Royal sporting guns at Windsor

[DT Fletcher]

"Royal sporting guns at Windsor" by Howard Blackmore. A good number of airguns are shown and some even disassembled. The cover picture is a Kolbe airgun.

To my knowledge, this is the only book that even touches on the Royal airgun collection of George IV. No doubt there are many interesting things to learn. George IV, has his image problems, but his knowledge of things like airguns of his time was probably second to none, other than maybe col. Thornton "A Sporting Tour Through Various Parts of France"

It's always been a bit of mystery to me why apparently so little interest in the history of air guns around the Napoleonic era in the UK.

[ccdjg]

I had never heard of this book, and even if I had I would not have assumed that it dealt with airguns at all. It is readily available from ABE Books for £10 upwards and I have just bought a copy. Many thanks for the heads up.

[DT Fletcher]

Blackmore is very good. Although not air gun specific, he pays good attention to them.

[DT Fletcher]

Page 12:
"Far more to the Prince's liking was the air gun which he could use in the comfort of his home and in front of a more appreciate audience. Mrs. Thomas Creevey, one of his select circle of friends describing a cosy dinner party at Brighton on 29 October 1805, wrote: 'Afterwards the Prince led all the party to the table where the maps lie, to see him shoot with an airgun at the target placed at the end of the room. He did it very skillfully, and wanted al the ladies to attempt it. The girls and I excused ourselves on account of our short sight, but Lady Downshift hit a fiddler in the dining room, Miss Johnstone a door and Bloomfield the ceiling.... I soon had enough to this retired to the fire with Mac.'"

Here's the original source, The Creevey Papers, pg 66

http://archive.org/details/creeveypa...eeuoft/page/66