A Globe Reservoir Air Rifle by Mortimer circa 1800

To enquire about this item
please click here

Price: £5,400

Ref: 62080703

Item Description

A fine breech loading Globe Reservoir Air Rifle dating to circa 1800 by Mortimer, mounted with a sighted multi-grooved rifled barrel of tapering round section for lead ball projection. For its time this is a sophisticated pre-charged pneumatic weapon featuring a distinctive iron globe underneath the fore-end designed to hold compressed air. The breech and cock are nicely engraved with floral designs and stands of arms inside chevroned borders. The action retains much of its original blued finish. The figured walnut stock is chequered at the wrist and mounted with an engraved butt plate.

Globe Reservoir Air Rifles were surprisingly powerful for their time, often  exceeding the lethal energy of contemporary smooth bore muskets. They could easily kill medium sized game and inflict fatal wounds at ranges of 100 to 150 paces, which made them viable for both hunting and military use. A newly fully pressurised reservoir could achieve muzzle velocities of  800–900 feet per second. However, velocity would reduce as more balls were shot which would steadily weaken the pressure in the reservoir until it needed to be pressurised again.    

Today historic Globe Reservoir Air Rifles of this type are relatively little known compared to contemporary flintlock military muskets and sporting guns. They were made form circa 1770 to the 1830’s when they were much more high profile. For example the Girandoni Air Rifle, designed around 1779 by Italian inventor Bartolomeo Girandoni, was the first repeating air rifle to see official military service, adopted by the Imperial Austrian Army under Emperor Joseph II. An air rifle was also carried on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

High-end rifles like our example are state of the art for these weapons. They were very expensive to manufacture mainly because they took twice the time to produce compared to more usual flintlock guns because of the highly developed skills required to make the parts, particularly the reservoir, to safely utilise, maintain and deliver the high pressures involved.

Although there were advantages over powder, compared to traditional muskets and sporting guns there were operational drawbacks and inconveniences. Filling the reservoir required over 1,000 strokes with a hand pump to achieve the optimum pressure. Using still relatively undeveloped technology in the manufacture of the reservoirs there was the risk of explosions which could be fatal for the user or others nearby.  Generally they were quite delicate and mostly unsuited to rough handling.

The rifle described here is a “high end” item made as a sporting gun. Limited numbers of these luxury items were made. Prominent London gunsmiths, including the Mortimer dynasty, Durs Egg, and William Parker, crafted high-end globe reservoir sporting rifles and target pistols for the aristocracy. In the 1830s they were gradually replaced by Air Rifles with the “butt reservoir” system.

The action of this rifle is top loading operated by a sprung lever mounted on the off-side. The maker MORTIMER is engraved in an escutcheon on the off-side and LONDON is stamped on top of the barrel near the breech.

The Mortimer dynasty was founded by Harvey Walklate Mortimer in London who worked from circa 1772 until his retirement in 1811. He was a maker of high quality guns who secured a royal appointment to King George III in 1783. He usually signed signed his work MORTIMER as with our rifle. Different members of the family that later became gunmakers differentiated themselves by adding initials in front to their surname. Hence the name MORTIMER is thought to be that of the founder.

 The mechanical parts are in tight good order and the rifle is in fine condition. The barrel length is a 30.5 inches (77.5 cm) and overall the rifle is 47.5 inches (121 cm) long.