IMPROVEMENTS IN CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF SINGLE AND DOUBLE BARRELLED GUNS
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Tipping Lawden, Copartner with Caleb
Lawden, trading under the Style or Firm of Tipping and Lawden, Gun
Manufacturers, of Birmingham, in the County of Warwick, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF SINGLE AND
DOUBLE BARRELLED GUNS."
Sealed the 28th November 1862, and dated the 31st May 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Tipping Lawden
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
31st May 1862.
I, THOMAS TIPPING LAWDEN, Copartner with Caleb Lawden, trading under
the Style or Firm of Tipping and Lawden, Gun Manufacturers, of Birmingham,
in the County of Warwick, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF SINGLE AND DOUBLE BARRELLED
GUNS," to be as follows, that is to say :-
My improvements, firstly, apply to double and single barrelled guns, and
are confined to the action by which the breech is closed and exposed in that
description of breech-loading double or single barrelled guns known as
Lefaucheux," in which, instead of locking the barrel or barrels in position by
a lateral lever, I use a short vertical lever placed in front of the guard,
working on an axis formed in the trigger plate, and in connection with this
lever a circular or other formed pin is secured, that as the lever is placed up
parallel, or nearly so, with the barrel or barrels the plug or pin will be drawn
back, and by placing the lever in a vertical position, or at right angles, or

page_text: nearly so, with the lengthway of the barrel or barrels the pin will be forced
forward, taking into a circular or corresponding hole in a solid piece of iron or
steel formed with or secured on the lower side of the breech end of the barrel
or barrels, which passes down or through the part to which the barrel or
barrels are jointed, so that when it is necessary to expose the breech end of
the barrel or barrels the lever is pressed forward, which, as before stated,
relieves the barrel or barrels, permitting them to drop forward, so as to expose
the extreme breech for loading or cleaning, but by placing the barrel or barrels
in position and pulling back the lever they will be thoroughly secured. This
contrivance has great simplicity of action and economy of construction.
And my improvements, secondly, relate entirely to single-barrelled guns,
and are confined to the description that may be used as walking sticks, and
consist of a barrel, rifled or otherwise, fitted with a nose or ferrule for pro-
tecting its lower or muzzle end. The barrel is jointed by being tapped and
screwed about five-eighths from the muzzle upward, and this joint of the
barrel forms the breech for receiving the charge, using for this purpose the
metallic case cartridge and ball as now manufactured and sold extensively by
the firm of Tipping and Lawden in connection with "Sharp's Patent Repeating
Breech-loading Pistol," of which the said firm are sole licensees. The upper
portion of the tube completing the stick is fitted with a suitable handle having
a strong shank, which fits into the tube with a kind of bayonet joint, and to
which is attached the means of exploding the cartridge, which is effected in
the following way:-The barrel being charged and united requires to be held
firmly in the left hand, and then by slightly turning and pulling the handle
back a helical spring within will be compressed and retained in that position,
which is an equivalent for the half-cock motion in an ordinary gun cock, and
by further pulling back the handle it will be fully cocked, causing a stud to
slightly project beyond the outer surface of the tube, but which being suitably
pressed will free the detent within, thereby permitting the spring to suddenly
expand, forcing forward one, two, or more points, placed by preference near
the inner surface of the tube; these points strike the thin metallic base of
the cartridge and explode the detonating powder within, thereby discharging
the piece; but in an ordinary way, a gun so constructed may be loaded,
walked with, and used as a walking stick without for a moment endangering
the explosion of the cartridge, as the point or points before referred to cannot
act on the cartridge without first compressing the spring in the manner before
described, or the cartridge can be applied or removed with ease by simply
unscrewing the barrel.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Tipping Lawden in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 29th November 1862.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
TIPPING LAWDEN, Copartner with Caleb Lawden, trading under the Style or
Firm of Tipping and Lawden, Gun Manufacturers, of Birmingham, in the
Count of Warwick, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent. Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-fifth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Thomas Tipping Lawden, Her special license, that I, the said Thomas
Tipping Lawden, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Thomas Tipping Lawden, 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 CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS OF SINGLE AND 'DOUBLE BARRELLED
GUNS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Tipping
Lawden, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should par-
ticularly 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 Thomas Tipping Lawden, 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 (that is to say) :-
-:
My improvements, firstly, apply to double and single barrelled guns, and
are confined to the action by which the breech is closed and exposed in that
description of breech-loading double or single barrelled guns known as
"Lefaucheux's," in which, instead of locking the barrel or barrels in position
by a lateral lever, I use a short vertical lever placed in front of the guard,
working on an axis formed in the trigger plate, and in connection with this
lever a circular or other formed bolt or pin is secured, that as the lever is
placed up parallel, or nearly so, with the barrel or barrels the bolt or pin will
be drawn back, and by placing the lever in a vertical position, or at right angles,

page_text: or nearly so, with the lengthway of the barrel or barrels, the bolt or pin will b
forced forward, taking into a circular or corresponding hole in a solid lug o
iron or steel, formed with or secured on the lower side of the breech end o
the barrel or barrels, which passes down or through the part to which the
barrel or barrels are jointed, so that when it is necessary to expose the breech
end of the barrel or barrels the lever is pressed forward, which, as before stated,
relieves the barrel or barrels, permitting them to drop forward, so as to expose
the extreme breech end of the barrel or barrels for loading or cleaning; but by
placing the barrel or barrels in position, and pulling back the lever to its
former position, they will be thoroughly secured. This arrangement has great
simplicity of action and economy of construction, and offers facilities for loading
not hitherto attained.
And my improvements, secondly, relate entirely to single-barrelled guns,
and are confined to the description that may be used as walking sticks, or made
to assume a like kind of form, and consist of a barrel, rifled or otherwise, fitted
with a nose or ferrule for protecting its lower or muzzle end. The barrel is
jointed by being tapped and screwed or otherwise united about five-eighths of
its length from the muzzle upward, and by means of this joint the breech of
the barrel is exposed for receiving the charge, using for this purpose the
metallic case cartridge and ball as now manufactured and sold extensively
by the firm of Tipping and Lawden in connection with "Sharp's Patent
Repeating Breech-loading Pistol," of which the said firm are sole licensees.
The upper portion of the tube completing the stick or stock part is fitted with
a suitable handle having a strong shank, which fits into the tube with a kind
of bayonet joint, and to which is attached the means of exploding the
cartridge, which is effected in the following way:-The barrel being charged
and united requires to be held firmly in the left hand, and then by slightly
turning and pulling the handle back a helical spring within will be com-
pressed and retained in that. position, which is an equivalent for the half-cock
motion in an ordinary gun lock, and by further pulling back the handle it will
be fully cocked, causing a stud to slightly project beyond the outer surface of
the tube, but which being pressed will free the detent within, thereby per-
mitting the spring to suddenly expand, forcing forward one, two, or more points
placed, by preference, near the inner surface of the tube; these points strike.
the thin metallic base of the cartridge and explode the detonating powder.
within, thereby discharging the piece; but in an ordinary way a gun so
constructed may be loaded, walked with, and used as a walking stick without
endangering the explosion of the cartridge, as the point or points before referred
to cannot act on the cartridge without first compressing the spring in the

page_text: manner before described.. The cartridge may be applied or removed with ease
by simply unscrewing or turning and disconnecting the barrel.
But in order that I may be fully understood as to the nature and object of
my improvements, I will proceed to describe the Drawings hereunto annexed,
observing that the same parts as they occur in the various views are marked,
to avoid confusion, with the same letters of reference.
DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 represents a side view of a double-barrelled gun made as described
under the first head of my improvements, with the barrels in position for
shooting; nevertheless, the general detail appertaining to such improvements
would be identically the same in constructing a gun with one instead of two
barrels. A, A, is the right-hand side barrel, the other being obscured; B,
the stock; C, the fore end; D, the joint or axis, which secures the barrels to
the stock, as well as to permit them to drop down forward for the purpose of
loading, as exhibited in Fig. 2. E is the trigger guard; F and G the
triggers, and H the cock or hammer; I is the lock plate, and J a strong piece
of iron forming the knuckle for receiving the axis D, as also the strap that
extends back for receiving and uniting the stock, by screws passing through
it and the trigger plate K, K, seen only in the section Fig. 3, in which view
the principle of my Invention is well defined. In the part J a cavity is
formed for receiving the lug L, Figure 2, through which, in the direction of
the barrels, is a hole for receiving the pin, seen only in Figure 8, marked M,
and which pin is actuated by the lever N, which works through and on an
axis, secured to the trigger plate K; the upper end of the lever N has
a curved hook, which takes into a slot in the bolt M, and is held in position
by a small pin, better seen at Fig. 6, which represents the bolt M detached,
and in a reverse position to that shown in the last Figure. Fig. 4 represents
an end view of the breech end of the barrels A and A¹, as also the lug L,
with a circular hole through it for receiving the bolt M, and Fig. 5 is
a longitudinal section of the same part. From this.description it will be at
once seen that my improvements after all are but a modification of the general
construction of breech loaders known as "Lefaucheux's;" the cartridges to be
used with such.guns being provided with a projecting pin, which, when the
cartridge or cartridges are inserted in the breech of the barrel or barrels,.
projects upward to be struck by the cock in the act of discharging, in which
position the piece is represented at Figure 1 as discharged. At Figure 2 the
lever N bas been pushed forward, which has had the effect of drawing back
the bolt M, as seen at Figure 3, permitting the muzzle end of the barrels to

page_text: drop forward, thereby elevating the breech end for receiving the cartridge or
cartridges, the hammer or hammers, as at H, being placed at half-cock, and
the relative position of the parts is the same in this view as in the part section,
Figure 3, and for illustration I will imagine that the cartridge or cartridges
are inserted in the breech of the barrel or barrels, as represented at Figure 2,
the pin of the cartridge being represented at P, and the barrel or barrels
lifted up forward, when the lever N has only to be pulled down in the
position shown in Figure 1, when the barrels will be fixed firmly in
position for use. In the part of the lever N that comes in contact with
the fore part of the trigger guard, a small spring and pin is fixed, to form a
detent for preventing the lever moving from its position where not required;
a section of this lever with the spring and pin is shown detached at Fig. 7.
Fig. 8 represents a side view of my improved walking-stick gun with the
lower or muzzle end omitted for convenience of space, but which part is intended
to be protected by a screwed cap or ferrule. From the transverse line Q
forward constitutes the barrel proper, and from this portion to R forms a
case for holding the mechanism by which the piece is discharged, the trigger
being represented by the screw head S, and T the back' sight; U is the handle,
or in this case the stock, and is made available also for cocking the piece, as
will be hereafter scen. Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section of Figure 8 with the
handle U broken off for convenience; the barrel requires no further descrip-
tion beyond that it is reduced at the breech end and provided with a projecting
pin, as at V, and which projection, after passing through a longitudinal groove
on the interior of the part R, is then turned reverseley, when the projection will
pass around in a corresponding transverse groove, and the parts will become
united, the angular groove and projecting pin forming a kind of internal
bayonet joint. W is a plug firmly secured to the case R, and which plug is
represented detached in an end view at Fig. 10. This plug has two holes
drilled through it for receiving the prongs or points of the forked part
marked a, a, the prongs or points being united to a disc b, which again is
united to the part X, X, which extends up and passes through the fixed
part Y, Y, terminating with an enlarged head, shown in this view in dotted
lines at c, where it seats itself on a hollow tubular collar marked Z, and
which collar is connected to the part d and to the handle U; the part Z has
a parallel and right angular slot cut in it for receiving the screw marked e, e;
ff, is a detent kept elevated by a spring underneath it, this detent works on
an axis which passing through two lugs formed in the part Y at g, g, and to
the free end of this detent a projecting pin is secured, which forms the trigger,
marked S in Figure 8, but omitted in this view, and by holding the barrel

page_text: and parts in position, as shown in this Figure, and turning the handle U from
left to right, the fixed pin e will be brought in a line with the slot h, and
permit the handle to be pulled out to the extent of the slot, say five-eighths
of an inch, when the detent by means of the spring underneath will hold the
main portion X in the position exhibited at Fig. 11, or what may be termed
cocked, when the handle may be again pushed in, reversed, and locked in
position, and by comparing the relative parts and their positions as shown in
the two sections, the one being taken at right angles with the other, it will be
at once seen that by pressing the trigger S the detent will be elevated from a
notch formed on that part of X in contact with it, that the force of the com-
pressed helical spring bearing on the fixed lower surface of Y, and against the
regulating screw m, screwed on that part of X to which it is applied, the two
prongs or points here adopted will be instantly driven through the plug W, and
their lower ends coming in contact with the metallic cartridge hereafter to be
referred to, will cause the same to explode and discharge the piece, leaving all
the
parts conducing to this result as exhibited in Figure 9; the prongs or
points a, a, are composed of steel wire, and fit nicely the holes drilled through
the plug W, as before stated, and by this means the gas. from the explosion is
prevented ascending to the moveable parts which form or are equivalent to
the lock used in other guns. The cartridges I recommend to be used with
this description of fire-arms are composed of a small thin metal case, and are
identically the same that are used with "Sharp's Patent Repeating Breech-
loading Pistol," the firm of which I am a partner being sole licensees, but
will observed that in the exploding of these cartridges it is not essential that
the metal forming the case should be punctured, as the sharp blow from the
points before referred to will be found in a general way sufficient to discharge
the piece.
Having now given a general and concise description in what my improve-
ments consist, I wish it understood that I do not purpose confining myself
to the shape and details as exhibited, provided the spirit of my Invention be
preserved, as, for instance, the lever N and trigger guard E in Figures 1, 2,
and 3 may be varied in shape without affecting the object of my Invention
and the general external appearance of Figure 8, and the handle U may be
greatly diversified without affecting the general principles of the internal
arrangements; but what I claim and wish to protect by these my in part
recited Letters Patent is,-
First, the means of actuating the detent or principle of relieving or securing
breech-loading fire-arms as described and exhibited in Figures 1, 2, and 3,
and the detached Figures connected with the same.

page_text: Secondly, I claim the general combination in connection with walking-stick
guns, as exhibited in Figures 8, 9, and 11, without regard to the manner in
which the barrel is united to the action part, as the same may be effected as
herein described, or tapped and screwed if preferred.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Tipping Lawden, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of November, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two.
THOMAS TIPPING LAWDEN. (L.S.)
Witness,
JAMES S. COCKINGS, C.E.,
Patent Agent,
Birmingham.