Images(2)

Indian Trade Fusil

Dateca. 1750-1760

Artist/Maker John Bumford

OriginEngland, London

MediumBeech, iron, steel, brass and paint or stain

DimensionsOL: 62 1/2" Barrel: 46 1/4" x .59 caliber

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1981-5

DescriptionExtremely light flintlock trade musket with engraved brass mounts, an English-style lock, an octagon-to-round smoothbore barrel and painted or stained floral decoration on the stock.
Label TextAs early as the 1620s, longarms had risen to the top of the list of goods Native Americans wanted in return for trade items like furs. By the last part of the colonial period, trade guns had become smoothbore longarms incorporating the specific features demanded by the Indians. Unlike the sturdy, heavy muskets carried by soldiers, they wanted very light guns called fusils (or fusees), mounted with engraved brass furniture and often painted or decorated stocks.

The British were more than happy to supply the Indians with such firearms for a couple of reasons, one economic and the other practical. Being slightly built, they were relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easily broken; and when they did break, the customer would return to acquire another fusil in trade. Furthermore, since alliances were often tenuous, one day's ally could be the next day's enemy, and it was better to have a poorly equipped adversary than a well-armed one.

This example, replete with its original painted or stained floral decoration, is believed to be the sole surviving example from the period of the French & Indian War with this feature still evident. When one considers how frail this fusil really is, it seems almost miraculous that it has come down to us in such good condition.
MarkingsLockplate engraved BUMFORD. Breech struck with London Proof & View marks in addition to the fleur-de-lis over "IB" mark of the maker.
ProvenanceWebster A. White, Freeville, NY

Exhibition(s)