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British Commercial Sea Service Musket

Date1760-1770

Maker Henry Blyth

OriginEngland, London

MediumIron, steel, brass and walnut

DimensionsOverall: 54 3/4" Barrel: 39 5/8" x .76 caliber

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1937-27

DescriptionBritish commercial "Sea Service" musket with unengraved lock and plain brass furniture including a flat buttplate and an incuse "Short Land" style inlet sideplate. No tailpipe, triggerplate or wristplate.Label TextEarly in the 18th century, Britain began arming its Navy with a musket that was more economically made than those specified for the Army. Usually shorter and more sturdily built, these arms were purely functional, and dispensed with unnecessary components like wristplates, tailpipes, triggerplates and engraved locks. By the second quarter of the century, distinctive "Sea Service" pattern muskets were being procured by the Board of Ordnance for the Royal Navy. Britain's gun trade followed suit with plainer versions for commercial sale. This London-made musket carries no official government markings, and is of the sort which would have been used by privateers sailing under the opposing flags of the Continental Congress and the British Crown alike.Mark(s)Lock engraved "BLYTH" in front of the cock and struck with a plain "crown" mark under the pan. Barrel struck with London Gunmaker's Company View & Proof marks, in addition to Blyth's maker's mark and the engraved number "29." Stock branded with a "W" over the partial date "779," being an unidentified inventory marking. Interior markings include "I.B" within an incuse crenelated rectangle on the underside of the breech and "I BUTTALL" cast into the reverse of the buttplate.