mantel antique clocks . The flintlock too was an improvement on its predecessor; the befter-designed lock which had been fitted to private arms for many years past being substituted for the old crude military lock classical revolving bookcase . Many of these muskets, as well as the other new firearms, bore the Royal cypher, J2R with crown over, on the lock plate antiquevenercoffeettableclawfeet . It has been suggested that this was a privilege restricted to the Household Troops and the Royal Regiments, and that it was not extended to all arms until the reign of George II antique mahogany rent table .
Matchlock muskets appear to have been issued only to the battalion companies of the infantry italian spider leg table . Fusilier regiments, Grenadier companies and Dragoon regiments had flintlocks paris exposition candlesticks . Muskets issued doric china longton england .to the Grenadiers were usually shorter and stouter in the barrel than the standard type 19th century bavarian side chairs . Some of them were fitted with steel grenade cups for firing grenades antique austria 1855 - 1953 statues . (A practice which was to be revived in the war of 1914-18 czechoslovakian lustreware .)
It was probably intended that as soon as economically practicable matchlock muskets should be converted to the more expensive flintlock william kent eagle console . It is likely that the battle of Sedge-moor was the last action in which matchlocks constituted the bulk of the infantry armament antique japanese tea table mother of pearl . By 1700 there can have been few, if any, matchlocks left antique brass mirror convex eagle .
All carbines and pistols were flintlocks staffordshire william kent . The former were lighter and smaller versions of the muskets with a barrel length of thirty-six inches boulle furniture . They had a steel suspension ring which moved on a ‘traveller’, or iron bar about world war 1 antique shovels . ten inches long, and was connected to a swivel and runner on the carbine belt antique octagon oak table . Pistols had a fourteen-inch barrel 4 section antique cutlery box .
The new muskets were issued with the plug bayonet regency pedestal desk buhl marquetry . This, of course, had the dual disadvantage that when it was fitted in the barrel the musket could not be fired, and when it was not so fitted the musket was not a close-quarters weapon antique 19th mahogany hepplewhite card table . These limitations led to the disaster of Killiecrankie in x689, when the English infantry were caught by the charging Highlanders in the process of fixing their bayonets into the musket barrels value of empire style china closet 1910 .
As a result of Killiecrankie, experiments seem to have been made with the ‘ring’ bayonet half tester bed . This was fitted to the musket by means of two rings which passed over the end of the muzzle and the grip of-the bayonet covered bowl/antique chinese doucai . General Hugh Mackay claimed that he invented this after the battle of Killiecrankie; but Puys6gur says that a regiment of the French Army had these bayonets in 1678 antique chests of drawers south wales .
The ring bayonet does not seem to have been a success; but the next invention, the socket bayonet, was 18th empire furniture . In this type the blade was attached to a short tube or socket which slid over the muzzle end of the musket barrel baroque rationalism . Socket bayonets suffered from the same initial trouble as the ring bayonets, that the external diameter of musket barrels varied too much to provide a standard bayonet which would fit even the majority of them american art deco bar furniture . Plug bayonets had a tapering handle and could thus be thrust into any barrel antiques table clock 1700 . In an effort to remedy the trouble bayonets with a socket split lengthwise were made, the idea being that the diameter of the socket could be adjusted to the size of the barrel which it was required to fit barley sugar twist pillars timber . Some antique display . of these were issued to Killigrew’s Dragoons in 17o6; for their equipment schedule lists: ‘Split socket bayonets to serve over a full bored musket’ antique china carving furniture .
Pikemen finally disappeared from the Army in 1702, and thereafter all private soldiers of the infantry were armed with musket and bayonet william iv furniture . The situation as regards the latter was, however, somewhat chaotic care of antique oak chest woodworm rot . An Ordnance Board report of 1706- says: ‘All the regiments raised since the disuse of pikes (1702) have provided bayonets india brass table tray . dutch delph pottery marks . biedermeier antique de . at their own charge 19th century 5 legged table . Few of the officers agree in the sort of bayonets fit to be used or in the manner of fixing them as may appear by the various sorts there are of them in the Army modern oriental writing bureau .’ It is probable that throughout the wars of William III and Anne most units were still equipped with the plug bayonet holland and sons ivory marquetry . But the socket bayonet must have been in fairly extensive use; for the Ordnance records of 1704 show that socket bayonets had been sent to Portugal, although 3000 plug bayonets were available in the Tower stores 17th century oak tables .
The blade of the socket bayonet appeared in a number of different shapes before a 1800’s library table . standard type was finally adopted england biedermeier chest of drawers . This was triangular in section, tapering to a point, and with two of its sides deeply grooved, or ‘fullered’ glasgow art nouveau antiques . With various modifications this triangular socket bayonet remained as the standard Army weapon until 18 8 8 19th century drum table examples .

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The main trends and styles of antiques (3)

Neo-classicism (1760-1830)
The term neo-classicism is given to a trend in art that arose in the late eighteenth century. It was a reaction against the rich embellishment of Baroque and playfulness of Rococo. The name points to the inspiration derived from classical art that resulted from archaeological excavations in Rome, Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Paestum. It meant a return to classical forms of straight lines and level planes.
Symmetry became important once more and classical ornaments and geometric shapes such as ram’s heads, bull’s and lion’s faces, plaited braid, tendrils, rosettes, and urns replaced the overblown style of the preceding period. Neoclassicism became less important after 1800 with the arrival of the Romantic. Despite this the trend continued to be of considerable influence because it was taught at academies throughout the nineteenth century.
Louis XVI occasional table.
The playfulness of Rococo became less fashionable during the reign of Louis XVI and the scallop motif disappeared. Symmetrical ornamentation was added to classical motifs such as corbels, olive wreaths, egg and tongue moulding, and sphinxes. Furniture parts such as arms and legs once more acquired their own identity. ook comfortabel. Furniture was rectangular and flat-fronted. Seats were both fine looking and comfortable. Chair legs that resembled fluted columns were very popular. Light colours were popular during the time of Louis XVI. White lacquer and gilt were commonly used. There was considerable emphasis on elegance, smallness, and gracefulness. Sevres porcelain, East Asian lacquer work, and miniatures were signs of a cultivated taste.
Directoire
Directoire is the name given to the style during the era of Napoleon’s coup d’6tat (1795-1799). The style was in reaction to Rococo/Louis XVI and saw a return to more straightforward classical forms. At the heart of the Directoire style lay the classical style of ancient Greece. Symbols of the French Revolution such as the Cock and Virgin were associated with this, together with the Tricolour. The Directoire style mainly manifested itself in clothing and ornaments.
Empire
The Empire style relates to the fashion for furniture and interiors during Napoleon’s rule (1799-1815). The style originated in France and was also popular in Europe and the USA. The classical inspiration was mainly derived from the time of the ancient Roman empire. Certain ancient Egyptian elements are also sometimes used, resulting from Napoleon’s expedition to the Nile (1798). The Empire style was characterised in furniture by rigid symmetry, rectangularity, and solidity. Characteristic motifs that were used for decoration include the eagle, lion, sphinx, Neptune’s chariot, urns, and quivers filled with arrows. The heavy and solid furniture can be recognised by its plain lines and flat planes.
Regency
The English Regency style arose during the rule by the Prince Regent (later George IV) during the illness of his father George III (1811-1820). In common with French Empire style, English Regency is inspired by classical culture and for this reason some call it English Empire.
Eclecticism and the neostyles (1830-1880)
Eclecticism is a term used in visual arts when techniques, motifs, and elements from earlier styles are combined to form a new one. Eclecticism existed in the time of the ancient Greeks. Late in the Hellenic era Greek artists and craftsmen were already borrowing from the styles of older works. Elements for compositions were chosen from very different eras. Eclecticism became a strong movement in the nineteenth century with the re-emergence of older styles. Expression of these styles such as neo-Baroque, neo-Gothic, neo-classicism, and neoByzantinism were to be found into the twentieth century.
Victorian
During Queen Victoria’s long reign (1837-1901) the predominant influences in Britain on arts and crafts was the rise of the industrial middle class. House interiors were fussy and richly decorated with floral motifs and other adornments. The main intention was to display how well off the occupants were. Victorian furniture designs are typically comfortable. The excessive carving of the early Victorian era was later replaced by painted panels.
French Restoration
The style of the French Restoration originates from immediately after the fall of Emperor Napoleon I when the Bourbon monarchy was restored to the throne (1815-1830) in the form of King Louis XVII and Charles X. The style is characterised by rounded and curved forms. This was the era of Biedermeier in Austria and Germany.
Louis-Philippe
During the reign of King Louis-Philippe of Orleans (1830-1830) there was a revisiting of the style characteristics of Gothic and the Renaissance. A consequence of this is that furniture from this period is more massive and robust in style than during the Empire period. In common with German Biedermeier this period did not see a new style develop, rather adaptation of elements of the Empire style for the interiors and furniture of an increasingly bourgeois society.
Second Empire
The Second Empire was a poor reflection of the first. The classic beauty and grandeur of the clean lines of the period of Napoleon I were barely ever attained anywhere during the reign of Emperor Napoleon III (1852-1871).
Biedermeier
Biedermeier is a decorative style originating in Germany in the period 1815-1848. The name comes from Gottlieb Biedermeier, a nineteenth century fictional character of the poetry of Ludwig Eichrodt. Biedermeier was the typical sober but hypocritical bourgeois citizen.Biedermeier style was a reaction entirely different in style.
to the Romantic style of the Napoleonic era.
The bourgeois conservatism of Biedermeier was expressed in interior design, the visual arts, fashion, and literature. Interior style that was dominated by gentle curves and French polished wood was a bourgeois interpretation of the Empire style. Many decorative elements were borrowed from earlier styles.
Romanticism
Romanticism was a spiritual trend in the later eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It was a reaction against Rationalism and its logical expression in the form of neo-Classicism.
With Romanticism, arts and crafts became the expression of creativity and emotions of the artist and craftsman. Romanticism found little headway in France because of the strong influence here of neo-Classicism. Romanticism Late Swiss Jugendstil electric lamp. Note the had its greatest influence on music, paint- colour and design of the glass. ing, and literature.
Jugendstil and Art Nouveau
Around the turn of the century from the nineteenth into the twentieth a movement arose against the historical and bombastic attitudes of the ‘neo-styles’. This trend was expressed through contemporary designs with flowing lines, new materials (iron and steel, glazed pottery, tiles, and concrete), and motifs taken from nature (flowers, animals, and other plants). Architectural and interior design was united into one cohesive style. These innovative movements appeared more or less simultaneously throughout Europe and quickly spread to USA and the colonial territories. The individual styles vary from country.Arts and Crafts
The first manifestations of the movement appeared in England around 1860. The Arts and Crafts movement was a reaction against industrial mass production and sought to restore craftsmanship to the making of objects.
The Arts and Crafts movement made a logical link between the form and construction of a piece and introduced a new type of floral design.
Art Nouveau
IThe innovative and renewing movement in France and Belgium was known as Art Nouveau after the opening of the gallery of Siegfried Bing in Paris in 1895. Art Nouveau also placed an emphasis on hand-crafting of objects. The movement was characterised by extravagant and fashionable design with ornamentation to the fore. Wide use was made of organic elements such as flowers and other plants and animals.
Jugendstil
The name Jugendstil is derived from the German periodical Die Jugend that was started by a group of leading creative people in Munich in 1896. Flowing lines and organic forms are characteristic of the style. Jugendstil also placed great emphasis on materials used and craftsmanship.
Sezession (Viennese Secession)
The new movement manifested itself within the Austro-Hungarian empire as the Wiener Sezession (Viennese Secession) which held its own exhibitions for more progressive artists. The Sezession is mainly characterised by decorative use of geometrical motifs.
Nieuwe kunst
The ‘new art’ of the movement sweeping Europe became known in the Low Countries as the ‘Nieuwe kunst’ — having precisely that meaning. It was also known as the ’salad dressing style’ after a salad dressing manufacturer based in Delft used Jugendstil motives for his advertising and product labels. In Flemish speaking parts of Belgium the style was known as ‘Palingstijl’ (eel style).
Art Deco
Art Deco was the principal style of applied art between about 1910 and 1940. The same term was used for this style in use in architecture, sculpture, and painting. There were two main movements within Art Deco. The first was centred on Paris and was richly decorative; objects were generally hand made from luxurious materials. The other movement saw links between Austrian and Scottish Art Nouveau, and German Bauhaus. This type of Art Nouveau sought to create undecorated objects of simple and functional form and was mainly aimed at mass production. New materials were put to use in Art Deco such as metal and glass for furniture. Plastic was used for smaller objects, including jewellery.

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The main trends and styles of antiques (2)

William and Mary (1688-1702)
England adopted the main styles and ornamentation of Europe up to the eighteenth century. Generally these were simplified in style with English pieces generally being more modest.
After the Dutch stadtholder William III (of Orange) and his wife Mary Stuart won the throne of England from James II, Dutch style was introduced to form the first English style that was different from continental forms.
Louis’ styles
The styles of the French kings Louis XII to XVI are known by the French numeration e.g. Louis Treize. The styles are generally sumptuous and exaggerated. During this era France gave the cultural lead. The styles and individual reigns of the kings do not precisely coincide though. Architecture and ornamentation of Louis Treize is somewhat disparate with manifest foreign influences in which both Italian and Flemish artists were of great significance. But there was already atension between Baroque and Classicism in these early stages. During the time of Louis XIV and XV Baroque held sway over French culture.
After 1750 — still in the reign of Louis XV — there was a classical revival against Baroque. French art during the reigns of the Kings Louis is characterised by the contrast between classical design of the outsides of buildings and the Baroque decoration of their interiors. This includes the fine curvilinear forms of the furniture, silver, porcelain, and furnishing fabrics.
Louis Treize (XIII)
Louis Treize is the first of the style periods of the reigns of the French kings Louis.
It is characterised by greater attention to decoration, turned wood, festoons, curlicues, chased pilasters, wide use of columns, and divided pediments.
Louis Quatorze (XIV)
Baroque was at the height of its sway in the world during the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715). The Palace of Versailles, which is the Baroque masterpiece, had far greater influence on European culture than the religious Baroque emanating from Italy. The architecture was a fusion of classical forms with the Baroque originating from Italy.
The style also greatly influenced furniture and ornamentation. These latter elements took on a strongly Baroque, heavy, and pompous style under Louis Quatorze with rich embellishment of swags, urns, cherubs, marble panels, ceiling painting, mirrors, festoons, and gilded plaster work.
The heavy symmetrical furniture was of monumental proportions with considerable use of luxury materials including marquetry inlays with veneers. Furniture is often embellished with columns, floral motifs, oak and laurel leaves, egg-andtongue moulding, and edge mouldings. Greater use was made of exotic materials such as tortoiseshell and lacquer. Chairs had high backs and low seats and their trimmings showed a great preference for frills and fringes.
French Regency
The period of the French Regency style relates to the regency of Phillipe of Orleans (1715-1723). This style preceded the Rococo of Louis XV and replaced the exuberant decoration of Louis XIV with its strongly Baroque curlicues and a symmetric wreaths and figures. The era following the death of Louis XIV was characterised by elegance and lightness. The luxurious life of city dwellers also reached the country through the aristocracy. The numbers of rooms in the chateaux and palaces increased so that some types of furniture became larger. French Regency can be regarded as a transition between Baroque and Rococo.
Rococo
The name Rococo is given to the style of the first half of the eighteenth century that marked the final phase of Baroque. The term is probably derived from the French rocaille used to describe rock grottoes or fountains and coquille, meaning shell or scallop. Rococo arose in France as a reaction against the gross-ornamentation, stateliness, and pomposity of ‘high’ Baroque. Rococo was more intimate, lighter in touch, and more elegant.
The rocaille or scallop is a characteristic feature of the Rococo style. Although elements of the Rococo style actually emerged during the French Regency. the Rococo era is largely contemporan- in France with the style of Louis XV. The style first became apparent in the applies arts.
Porcelain – that was invented in Europe in 1709 – became heavily influenced by the Rococo style. French Rococo furniture is characterised by the fluidity of the various elements incorporated in lighter and more graceful pieces.
Chaises longues, wing chairs, and many other easy chairs were fashionable. Rococo spread to Italy where the style became somewhat exaggerated.
Italian Rococo furniture is heavier in design and ornamentation. Rococo manifested itself in England for a time through the asymmetrical carving of the Chippendale style. Sculpture of the Rococo style is busy and full of motion.
The style was generally more widely used for deco-ration in architecture than for the creation of works of art in their own right.
Louis Quinze (XV)
The lightness of touch of the French Regency changed somewhat with the extreme forms of Rococo during the era of Louis XV. The contrast between the classical exteriors of buildings and their Baroque interiors continued but was less pronounced. The style was characterised by light, elegant, and modest ornamentation with flowing lines, S-forms, and scrolls. Interiors were decorated with airy and asymmetric ornaments.
The curved line was often linked to that of the scallop or rocaille form. Pastel shades dominated during the Louis Quinze era. Furniture was intentionally more slender and graceful. Some craftsmen specialised in making certain pieces. Those making furniture with inlays of ebony veneer (ebony was the most widely used veneer for seventeenth century French furniture) were required to sign their work after 1743, except for those in the service of the King. Despite this it is difficult to establish the makers because these specialist also acted as dealers and .ended to sign every good piece that Queen Anne chair. passed through their hands. Individual
elements of furniture such as legs and 1 arm-rests began to lose their individuality. One part merged fluidly into the next. This was strengthened by the use of more refined and varied ornamentation than previously. Many new types of furniture appeared, such as commodes and book rests.
Eighteenth century English styles
This is the English style of the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714). The broad curved cabriole leg was fashionable during this period. The ‘bull-and-claw’ foot came in around 1710 with an animal’s head or claw on a conical shaped foot. Windsor chairs did not have this feature. Queen Anne style cabinets were generally tall.
Georgian
The term Georgian is used for period of the reigns of Georges I (1714-1727), II (1727-1760), and III (1760-1820). The Georgian style is an English adaptation of the European styles of the eighteenth century with elements of Baroque, Classical revival, and later also Gothic revival.
Parallels can be found in Georgian styles between the furniture of Chippendale and that of French Louis XV. The refined neo-classical furniture and interiors of the Adam brothers echo that of French Louis XVI.

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