|
VERY RARE GIFFARD PNEUMATIC FIREARMS CARTRIDGES –
PROPRIETARY LABELED SHOT CARTRIDGES IN EXCELLENT
CONDITION: Indeed a rare offering, these are
two proprietary labeled shot cartridges for the Paul
Giffard Pneumatic Arms invented during the mid-19TH
Century.
French engineer Paul Giffard came from a family with a
history of experimenting with compressed gasses. His
older brother, Henri had worked on developing airships,
and is credited with having made the world's first
powered flight in a dirigible on December 21, 1852.
Paul, who later developed the world's first successful
CO 2 powered gun, worked with his brother
before becoming involved in the liquefaction and
compression of gasses. Among his 200 patented
inventions are a pneumatic telegraph, which employed air
pressure contained within tubes to transmit messages,
and the now-familiar pneumatic tubes used at drive-in
banks and other businesses for fast delivery of
documents, currency, and other small items.
During the 1850s, Giffard patented a single-shot
pneumatic breech-loading gun that featured a pump and
air reservoir located under the barrel. In 1872, he
received a patent for a new gun design which utilized
removable cylinders containing compressed air,
compressed gas, or liquefied gas as the propellant.
These arms released the entire charge of propellant
with every shot, making it necessary to go through an
involved process to install a fresh cylinder for each
subsequent shot. This disadvantage prevented Giffard's
design from gaining widespread acceptance.
This same patent also secured a second gun design
featuring a large-capacity gas reservoir fitted with a
regulator by which the shooter could adjust the amount
of gas necessary for each shot. This regulator made it
possible to fire multiple shots from a single propellant
cylinder. It was this feature, coupled with Giffard's
adoption of CO 2 as a propellant that
resulted in the issuance of another patent during the
late 1880s for the first practical CO 2 gun.
These arms, which included pistol, rifle, and smoothbore
versions in 4.5mm, 6mm, and 8mm calibers, were produced
by the noted French arms maker, Manufacture Francais
d'Armes et Cycles de St. Etienne. The special
projectiles were offered in both solid bullets and
patented sabots containing a small load of shot.
The original French-manufactured designs featured a
cylindrical steel reservoir which was closed on one end,
while the other end contained a valve. This reservoir
was pressurized to 4,000 psi, which permitted the
shooter to fire between 40 and 60 shots. A
hammer-and-rod system was used to open the valve on the
CO 2 reservoir, releasing gas which then
traveled to the chamber via an internal channel.
Pressure could be regulated for long or short range
via an adjustable hammer stop which increased or
decreased the time the gas reservoir remained open.
These guns caused a stir in scientific and military
circles, as well as in the firearms manufacturing
community. Some military strategists of the time
expressed concerns that the silent nature of CO 2
guns might significantly impact the conduct of future
wars. In fact, Giffard believed that his invention held
the promise of making conventional arms obsolete. The
Colt Manufacturing Company was sufficiently concerned by
that prospect to pay one million dollars to purchase the
American rights to produce these guns, thus ensuring
themselves a dominant position in the U.S. market should
the Frenchman's prediction be accurate.
Unfortunately for Giffard - and ultimately for Colt
stockholders, this did not come to pass during his
lifetime. In the words of one British expert, "after
many experiments its promoters appear to have been
convinced that, save for small target or saloon rifles
and toy guns, the invention is practically useless."
The Giffard Gun and Ordnance Company he had established
in England went into voluntary liquidation in 1894, but
Giffard never gave up his belief that CO 2
guns would eventually replace conventional firearms. He
returned to France, where production of his guns
continued until his death in 1897.
While gas powered arms have never achieved the
ballistics and down range energy of modern metallic
cartridges, in recent years large bore gas powered arms
have become viable in the hunting and shooting
community, capable of taking even large and dangerous
game at reasonable ranges.
These two original P. Giffard shot cartridges are in
excellent condition, retaining their full paper wrapping
with printed company legend still fully legible. The
two – one 6mm and the other, 8mm – bear the printed
legend “P. GIFFARD” and “BREVETE”, French for
“patented”. Each cartridge retains the green hardened
clay-like substance top and bottom of the paper cylinder
which retain the shot load within. There is no
separation or significant wear to either paper wrapper,
and only minor signs of handling on the top and bottom
rims. For all intent and purposes, these two
cartridges could be considered to have survived in “like
new” condition.
Anything but common, the rarity of these original
Giffard labeled cartridges cannot be overstated. This
pair of specimens would be virtually impossible upgrade.
(0422) $250
|
