IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Thackeray Abbey, of Chicago, Illinois,
in the United States of America, but now residing at Birmingham,
in the County of Warwick, Gun Manufacturer, for the Invention
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Thackeray Abbey
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 21st July 1869.
I, GEORGE THACKERAY ABBEY, of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States
of America, but now residing at Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Gun Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BREECH-LOADING FIRE-ARMS," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to breech-loading fire-arms of the kind
commonly called drop-down guns, that is to say, breech-loading guns
in which the barrels turn upon a joint so as to bring their open breech
ends against the face of the break-off for discharge, or to raise the said
open ends above the break-off for charging the barrels.
My Invention consists of the arrangement or combination of parts
therein-after described for the purpose of securely fixing the open ends

page_text: of the barrels against the face of the break-off during discharge. The
bolt ordinarily employed for fixing down the barrels during discharge
is situated underneath the barrels and takes into a lump made on the
under side of the barrels. The said bolt while effectually holding down
the barrels has no power to resist the tendency of the face of the break-
off and the ends of the barrels to separate during discharge and thereby
to permit an escape of gas, the only resistance to this tendency being
the strength of the materials of which the parts are made. In order to
remedy this defect I employ a vertical bolt working in the break-off,
and I elongate the rib between the barrels so as to make it project
over the top of the break-off. In a hole in the said projecting piece of
the rib the said bolt when raised engages, and thereby locks the ends of
the barrels and the face of the break-off together. The said vertical
bolt is worked by the lever which actuates the ordinary locking bolt, a
heel or projection on the said lever engaging in a slot in the said
vertical bolt. When the said lever is pressed so as to withdraw the
locking block it also depresses the said vertical bolt, and the breech ends
of the barrels can now be raised for charging. On shutting down the
barrels the lump pressing on the end of the ordinary bolt causes it to
recede, and by its action on the lever also causing the vertical bolt to
descend. When the barrels have been shut down the ordinary bolt snaps
into the lump, and the vertical bolt rises into the slot in the projecting
piece at the top of the barrels. The barrels are thus securely held down,
and their ends at the same time are firmly locked against the face of
the break off.
My improvements are applicable to single barrel drop-down guns as
well as to double barrel dron-down guns
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Thackeray Abbey in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 17th January 1870.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
THACKERAY ABBEY, of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States of
America, but now residing at Birmingham, in the County of Warwick,
Gun Manufacturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of July, in the year

page_text: of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine,. in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said George Thackeray Abbey, Her special
licence that I, the said George Thackeray Abbey, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George Thackeray
Abbey, 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," upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Thackeray Abbey, 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 George Thackeray Abbey, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement thereof, that is to say :-
My Invention relates to breech-loading fire-arms of the kind com-
monly called drop-down guns, that is to say, breech-loading guns in
which the barrels turn upon a joint so as to bring their open breech ends
against the face of the break-off for discharge, or to raise the said open
ends above the break-off for charging the barrels.
My Invention consists of the arrangement or combination of parts
herein-after described for the purpose of securely fixing the open ends of
the barrels against the face of the break-off during discharge. The bolt
ordinarily employed for fixing down the barrels during discharge is
situated underneath the barrels and takes into a lump made on the under
side of the barrels. The said bolt while effectually holding down the
barrels has no power to resist the tendency of the face of the break-off
and the ends of the barrels to separate during discharge and thereby to
permit an escape of gas, the only resistance to this tendency being the
strength of the materials of which the parts are made. In order to
remedy this defect I employ a vertical bolt working in the break-off, and.

page_text: I elongate the rib between the barrels so as to make it project over the
top of the break-off. In a hole in the said projecting piece of the rib
the said bolt when raised engages and thereby locks the ends of the
barrels and the face of the break-off together. The said vertical bolt is
worked by the lever which actuates the ordinary locking bolt, a heel or
projection on the said lever engaging in a slot in the said vertical bolt.
When the said lever is pressed so as to withdraw the locking bolt it also
depresses the said vertical bolt, and the breech ends of the barrels can
now be raised for charging. On shutting down the barrels the lump
pressing on the end of the ordinary bolt causes it to recede, and by its
action on the lever also causing the vertical bolt to descend. When
the barrels have been shut down the ordinary bolt snaps into the lump
and the vertical bolt rises into the hole in the projecting piece at
the top of the barrels. The barrels are thus securely held down, and
their ends at the same time are firmly locked against the face of the
break-off.
My improvements are applicable to single barrel drop-down guns as
well as to double barrel drop-down guns..
Having explained the nature of my Invention I will proceed to
describe, with reference to the accompanying Drawings, the manner in
which the same is to be performed.
Figure 1 represents partly in longitudinal vertical section and partly
in elevation a double barrel breech-loading drop-down gun to which my
Invention is applied, the stock and hammers of the said gun being
omitted, the barrels of the gun being represented locked in their place
for discharge. Figure 2 represents a plan of the same; and Figure 3
represents the said gun in longitudinal section after the barrels have
been raised from the break-off for loading, and exhibits the positions
which the locking bolts take on their withdrawal to release the barrels.
Figures 4 and 5 represent the locking bolts separately. The same letters
indicate the same parts in each Figure of the Drawings.
a, a, are the barrels turning in a vertical plane upon the centre at b;
c is the break-off, against the face of which the open breech ends of the
barrels a, a, are held during discharge; a' is the rib between the barrels,
and as is the elongated part of the rib projecting over the top of and
taking into a recess in the break-off c; d, d, are the ordinary lumps on
the under side of the barrels a, a, in which lumps the ordinary locking
horizontal bolt e engages to lock or hold down the barrels to the body of

page_text: the gun. The said bolt e is shown separately in plan and edge view in
Figure 4. fis the vertical bolt sliding in the vertical opening at h in the
break-off c. The vertical bolt f is shown separately in Figure 5. The
said vertical bolt works in a slot i in the horizontal bolt e.
In the pro-
jecting piece a³ of the rib is a hole a in which the upper contracted
end f of the bolt f takes when it is raised in the break-off in the
manner represented in Figure 1. The hole a', in the projecting piece of
the rib is wider at bottom than at top to permit the said projecting piece
to readily pass over the end f of the bolt f when the barrels are shut
down. The horizontal bolt e and vertical bolt f are worked by the
lever k, k, which ordinarily actuates only the horizontal bolt e, but the
construction of the said lever is modified for the purposes of my Invention.
The said lever k, k³, turns on the centre ³, and its upper arm k³ enters a
recess e in the bolt e. The vertical bolt fis raised by the heel of the
lever, and is depressed by the projection or forked branch on the said
lever working in a slot in the bolt f. A spring m passes through the
slot in the bolt fand bears against the upper projection or branch ko
of the lever. When the parts of the gun are in position for firing, as
illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the locking horizontal bolt e is engaged
with the lumps d, d, and the barrels a, a, are held down, the end f* of
the vertical bolt f is also engaged with the projecting picce a³ of the
rib a, and the open breech ends of the barrels are locked against
the face of the break-off, and the escape of gas between the said
barrels and break-off prevented. When it is wished to unlock the
barrels a, a, for recharging the gun the lever k is pressed in the direction
indicated by the arrow in Figure 1 and the said lever turned on its joint.
By the motion of the lever its upper arm withdraws the horizontal
bolt e, and the projection or branch of the said lever at the same time
pressing on the bottom of the slot of the vertical bolt withdraws the
upper end of the said bolt from the hole a' in the projecting piece a³
over the break-off. The spring m is also compressed. The barrels being
thus unlocked their breech ends rise, and the parts assume the respective
positions represented in Figure 3. On loosing the lever k the spring m
restores the two bolts e, f, and lever k to the positions represented in
Figure 1, that is, on the return motion of the lever k by the action of
the spring m the heel k* of the lever bearing against the bottom of the
bolt f lifts the said bolt, and the arm k² of the lever at the same time
shoots the bolt e. On shutting down the barrels a, a, after they have
been charged the inclined edge d² of the forward lump d acting against

page_text: the fore end of the bolt e withdraws the said bolt, and causes by the
operation of the lever the vertical bolt f to be depressed, the said bolts
assuming the positions represented in Figure 3. When the barrels have
been completely shut down the bolt e snaps into the lumps d, d, and the
vertical bolt frises in the hole a' in the projecting piece of the rib. The
barrels are thus securely held down, and their ends at the same time
firmly locked against the face of the break-off.
The horizontal bolt e is no part of my Invention; the said bolt e
however differs from that ordinarily employed in having the opening i
through which the vertical bolt fpasses.
In applying my Invention to single barrel guns I forge on the rear
end of the barrel a projecting piece similar to the projecting piece as of
the rib for the vertical bolt to engage in.
Having now described the nature of my Invention, and the manner
in which the same is to be performed, I wish it to be understood that I
do not limit myself to the precise details herein described and repre-
sented, as the same may be varied without departing from the nature
of my Invention; but I claim as my Invention, the improvements in
breech-loading fire-arms of the kind called drop-down guns, herein-
before described and illustrated in the accompanying Drawings, that is
to say, combining with the ordinary horizontal locking bolt of the said
guns a vertical bolt working in the break-off, and taking into a hole in
a projecting piece of the rib (or, in the case of single barrels, in a pro-
jecting piece at the top of the barrel) for the purpose of firmly locking
the open end or ends of the barrel or barrels against, and preventing
their separation from the face of the break-off during the discharge of
the gun, the said vertical bolt being combined with the ordinary hori-
zontal bolt, and the two bolts worked by one lever, substantially as
described and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Thackeray Abbey, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Eighteenth day of August,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty
nine.
GEORGE THACKERAY ABBEY. (L.S.)