The OG Colt, with firearms expert Jonathan Ferguson
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- čas přidán 14. 11. 2023
- With only around 15 in existence, Jonathan gets up close with the original type of rotating revolver - the manually rotating carbine revolver.
Made nearly a century prior to the development and popularisation of self-rotating systems by Elisha Collier, Artemis Wheeler, and then Samuel Colt, this is a rare example of an 8-shot revolver from circa 1597.
Get up close with Jonathan Ferguson to see this beautifully decorated sporting gun and how it functions.
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The Maihaugen collection lists its weapon as "George Reichweins revolver of 1597". I remember getting a chance to see it a few years ago. Really spectacular! It has clear provenance to a General Reichweins from Hessen in Germany. He was living in Bergen, Norway around 1630s.
I can readily see that these were built in Central Europe, probably one of the German States given their metal working skills especially in clock and watchmaking. When the presenter mentions Nuremberg my first thought was the Nuremberg Egg.
Surely the man's name was Georg Reichwein. Reichsweins revolver means the same in german and english: The revolver of Mr. Reichswein. And George is in german Georg.
@@brittakriep2938 Mr. Reichswein or Mr. Reichwein?
@@IlIlllIIIllIIlIIlII : A writing error, in german language there are in historical context many words Reichs..., meaning belonging to the Reich / realm. In german grammar in this case an ,s' is necessary, so i accidently wrote Reichswein instead of Reichwein. For example Reichsritter, Reichsstadt, Reichsstand, Reichsapfel.... Reichwein, this name would be translated into english Richwine, so the namegiving ancestor had a lot of wine(yards?).
I wish we could see more recreations of these old firearms so we can see them in a working a condition
It's much cheaper to make clones of the AR and AK platforms. Making guns like this would take a considerable amount of time and appeal to a small market in the firearms community. I could see a recreation for a weapon like this costing 5k or more. Still be cool to see.
Maybe a talented artist, in the same vein of Click Spring, and his Antikythera mechanism replica project, could take up the challenge, and make one of these. Hopefully, they also have a CZcams channel and share their results.
Fantastic presentation as usual! Thank you for your tremendous contributions to the two books mentioned. Incidentally, ‘Wheelgun’ ended up being 144 pages long after I was through with it-I think it is fair to call it a fully fledged book!
Yes brilliant, Although, i wish John would stop saying the word cock (as a verb or a rooster. I mean to say, I understand the context, but he says it so often that it forms an disturbing image (to me) and you could, in concept, turn it into a drinking game. "Insert joke here" Haha ..........
Incredibly advanced technology for the 1500s, this would have been a tremendously expensive weapon even without the gorgeous decoration.
the only people who could afford it wouldn't have had it any other way
My favourite gun of this period is the 1625 breechloading wheellock that Ian at Forgotten Weapons showed in a video. That gun is a beautiful piece of art and a marvel of gun smithing for the time (breechloading with metal cartridges, nice sights for the period, etc).
Would that be kinda like the iron cartridge cannons, effectively pre-loaded breeches?
Thanks for the recommendation, another fine piece of history.
Thanks Jonathan and team, that is a really fascinating firearm. Even in its current condition, the decorative work on the stock is very nice to see. It must have cost a small fortune to make this back in about 1597.
you have the most perfect pronunciation of "Schloss" (Castle, not to be confused with "Schloss", which means lock... yes, same word) that i EVER heard.
Really? Wow, thank you. I pick up a few German words in this line of work, since Germany is so pivotal to the subject.
There is a previous example revolver pistol with a whelllock action circa 1580 in military configuration and made compleately made of iron , it is or was at the Bayerisches Armeemuseum ,Ingoldstadt Germany (inventory number A7382) . its mentioned and described ,see M. Morin "Armi e Letteratura nel 500" at Diana Armi N# 7 /1975.
its described as hand rotate cilinder for three shoots of the 15 caliber ,special wheellock self primed with iron stock with very few decorations a cone grip with a big ball at the end . hope this helps your future reseachs in this matter, salutes.
Very interesting, thank you - neither I nor 'Team Collier' seem to have a note of that one. Caveat - the other supposedly ca.1580 examples we've checked have proven to be later - very late 16th century as per the 15 I mention. But it's really important that we chase down all leads and this could even be that old. Thanks again.
@@jonathanferguson1211yure welcome i had that info in a book i purchased many years back a Spanish reedition of an italian original called Armi Antiche 1sr edition 1982 ARNOLDO EDITORE S.p.A. Milan. If you like i could send you a picture of the pistol i have in this book. Cheers!
Idk Jonathan helped in two new books...
Well you made my Xmas list easier for family members to get the perfect "me" gift
I know of *at least* two in Sweden (both in the Livrustkammaren), and now consequently of this one and one in Norway. Though the ones in Sweden (both from Nüremberg I believe, ca. 1600-1603) seem to be remarkably more pistol-like than this example.
I haven't yet had the privilege of studying them up close, but then again I was not there to look into them either.
amazing gun......1597 ffs!
@@user-po8ke5vh2e You'd be surprised by all attempts at making multi-shot firearms before the invention of the self-contained cartridge. Especially the attempts made in the 17th century.
Never used a gun. Never intend to. Still love the craftsmanship of them.
I figured it was only a matter of time before Ian & Co pulled Jonathan into their publishing. Kudos, and hope that you are working on a book of your own with them.
He already has the book is 'THORNEYCROFT TO SA80: British Bullpup Firearms, 1901-2020'
Looks simply fantastic!
Always informative and a beautiful view of early arms technology. Thanks.
Absolutely marvellous, cheers!
Great video, as always! I love playing guess the weapons on the racks behind Jonathan when I watch these. Thank you to the Royal Armouries !
Lovely piece of work
Fantastic! Thanks for the video!
Brilliant as always
This weapon is about as old today as a 1911 pistol would be in 2300 :)
The 1911 will probably still be in use with some still. 🤭
@@DB-yj3qc According to Starfield, yes.
Beautiful handmade metal work.
beautiful
Thank you. An interesting firearm.
Met this guy ! Top chap !
The norwegian one is in *Maihaugen Folk Museum* in *Lillehammer*
I mention Maihaugen in the video, or so I thought? edit - yes, at 11:00.
Just what I thought it was
Great 💯 Thank you Jonathan 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥
Aw, dang, I was hoping to see a live-fire of this beauty. Regardless, thank you for preserving this for posterity.
If only there where some eccentric rich Americans to fund a repro.
lol, this afternoon i just randomly searched "what was the first revolver ever made" and then a few hours later this gets uploaded.
We've got you!
That is utterly beautiful! I want one...
Whould love to see a video on the swan gun that's at the Rijksmuseum. The thing is huge
back in olden times just because something was decorated don't mean it wasn't used for fighting or hunting.
Bit like how you can get those hideous wraps for guns nowadays.
Humans do love to make their things look pretty (by their personal standards), and at the very least unique.
back in the times taking this out would be like takeing a G11 out.
one thing is for sure, room went silent fast.
I'm realizing I could not work for a museum doing this sort of thing, when he said stuff like he couldn't index the revolver or it's obvious that he doesn't want to touch the hammer and stuff like that. I don't know I would be able to help myself wanting to 'play with the toy' (messing with the mechanical bits) I already have a few firearm props just because I like doing things like cocking the hammer on them or working the slide, spinning the chambers on a revolver, etc
Would love to see a smith recreate these kinds of guns for the demonsration factor
Jonathan obviously realises this gun is as fragile as a cobweb. Don't fiddle with anything or you will destroy an irreplaceable relic. That is why all the sliding pan covers and the frizzen are missing because some ham fisted fool mucked about with it two or three hundred years ago when it was simply regarded as a funny old artefact of a bygone age.
Glad to see that Ian did not usurp you.
OOOH this is COOL!
There is a revolver and carbine in the Hessian Museum in Darmstadt.
Getting vibes of like post apoc or admech from this thing. Interesting design
Much better lighting and close ups than on other videos! The white table cloth does wonders is my guess.
An overhead cam showing what you look at would be better instead of watching you pointing at something on the side not facing the camera. If you turn it during a close up, rotate it slowly please. A close up view along the whole thing at the end would be nice to see all the surface details.
OLD guns the best guns
It would make sense to have an pan cover as you say who was pushed away, probably sideways, uncovering the powder and giving the flint something to strike against, I guess this would be an replaceable part who is locked.
We have a example in our museum in czech republic, the pan cover on our example is springloaded and moves forward when struck
Those weapons had been in 16th century HRE called ,Drehling' ( Turnling).
hello sir, would you also make a video about the Annely or PAUL DÜBLER revolvers in the future ? that would be nice !
1597 - INSANE - imagine this.....
1597.... holy
Man, why would someone scar that gun with that horrible stamp?
a clerk in a office who doesn't care probably. Or mor for proper numbers than looks.
Remember. There are "car enthusiasts" who would willingly chop up the sole remaining model of a low production classic in order to build a hot rod.
@@Thisandthat8908 I'm sure it was for numbering but couldn't they have marked it in a less conspicuous place or attached a removable label of some kind?
There is a similar weapon in the National Museum of Russia, in Moscow. Dated somewhat earlier than this (IIRC - it is over 20 years since I last visited) and with an alleged provenance from Russia itself. And (again, to the best of my memory) in much, much better condition. I was highly skeptical of the whole thing, Russia being prone to claiming it was the first in many, many things. I'm somewhat less skeptical now.
It's just amazing how early they were developing these types of Firearms. Imagine if someone had developed self contained ammo, back then and what we have today.
I've seen wheellock pistols with detachable chamber units, which would be basically that, you load the spare chambers with powder and ball (maybe also a patch), though you'd still need to prime the pan for each shot.
I suspect the limiting factor was the primer. Without a percussion fired detonation you are stuck with a flint lock firing mechanism and external priming. Fulminate of Mercury, the first percussion primer that I know of was discovered in 1800. That I think is what set off the small arms revolution.
@@francesconicoletti2547 Priming is a key element, yeah, but even with nice and good primers like that, people were pretty hesitant to combine it all into one unit, there were a lot of capping breech loaders before self-contained cartridges finally took off.
There is a bylaw from a town in Germany, dated 1510, that forbids the concealed carry under a cloak of "guns which fire by them selves", that is to say, wheellock pistols, the pre-cursors of snaphaunce and flintlock guns, because of the possible use for assassinations etc.
Medieval people were far from stupid.
I can't get over the feeling that it's been modified, but unless I missed it (I'm going to watch it again) it wasn't mentioned.
Do you get a cut from the book sales?
I recall a naval gun that had a revolving magazine. Was it a Puckley gun?
Puckle. It was never used in anger.
Oh nice a found a high capacity musket
That SSO lapel pin is just *chef's kiss*
Brilliant piece of symbolism. Cossack werewolf :)
Given that these were likely layed out by hand with no indexing mechanisms 4, 6 or 8 chambers in the cylinders make sense. In fact dividing a circle into 6 equal parts is the easist as we all should remember from geometery class. This must have been an absolutely gorgeous girearm when built. The one thing l wonder about is how dud they prevent chain fires. Some sort of partial ring around the cylinder possinly with a leather or felt seal?
We have no evidence of any measures against chain-fire, and in fact from what I've seen there wouldn't be room for a seal. I think they just winged it to be honest.
Too bad the subtitles were missing from this. As usual, the audio wasn't perfect, so I missed some of the commentary. Fascinating and very hansome piece, though.
We appreciate the feedback - sometimes subtitles can take a while to generate and process, they should be working now if you refresh!
@@RoyalArmouriesThere are still no subtitles.
CZcams subtitles doesn't like the way Jonathan says Colt, keeps writing Cult 😂
Anyway, i remember by great grandfather had something like this, hanging on his wall.
Is this museum at white tower?
Leeds.
@Johnathan, there is an Italian made repeating flintlock pistol, Ian from Forgotten Weapons did a video on it I think ten? years ago now? I forgot what is was called, but it was quite mechanically interesting. Do you know off hand what pistol I'm talking about? I think the name started with an L?
Lorenzoni. There are several magazine repeater designs ca.1640 onwards, incredibly. The Lorenzoni is a bit later but one of the more successful.
@@jonathanferguson1211 yes that’s it! Thanks I was pulling my hair out trying to remember that!
I could almost see something like this being used in some RPG game my the Gunner/Marksman/Gunslinger class character 😂
Yeah the caliber and the revolving parts would suggest to me that they hunted small game with this revolver. Like rabbits etc. Dont think deer or boar. What do you think?
Quite possibly. Rabbits, hares, birds on the ground.
The original Cheek Pistol!
I feel the original development of this system was simply to avoid the tedious task of ramming a load down the length of the barrel and just charge the more user-friendly cylinder instead. Was there a single shot swing out breech predecessor to this system perchance?
There were actually a few breechloading wheellocks made during that time period.
This man has a calculator watch in 2024. He is the head nerd.
The gun that discovered ‘chain fire’?
Did Puckle get his idea from this?
Samuel Colt never stated he invented the revolver. But he made every man equal that had one.
2:12 I guess I'm in luck, second correct guess in a row! 😊
7:29 It would be small bore for the period, but not necessarily for the region & application: I've read of the German or maybe Silesian wheellock fowling arquebuses of the late sixteenth century with bores as small as 8 or even 6 mm!
11:31 Although it seems that in a couple decades' time it was recognized that revolving pistols are worth making, judging by the early seventeenth century examples that are slightly more numerous.
Reloading, after the 8 shots have been fired, would probably not be done by the "lord" of the manor. He would have "people" to do things like that. The "Lord" and his guests for the hunt, would probably have a spot to eat while the gun was reloaded.
What animal has antlers & horns?
Eh? I'm saying that the GUN has antler and horn decoration :)
@@jonathanferguson1211 I figured that. I don't know of an animal with both, but there could be. I'm no animologist!
You mean zoologist, and no animal has both antler and horn.
@@korbetthein3072 yet! Gemo!
@@Iowa599 They're actually mutually exlusive. It grows horns or antlers, never both.
sam did what apple did....juts collected all in 1
I like the little tidbit of provenance of this firearm, to where some idiot stamped it so wrong, that they had to correct themselves 😂 85 -5- 6
Snazzy
The 8 shot capacity is making me think that a certain Canadian gunsmith was reading about this when he was designing another rifle
Garand was originally designed with a 10-round magazine before the Military commissioned it with the wider .30-06 cartridges
@@TheSundayShooter I know, just fun to draw historical links. No matter how fictional they may be
Spectacular. In a different era could be called steampunk?!
This type of thing demonstrates how we've lost our way, even the richest among us are mostly cauterized to true artistry.
Even as late as C19 engineering had at least an esthetic input (e.g. pumping stations). These days the tyranny of price trumps everything.
How many artisans are even capable of such work nowadays?
Granted the owner must have been richer than Elon...
clockworkpunk? coilspringpunk? xD
Or paid less the Elon
He's all, it doesn't do this, it doesn't do that, you manually have to do this, and I'm all wtf, it's a multi-chambered rotating cylinder gun from the 1500s.
My gold inlayed 1500s revolver is a POS.
Exactly how you say something and make me question how much your high class prostitutes cost you.
Try a pub, or your mom's house. Because you're out of touch.
Are they gonna try to ban it lol
I am guessing this isn't shoulder fired for the fact it has a pommel on the butt; and because people just didn't like doing that.
I do mention the fact that it's a cheek-stock in the video :)
So is the royal armouries a govt entity? I thought so, and thought he was just an employee/curator. But The title “keeper of firearms” makes me think ol Jonathan found a cheeky loophole in a weapon hating society.
In Britain, Royal tends to be used as a ceremonial equivalent of Government in departmental titles. Although sometimes it actually means belonging to the King. Keeper is an old term for curator.
No pommel and no bayonet? Dissapointed
love the level of autism and dedication !
It looks sort of clockwork, so this killed people in the olden days, would it kill people in modern times too? Say.. do the bullets come out slowly that I could outrun them?
Load, then prime. Insane otherwise.
it is always amazing to me that firearms became a thing given the risks involved with just handling gun powered and the dodginess of some of these weapons. i could see someone not closing some of the pans properly having a massive chain fire and blowing half their arm off.
still in this modern age we have dimwits still shooting themselves through bad gun safety go figure. cheers for the video but i think i will stick to my spear, sword and bow. far less chance of killing myself then messing with early firearms.
Why don't museums date these guns by the tree rings in their wood?
Considering the engineers & craftsmen could be pretty multi-cultural in the HRE members 'doms, who knows where the person come from who created this revolver? You mentioned Indian motifs? Oh you probably answer this in "Who Invented the 'Wheelgun'?" :D
Oh the maker of this was absolutely Germanic. The Indian counterparts I mention are 'convergent' in design and decoration to some extent but are later.
The paper targets in the background are cool, but not aesthetically pleasing.
A "Daft" revolver, let me guess, either English or Dutch, maybe even Belgian!
John Dafte was English. But the oldest self-rotating revolver is indeed Dutch and is in Colt's former collection (Wadsworth Atheneum).
:)
Awesome but extra long winded!
In what way, sorry? It's less than 15 minutes.
This content is for people who have a deeper interest and want to learn. Perhaps demolition ranch is more your speed
Bot. Why do you keep saying that. It's your opinion. Should he just cater to you? What about everyone else? Do they agree with you?