MODERN TOY

1800

Incomplete cast copper alloy toy cannon, described as if it were a functioning cannon. The terminal of the breech end of the cannon has a rounded knop or cascabel button which has two incised circumferential lines and is 4 mm in diameter. The first base ring is 9 mm in diameter and is 3.4 mm from the first astragal (moulding encircling the barrel of the cannon), which is 7.5 mm in diameter, and on either side of the vent or touch hole, which is 1.5 mm in diameter. The circular base of a trunnion, 3 mm in diameter, remains on either side of the second astragal that is half way along the barrel, so that the two trunnions would have been opposite each other but are now missing. These cylindrical trunnions sat in the top of the cheeks of the gun carriage and enabled the piece to be elevated and mounted on to a wooden wheeled carriage like that depicted in Bailey (1993) on page 37, No.12. There is a muzzle astragal that flares outwards and has a maximum diameter of 7.6 mm, and between the first and second astragal, and the second and muzzle astragal, are pairs of incised circumferential lines. Within the muzzle there is a small bore size of 4mm in diameter. The end of the mouth is full of iron corrosion product from the iron shot, so that the length of the bore cannot be determined. The cannon was probably a working model and miniature cannon such as this example may not have been toys for children but may have been used by adults.Bosomworth (1992) illustrates a similar brass toy cannon, with a ring around the muzzle and a pin through the middle of the barrel, on page 317, No.16124, which is dated from the Victorian period.Bailey (1993) illustrates a similarly ornate example on page 37, No.11, which is dated from the 19th century.