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www.holtsauctioneers.com
In association with
Antiques
92 SPORTING GUN JULY 2017 www.shootinguk.co.uk
Household nameOut of the many British gunmakers that have disappeared into history, there are a few whose legacy still makes them a household name among the shooting fraternityWORDS ROBERT MORGAN PICTURES ANDREW ORR/HOLTS
not want to give away such a huge amount
of money to a man whose design had not
been tested in the fi eld. Manton, angered,
patented his design, attempting to twist
the army’s hand into making him a deal.
The army came back by o� ering him one
farthing for each shell they produced, but
Manton refused to accept, demanding
more. Surprisingly for Manton, the army
stood their ground and a new o� er was not
forthcoming. Joseph Manton was suddenly
faced with the prospect of having spent a
great deal of time and money, much of it
his own, into developing a weapon that the
army would not use. He returned a new
o� er to the army, whereby the army could
make the shells without paying royalties,
but allowing Manton to produce the
wooden cups. The Army refused.
Having spent more than a decade in
unsuccessful legal battles against the
Board of Ordnance, Joseph lost his vast
fortunes and was declared bankrupt in
1826. His entire workshop in Oxford Street
was seized and his stock of guns bought by
Joseph Lang, an aspiring gundealer whose
company would eventually become part of
Atkin, Grant and Lang.
Famous employeesAs well as leaving collectors and shooters
some of the fi nest antique arms ever
produced, many famous names were either
employees or apprentices of Joseph’s,
including James Purdey, William Greener,
Thomas Boss and Charles Lancaster.
More recently, the name Joseph Manton
has resurfaced and is again being used
by a company producing very limited,
bespoke shotguns, including an extremely
unusual three barrelled example, a fi ne
legacy indeed. SG
Considering the vast numbers
of gunmakers that operated
in Britain during Georgian
and Victorian times, very few
have stood the test of time
and still operate today. Out of the many
that disappeared into the pages of history
there are a few “greats”, whose legacy still
makes them a household name among
the shooting fraternity. Probably the most
famous of these would be Joseph Manton.
Exceptionally fi ne weaponsArriving in London in 1789, Joseph Manton
initially worked for his brother John, also
rated as one of the fi nest gunmakers that
has ever lived. Joseph always believed his
way was better though, and soon separated
from his brother’s business, setting up his
own and eventually becoming bitter rivals.
At a time when the aristocracy of France
was being butchered on a daily basis by
“La Revolution”, many of Britain’s wealthy
watched on in horror and soon sought to
arm themselves. Building exceptionally
fi ne weapons, Joseph’s wares quickly
attracted the patronage of everyone from
rich merchants to nobility and politicians.
A lucrative contract with the East India
Company and a Royal Warrant helped swell
the co� ers to bursting point. Now incredibly
wealthy, Joseph’s fi nest accolade came
when Colonel Peter Hawker, possibly the
most famous and celebrated shot ever
from England, described Joseph Manton as
simply: “The greatest artist in fi rearms that
ever the world produced.”
Demise of the fl intlockAlways inventive, Joseph Manton revised
and simplifi ed the “scent bottle” lock
mechanism that had been the brainchild
of Alexander Forsyth a few years earlier,
turning it from the dangerous device that
it had proved to be into a simple one-use
tube, fi lled with fulminate and crushed by
a modifi ed hammer. Even though Manton’s
“tubelock”, as he called it, was short
lived, it paved the way for the percussion
cap and was instrumental in causing the
demise of the fl intlock. Unfortunately his
inventiveness was also to ultimately cause
his fi nancial ruin.
The greater part of Manton’s career was
to be spent at loggerheads with the British
Army. Manton managed to interest the army
in a special type of ammunition designed to
be used in rifl ed artillery. This ammunition
comprised of a cannon ball sat in a rifl ed
wooden cup with an integral bag of powder
attached to the rear. The idea of having the
powder fi xed behind the shot in a disposable
cartridge is one still used today; indeed, it is
the basis for modern bullet design.
The army provided him a cannon and
funding, and in return expected a greatly
improved weapon. While there is little
doubt Manton’s design was superior, an
argument over payment was to cause the
army to declare it of small benefi t. The
row erupted over how Manton was to be
paid; he believed the agreement was a
£30,000 lump sum. The army argued that
since they had already invested vast sums
into research and development, they did
ArtistJoseph Manton’s weapons
attracted attention from rich merchants to nobility