Les Mitrailleuses Ou Armes Mécaniques, Leur Role Dans les Operations Militaires. (Artillerie a Bras et Infanterie Mécanique). Système du Colonel Claxton. (Brochure for the Claxton firing mechanism mechanical machine gun: The Claxton Gun)

[Claxton, Colonel F.S.]

Published by L.Severeyns, Liege, 1869

About this Item

(Liege, Belgium?), Imprimerie de L.Severeyns, Rue de L Universitie. No date, but circa 1869 (the date hand written in ink on the title page and with a presentation book plate on the front pastedown dated November 8th, 1869). First edition. Octavo. (ii), 8pp. Illustrated with 8 folding plates. A very rare illustrated contemporary brochure with text in French for the mechanically operated rapid fire gun invented by the American Colonel F.S.Claxton during the American Civil War. According to online sources, Claxton s gun consisted of a pair of barrels mounted on a carriage with a mechanism that was operated by one man which cycled the ammunition feed and firing sequence alternately between one barrel and the other. A second man loaded the ammunition by hand into an ammunition feeder. The type shown in this publication appears to be a later 6-barrelled version similar to the example held at the Grand Curtius museum in Liege, Belgium. The intention with this version was that the three opposing pairs of barrels would be rotated as each pair started to overheat. Online sources state that the original two-barrelled version was trialed by Union forces during the Civil War but ultimately rejected as being too prone to malfunction, with an inconsistent rate of fire and overly fragile construction. The gun having been rejected for military service in the US, Claxton took the design to France producing this redesigned six-barrelled version which featured a protective folding shield for the gun crew and ammunition storage boxes mounted integrally to the wheeled carriage. The calibre was 25mm. This version was manufactured by the engineering firm of Lachaussee based in Liege, Belgium and that company s address is listed as the point of contact for enquiries at the end of the printed text. It seems that the gun was rejected by the French army for similar reasons to their US counterparts and apart from the example held at the Grand Curtius museum in Liege, it is unclear as to whether any further examples of the weapon were ever manufactured. This publication appears to be a brochure advertising the later six-barrelled version of the Claxton Gun. It consists of 8 pages of descriptive text followed by 8 folding plates including a very large (approximately 72cm by 47cm) plate showing the gun on its wheeled carriage. Another plate shows the gun s ammunition in section and 6 more illustrate dramatic scenes of the gun in use. This brochure is a rare survivor with seemingly no copies noted as being held in any institutional library worldwide, nor described or listed online. All of the plates have either been reinforced or mounted onto to acid-free paper and the brochure has recently been rebound in quarter calf with marble paper sides. There is minor loss to small areas on the large folding plate, mainly around its folds. Otherwise, this is a clean copy of a rare survivor in very good condition. NB The price of this item is variable dependent on your chosen payment method. Please feel free to make contact for further information and photographs of this item or to discuss payment options. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Seller Inventory # 687

Bibliographic Details

Title: Les Mitrailleuses Ou Armes Mécaniques, Leur ...

Publisher: L.Severeyns, Liege

Publication Date: 1869

Binding: Quarter-Leather

Condition: Good

Edition: First Edition.