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"Queen Anne" Screw-Barrel Carbine

Dateca. 1730-1740

Artist/Maker William Hutchinson

OriginEngland, London

MediumWalnut, iron and steel.

DimensionsOverall: 39 1/4" Barrel: 23 5/8" x .66 caliber (across lands)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1960-745

DescriptionCoaching or horseman's screw-barrel carbine built in a manner identical to the "Queen Anne" pistols of the day. Integrally forged lock, breech and grip strap, all of which are engraved. Plain buttstock with a prominent comb and an engraved buttplate. Barrel is rifled, with 16 lands and grooves and a cannon-turned muzzle. Joining the barrel to the frame is a removable ring and slide-bar mechanism, which functions much like a "universal joint" when loading the carbine.Label TextClearly based on the popular "Queen Anne" screw-barrel pistol of the day, this rifled carbine is a great rarity. By lengthening the barrel, fortifying the breech and adding a buttstock, the clever gunsmith Hutchinson created a beautiful, graceful and powerful defensive firearm. Meant for use while traveling, this breech-loading carbine fired a ball which was slightly larger than its bore, and really packed a wallop.

Once owned by the Earls of Dunmore, this example is one of three similar "Queen Anne" screw-barrel carbines from their gun cabinet, which are now in the collection of Colonial Williamsburg.
Inscription(s)The Dunmore crest engraved on the wrist plate, and the barrel is engraved W. HUTCHINSON.Mark(s)The barrel carries the usual London Gunmaker's Company "View & Proof" marks, plus the "Crowned F" foreigner's mark.ProvenanceThe gun cabinet of the Earls of Dunmore to W. Keith Neal.