Baker rifle flask, 1st pattern, British (c 1800)

Title	Baker rifle flask, 1st pattern
Nationality	British
Period	c 1800

Sold

MAGNIFY

These would have been used by both the 60th Rifles and the Rifle Brigade during the early stages of the Peninsula War up to about 1809, after which they were effectively obsolete, the paper cartridge replacing their use entirely. They were also used by volunteer rifle regiments of the era. There are no ordnance or unit marks.

This is the rarest of the Baker rifle flask variants, the later ones having a detachable spout fixed by a spring clip to the nozzle or an integral spring-fed charger cut-off system. It throws an approximate 4 dram charge - I measured this myself using bull's eye powder (much finer than the coarse black powder of the day) and it was about 120 grains (28 grains to a dram).

The horn is made of cow horn, with a dirt/dried grease patination. The brass is dark patinated throughout; the base is held by three iron pins, of which only two are now extant (ie one is missing); the ring on the spout is held by a bronze split rivet running through the spout; there is a little bruising at the base of the socket on the nozzle, where someone has forced the spout into the nozzle, but this is only minor.

If you want to comment on this item—re quality, age, etc—please email me.

[Firearms : Accessories : British : 19th Century]

online museum

account

testimonials