Old Bronze Cannon

[Big Bad Brian]

Hello Treasure Net,
I found an “old” cannon and am trying to figure out just how old it might be. Also, any thoughts on its origin? The people I bought it from said that their grandfather bought it from Sotheby’s Auction House in London in the early 1930s. They claim it is an American made Revolutionary War era piece. I contacted Sotheby’s, but they said I needed the date and lot number of the auction to track it down. Please see the pictures. Except for the markings on the end of the trunnions it has no marks other that ware and tear. One side says “90” and the other trunnion has a large “N” small “o” a stamped “.” and “76.” The cannon measures 33.5 inches long, bore is about 27.5 inches long and 1.8 diameter. The trunnion diameters are 1.75. It’s made of bronze and weighs about 100 lbs. I have not attempted to fire it as the truck it sits on is display only.
Thanks
Big Bad Brian

 

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[digging440yrs]

Maybe this ---signal cannon------

 

[tamrock]

The barrel looks old like 19th century, but the carriage looks to have been made later. Looks pretty special to me.. Beautiful old bronze patina..Don't polish it.

 

[kingskid1611]

That is pretty neat. I don't think I would want to fire it. Love that patina.

 

[Tony in SC]

I have a couple of small cannons. I wouldn't fire that one unless it had trunion caps. Tony

That is pretty neat. I don't think I would want to fire it. Love that patina.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Your small-bore bronze Smoothbore cannon seems to be genuinely old enough to qualify as an antique one, which means at the very least 75 years. The marking "N" with a small "o" above a period (dot) is an antique abbreviation for "number."

Big Bad Brian, you don't say where you live, but you did mention Sotheby's. Are you in Britain? I'm asking because along with the "No." marking the "7" in the cannon's markings seems to be British-style rather than American.

Its caliber (bore diameter) of "about 1.8 inches" strongly indicates it was not manufactured for Military use, but it may have originally been used as defensive armament on a Commercial vessel.

Of course it also could be "just" a signal gun... but because bronze is about 20 times higher-priced than iron, I think it's unlikely somebody would spend that much extra money to have a signal gun manufactured. However, some majorly wealthy people had a signal cannon at their Estate to welcome important guests, or fire a daily salute to the nation's flag (as seen in the movie "Heaven Can Wait")... and to such wealthy people, the look of well-polished bronze (instead of rusty iron) is worth the cost.

For anybody here who doesn't already know... the "trunnion caps" term Tony In SC used means thick iron straps which held the cannon's trunnions (the short cylindrical projections near the middle of the cannon barrel) tightly onto the cannon's carriage. Also called trunnion straps, they are needed because firing-recoil can violently throw the cannon off its mount.

 

[cw0909]

Big Bad Brian, nice cannon
i ran across this Encyclopedia Of Markings and
Decoration On Artillery: Mendel L. Peterson (1918-2003)
a few yrs back, in Part IV – Inscriptions with Date, Nationality Etc.the N° is
referenced, the dates are 18th & 19th century,used by several countries.
the Encyclopedia is in several large pdfs, i have not read most of it, saw
some cannons from 16-17th century,very ornate and cool looking,amazing
all that art to just use it to shoot

Inscriptions
http://www.buei.bm/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Artillery_Inscriptions.pdf
the rest of the Encyclopedia
Encyclopaedia Of Markings and Decoration On Artillery | Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute

 

[Tony in SC]

Brian, The touch hole looks kinda big, but it looks like it has been fired. Does it go all the way to the bore? Tony

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

Big Bad Brian, nice cannon
i ran across this Encyclopedia Of Markings and
Decoration On Artillery: Mendel L. Peterson (1918-2003)
a few yrs back, in Part IV – Inscriptions with Date, Nationality Etc.the N° is
referenced, the dates are 18th & 19th century,used by several countries.
the Encyclopedia is in several large pdfs, i have not read most of it, saw
some cannons from 16-17th century,very ornate and cool looking,amazing
all that art to just use it to shoot

Inscriptions
http://www.buei.bm/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Artillery_Inscriptions.pdf
the rest of the Encyclopedia
Encyclopaedia Of Markings and Decoration On Artillery | Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute

cw0909, thanks very much for the links to those documents. I immediately Bookmarked them, for future use.

 

[CityDigger]

Fire it up with a light load.

 

[Big Bad Brian]

Hi and thanks for all the info.
I'm out here in the People's Republic of Kalifornia. However, I bought the cannon from people living in eastern Ontario, Canada, eh.
BBB

 

[Big Bad Brian]

Oh, and the touch hole does go through into the bore.
BBB

 

[cw0909]

since your cannon is small like a woodruff gun, it may be be easier to
find a carriage for yours and not as costly as the bigger guns

Lovett Artillery - Woodruff Gun (2 Pounder) American Civil War

 

[nuggy]

I have heard/read that French cannons of the Napoleonic wars were marked with an N for Napoleon. Napoleon had been an artillery man, was very fond of canons, referring to them as his daughters !
Looking at this one though I think it says No 76 short for number 76. Size would be about that of an old naval signal canon perhaps. It is very beautiful and I'm sure I could find space for one if I was lucky enough to come across one.