It appears to have been made during the late 1800's. Mr. Shimer also received patents for his firecracker cannons, shown elsewhere on this site. These two rare cannon fire 32 and 50 caliber blanks. The close up is of the 32 caliber. They were fired using a string that was tied to the lower part of the hammer.
Manufacturer is unknown.
There are no markings on the cannon. I recently acquired a 32 model. It is in need of repair and I plan to restore it professionally. I'll show the progress. Click on the cannon to the left.