Lacquer finish on Cook & Brother Musketoon

[Michael Comer]

On pg 40-41 of EOG Confederate there is a photo of said weapon with a caption that includes the following: "The barrels of most, if not all, of the guns were finished with brown lacquer."

I have never heard of such a finish and wondered if someone could shed some light on it. Was it a clear lacquer with brown pigment, a lacquer/paint mixture, or is it a misnomer for a regular browned barrel?

[Dan Wambaugh]

Re: Lacquer finish on Cook & Brother Musketoon

Michael,

In some of my other CS arms books there are much better pictures of Cook and Brother arms and it is definitely a brown lacquer, not a confusion for browning. Interestingly enough the barrels were also twisted in the opposite direction of the rifling, as this was thought to make them stronger.

Truly one of the most unique CS-made arms...can't beat Confederate Enfields made by immigrant Englishmen!