IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henri Adrien Bonneville, of the British and
Foreign Patent Offices, 10, Sackville Street, Piccadilly, in the
County of Middlesex, and 18, Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris,
in the Empire of France, Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS." -A communication
from Salvatore Carcano, residing at Turin, in the Kingdom of
Italy, Principal Superintendant at the Royal Manufactory of Arms
at Turin.
Sealed the 20th November 1868, and dated the 27th May 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henri Adrien Bonneville
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 27th May 1868.
I, HENRI ADRIEN BONNEVILLE, of the British and Foreign Patent
5 Offices, 10, Sackville Street, Piccadilly, in the County of Middlesex,
and 18, Rue de la Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, in the Empire of France,
Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," a communication from
Salvatore Carcano, a person resident at Turin, in the Kingdom

page_text: of Italy, Principal Superintendant at the Royal Manufactory of Arms
at Turin, to be as follows:-
The improvements communicated to me consist in a novel and
improved manner of manufacturing breech-loading fire-arms, and are
applicable to the conversion of old fire-arms into percussion or needle
guns.
These improvements are represented in the accompanying Drawings,
in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section in elevation of a new fire-
arm; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section in elevation of a fire-arm after
conversion.
In Fig. 1, A is the cylinder; B, the hammer; C, the pin of the
hammer; D, the little cylinder; E, the rod of the hammer; F, the
button of the said rod; G, the helical spring; H, the detent spring;
I, the tenon of the cylinder; L, the detent; M, the trigger spring;
N, the trigger; O, P, the barrel screws; R, the screw of the detent
spring; S, the screw of the trigger spring; T, the button of the
cylinder's tenon.
In Fig. 2 the pieces lettered A, D, E, F, G, H, I, O, L, P, R, T, are
the same as those in Fig. 1. The other pieces are slightly modified
or have been added. B is the needle; Q, an oscillating lever; M, the
spring of same; N, the trigger; X, a safety tooth; Y, a piece to
strengthen the butt end of the gun.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Henri Adrien Bonneville in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 25th November 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRI
ADRIEN BONNEVILLE, of the British and Foreign Patent Offices, 10,
Sackville Street, Piccadilly, in the County of Middlesex, and 18,
Chaussée d'Antin, Paris, in the Empire of France, Patent Agent, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-seventh day of May, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and

page_text: successors, give and grant unto me, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville,
Her special licence, that I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Henri Adrien Bonneville, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS,"
a communication from Salvatore Carcano, a
person resident at
Turin, in the Kingdom of Italy, Principal Superintendant, at the
Royal Manufactory of Arms at Turin, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, my executors or
administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one
of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be
performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date
of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement:-
The improvements communicated to me consist in a novel and
improved manner of manufacturing breech-loading fire-arms applicable
to the conversion of old fire-arms into percussion or needle guns.
These improvements are represented in the accompanying Drawings,
in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section in elevation of a new fire-arm,
and Fig. 2 a plane view of the same; Fig. 3 is a section in longitudinal
elevation of the old gun after conversion in which paper cartridges may
be used; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal view of the extractor; Fig. 5 is a
longitudinal view of the little cylinder, and a front and back view of its
rear end; Fig. 6 is a section of the cylinder A, by the line a, b, of
Fig. 1; Fig. 7, a partial longitudinal section of the same, and Fig. 8,
a section of the barrel by the line c, d, of Fig. 1.
In Fig. 1, A is the cylinder; B, the percussion rod; C, the little
cylinder; D, the rod; E, the knob; F, the helical spring; G, the trigger-
spring; H, the cylinder tenon; I, the knob of the tenon; K, the trigger;

page_text: L, the trigger plate; M, N, the barrel screws.
The knob E of the new
fire-arm is furnished with an extension piece, at the extremity of which
is a helical cone which is in contact with the heel of the handle; to
open the fire-arm it is not necessary to turn the knob. The pieces of
the old fire-arm converted, represented by the letters A, C, D, E, F, H,
I, L, K, Fig. 3, assume the same forms and fulfil the same office as
those of the new fire-arm, Figs. 1 and 2. The pieces which differ are the
needle O, and the swelling P of the butt.
The loading of the new fire-arm is operated in four times:-1°, the
lever of the cylinder A must be seized with the right hand, turned from
right to left, and rapidly drawn back; 2°, the cartridge inserted in the
barrel; 3°, the cylinder A pushed forward and turned to the right until
the fire-arm is locked, and 4°, the trigger K drawn back. If it is
required to put the fire-arm at half-cock when loaded, the projection of
the little cylinder C must be pushed and caused to turn from right to
left by drawing it back, the helical spring is loosened, and the trigger
is no longer held. The fire-arm being at half-cock, in order to take off
the mechanism of the barrel the two first movements as if for loading
should be made, the knob of the cylinder tenon H should then be taken
with the left hand and brought down until set free, after which the
The obturator or
mechanism of the barrel should be taken off.
mechanism being detached from the barrel, in order to dismount the
barrel the helical spring F is loosened by drawing back the little
cylinder C, and the spring pressed with the nail until the spring is freed
from the cylinder, the whole is then taken off. If it is required to alter
the helical spring F, the knob E of rod D must not be unscrewed from
the said rod D, merely the little cylinder, and then the spring should be
taken off.
The loading of the old fire-arm after conversion is operated in five
times: 1°, the knob E of the rod should be drawn back until the spring
becomes engaged; the four remaining operations are the same as those
for the new fire-arm as above explained.
There is no difference with the former system of this Invention as
regards the taking off or the dismounting of the barrel mechanism,
when the little cylinder is taken off from the big cylinder the needle
may be drawn out of the rod and another substituted to it.
Having thus fully described the nature of the said Invention and the
manner of carrying the same into effect, I would have it to be clearly

page_text: understood that I do not intend to confine myself to the exact details
above enumerated, as these may obviously be modified without departing
from the principle of the said Invention, but what I claim is the novel
and improved manner of manufacturing breech-loading fire-arms,
applicable to the conversion of old fire-arms into percussion or needle
guns, substantially in the manner herein-before set forth and described
and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henri Adrien Bonneville, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of November, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight.