Percussion cap maker.

[Seabird]

Some of my relatives (mostly women) are listed as 'percussion cap makers' in the 1861 census. I'm assuming this is something to do with the gun trade. Can anyone confirm? They were living around the Bradford St. area in Bordesley.

 

[paul stacey]

Seabird percussion caps were used on the old mussel loader rifles (Not muskets) the cap fitted on a nipple end the hammer struck this and caused an explosion to take place which fired the weapon. I would imagin they worked in the ammunition manufactoring Industry.
paul

 

[ChrisM]

A history of Kynoch, which became the largest Birmingham ammunition manufacturer, contains a bit about the background of percussion cap manufacture in the inner city:

...........Birmingham has long been one of the great centres of the gunmaking trade. By the middle of the nineteenth century, developments in the design of firearms and ammunition had brought into being thriving ancillary industries of cartridge and percussion cap manufacture. The lack of respect then accorded to highly explosive raw materials was, by today's standards, truly terrifying. The newspapers of the time reported with monotonous regularity (and a wealth of gruesome detail) disastrous explosions in tiny, congested factories, packed with explosives, warmed by open fires and illuminated by inefficient oil lamps. Many of the victims - the more fortunate of whom died at once - were children 10-14 years old, whose small unskilful fingers dabbled the day long in fulminate of mercury and other treacherous compounds.

This was the world George Kynoch entered when, in his early twenties, he joined the percussion cap business of Pursall and Phillips in Whittall Street, not far from the centre of Birmingham............ in less than five years he had taken over the business, moved it to a new site, and formed the nucleus of an industrial enterprise which was to expand with phenomenal rapidity and survive for more than a hundred years.

The circumstances in which these surprising events came to pass emphasised the quality which dominated Kynoch's complex personality - an irresistible urge to seize any promising opportunity, however eccentric. Late in 1859, the Whittall Street factory was totally destroyed in an explosion which killed 19 of its 70 employees, gravely injured many others and severely damaged surrounding property. Although the business was restarted in other city premises, the stern deprecations of the coroner, and the still more outspoken comments of the press, had at last convinced public opinion and the local authorities that a densely populated area was "unsuitable for places where gunpowder or detonating substances are necessarily used", and it was obvious that some measure of control over the location of such activities was imminent.

In September 1861, Mr. Pursall applied to the West Bromwich magistrates for a licence to erect a powder magazine and percussion cap manufactory at Witton, some 3 miles north-west of Birmingham; the premises would be at least 200 yards from any dwelling and 100 yards from the railway...........​

(Source: "Under Five Flags - June 1962")

Chris

PS Wendy posted a list of the victims of the Whittall Street disaster here. (Post #15)

 

[ASTONITE]

A photo of Kynoch,apologies if it's been on before.View attachment 63279

 

[JohnO]

I once had an old, all-steel, flintlock pocket-pistol of around 1820 and subsequently converted to percussion-caps. I believe the caps contained fulminate of mercury, rather than the old black powder.

 

[Seabird]

Thanks very much for the detailed replies. As I suspected, it was not a pleasant occupation. This is a branch of the family I've only just found but I won't be surprised to discover a few early deaths amongst them. Thanks again guys.

 

[izzy eckerslike]

Percussion caps are still available to buy in different sizes from specialist firearm dealers, they are made of copper and don't actually contain anything much more explosive than you would find in a common Swan vestas match (which will also go bang if you hit one with a hammer) I have a little round tin somewhere with number one size caps for pistols, larger sizes were made for various weapons including even cannons towards the end of the muzzle loading era.

They were also used in vast quantities on early Colt 6 shooter revolvers in the wild west before true cartridges were made. the guns had a little built in ramrod to push the bullet down each chamber followed by a cap on the nipple,
Whilst you spent several minutes doing that under attack the Apache Indians would probably have filled you with arrows and taken your scalp

 

[paul stacey]

funny you talking about the explosive qualitys of swan vesta matches Izzy, during the bad winter of 62/3 I was down in Tidworth Garrison, in some old nissen huts, the type with 2, of those old pot belly stoves with the pipe chimmneys for heating, anyway a lad called Larry Brown from Devon, not the brightest of chaps had a cocoa tin full to the brim with swan vesta heads??, decided for reasons best known to himself to drop it into the fire of one of these stoves. Well the resulting explosion was heard the far side of the camp and roused the guard and piquetmen, (I heard later that they thought it an IRA attack) it blew the stove pipe 40 meters and blew out three windows set fire to some beds and put him and another bloke in sick bay for a month with quite bad burns, I never saw either of them again so summised they got slung out.
paul