Claire Tole-Moir
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Lot 57
A rare George Adams brass gunner's rule, English, circa 1770,
31 October 2017, 13:00 GMT
London, KnightsbridgeSold for £7,500 inc. premium
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Catherine King
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A rare George Adams brass gunner's rule, English, circa 1770,
signed Geo. Adams London, the rectangular rule well engraved on both sides with various tables for determining the amount of powder needed for various brass and iron guns and carronades, brass and iron mortars, wall pieces, muskets, carbines and pistols. Lettered In the Table of Brass Guns G.D.signifies Genl. Desagulieurs. To find the No. of Shot in a square or oblong Pile from 3 times the longest side subt. the shortt. 1 x by the shortt. that Product x by shortt. +1 & Divided by 6 = the No. in the Pile, 8 1/2in (21.5cm) x 2 3/4in (7cm)
Footnotes
Lieutenant- General Thomas Desaguliers FRS (1721 -1780) began his military career in 1740, enrolling as a cadet in the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Over the next few years, he was steadily promoted, until exactly five years later to the day, he was promoted to Captain.
Following his return from service in Flanders and the battle of Fontenoy, Captain Desaguliers was made chief fire master at the Woolwich Arsenal in 1748, a post which he maintained until his death in 1780.
As the first scientific maker of cannon and first regular investigator into the powers of gunnery in the English army, Desaguliers was able to test his ideas and improvements in siege artillery on a larger scale in 1761 when he accompanied the expedition to the island of Belleisle.
Upon his return, Desaguliers devoted the rest of his life to his experiments, greatly assisting the British military. He is remembered particularly for his invention of a method in which to fire small shots from mortars and some of the earliest experiments with rockets.
He brought a refreshing approach to the art of cannon making and gunnery, reflected through his election as a Fellow of the Royal Society, shortly before his death in 1780, by which point he had reached a ranking of Lieutenant- General.