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Engraved Maps on Powder Horns
- By The Map Collector
- Published 1 December 1985
- Maps , Arms and Armour
- Unrated
The Map Collector
The Map Collector, initiated by Peter Scott and Valerie G. Newby, was a journal on historical cartography published every quarter. The first issue appeared in 1997 and continued for nearly 20 years. After 74 issues the last copy appeared in Spring 1996. Mrs. Valerie G. Newby, is presently editor of the IMCoS Journal.
www.imcos.org
by John S. du Mont
The author of this article is an American with an unusual collecting interest — engraved powder horns. The golden age of powder horns only lasted for about thirty to forty years during the eighteenth century but it was an art form which was pure americana and quite fascinating. Here he describes the history of those horns which were engraved with maps.
MAPS ON COW HORNS? As improbable as this may seem, over 200 years ago these rare collectors' items did exist — and still do.
Most students of eighteenth century military history are familiar with the cow horn that carried a soldier's supply of black powder. This was used as a propellant for the lead ball fired by his flintlock, musket, fowler or rifle. It was light, tough and spark-proof. Wooden plugs were fitted in the base and the spout, making the horn virtually waterproof. In fact, they often floated when dropped in water. By placing the raw horn in boiling water and potash, the small amount of pith inside was readily removed and the wooden base plug shrank to a tight fit when the horn dried. The owner, carefully scraping and shaping the outer surface of the horn could, if he wished, make it almost translucent, and this allowed him to tell how much powder was inside.
Almost every American male for the twenty to thirty years after about 1755 carried a powder horn for use in hunting or war. By its curvature, the horn fitted his body when suspended from a shoulder strap, regardless of whether he was left or right handed — almost as though it was designed to do so! And horns were cheap. Besides the local supply, thousands were imported from England for a few pennies apiece.
While these horns became a part of the soldier's equipment he was expected to supply, the black powder to fill them was carried by the army in kegs riding in supply wagons or stored in magazines in forts. When horns required filling they were taken to the wagons or magazines. In order to ensure that he got his own horn back each soldier had to mark it with some means of identification. Some scratched their name or mark on the horn with the point of a knife, and eventually, those with more artistic ability than others began to decorate them with various designs, quite beyond simple names or initials.
Some decorated their horns with drawings of the fort where they were stationed — with pictures of birds, animals, ships, towns or foliate designs and some drew maps of the area in which they served militarily.
The practice of engraving powder horns may have been a carry-over from European tradition since some seventeenth century European horns were steamed, flattened and decorated with foliate designs and hunting scenes. But the map horn is probably a strictly American innovation which reached its apogee during the fourth French and Indian War (1755-1763) in America, or as it was known in Europe, the 'Seven Years War.' Obviously, some makers were more artistic and skilled than others and soon found themselves employed making decorative horns for other soldiers, trading their handiwork for money or onerous duties which they wished to escape. In winter, with time hanging heavy on soldiers' hands, some very fine examples of this primitive art form were produced.
Engravers began to form engraving tools, superior to the knife, and the more advanced craftsmen rubbed soot from camp fires and various stains made from berries into the cuts, producing a pleasant polychrome effect. The finest horns, which we term 'professionally' engraved were probably done by army topographical engineers who were doing nothing more than they did regularly on oilskin or map paper. Wearing a finely decorated horn became something of a status symbol and many officers sported splendid examples of the engraver's art. Some English officers brought them home as souvenirs of their campaigns and there is evidence that upon seeing them, competent engravers in England turned out duplicates for admiring officers, but strangely enough, copying only American scenes and maps, including the phonetic spelling of fort and place names — many of which had Indian derivations.
Perhaps the most elaborate map horns extant are those owned by the 11th Earl of Eglinton, Archibald Montgomerie, Lt. Col. of the 77th Regiment in 1757. Unlike many map horns that had the British Royal Arms engraved on them, Montgomerie's usually carried his own arms and it is believed that he, at one time, owned six of these horns. On professionally made examples, produced for sale, a cartouche was left in the centre on which the owner's name would later be cut. Some horns show no name, indicating that the horn was probably never sold.
A map horn was said to serve a two-fold purpose: besides carrying a soldier's powder, it gave him the location and direction of forts, waterways, towns and landmarks in the area in which he was campaigning. The validity of this claim is questionable. Due to the ovoid shape of the horn, neither the scale nor the points of the map were accurate. While it may have been of some basic use — as some map horns carried compass points — it is likely the map served its best use as a souvenir of the area in which the owner served. Most maps covered the primary areas where the war was fought — the New York, Hudson and Mohawk River valleys, or routes from New York City to Albany and then north through Lakes George and Champlain to the St. Lawrence River and Canada, or westward to the Great Lakes. Maps of other areas or cities, including the Havana Campaign, are rarer, as are those of the American Revolutionary War period (1775-83). The latter are scarce because of the introduction of the leather cartridge box to the army which supplanted the powder horn as had already happened in England. Few really desirable decorated horns are found after 1778.
So, for a few short years these splendid examples of Americana provided the historian with some very useful data. The maps gave them the names and locations of forts and places now lost in the haze of history. We can be grateful to men like Thomas Davies, who served as aide-de-camp to General Sir Jeffrey Amherst in America from 1758-60 and as an artist, depicted campaign scenes at Louisburg and other locations in his sketch books which may have been the inspiration for scenes on those elaborately engraved powder horns of the period, for they show marked similarities. It is known that as early as 1755, the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich in England was teaching topographical drawing to student officers.
The engraved horn also gives historians details of both the dress and equipment of the soldier, civilian and Indian of the period as well as flags, placement of cannons and engineering design of forts — all fascinating bits of the historical puzzle that can be pieced together by an observant student. Further, by using the owner's name and dates, the student or collector can often successfully research the soldier's military career as it can sometimes be traced in army records. Some decorations were copied from contemporary publications and bring, via the crude doggerel and verse, keen examples of political thought — all in all a fascinating insight into the minds and mores of the, eighteenth century American.
From a collecting standpoint, it is rather superfluous to state that contemporary map horns are rare. Auction and sale prices catalogued show a steady rise in value and unfortunately bring with them the advent of the purveyor of the spurious example. Thus the collector's watchwords should be 'Caveat Emptor.' Antique dealers and even auction houses have sold spurious horns in recent years and it should be pointed out that some of the finest copies have originated in England. It is imperative that the collector must examine a high priced engraved powder horn very carefully — preferably in company with an expert, or buy from a reputable dealer or auction house which will guarantee the authenticity of their wares in writing.
Some map horns were commemorative and would indicate that the owner detailed his military career to the engraver, who transcribed it to the horn as a memento of the soldier's service. They were often handed down from generation to generation and sometimes a different name and date than the original will be found. Also, when a soldier was killed or died in the service his effects were usually auctioned; the small amount of money realized going to the surviving family. Often his only possession of value was his decorated horn.
Because of their souvenir value, some of these rare map horns have been found in England as well as in America and when their worth is made known to descendants, they are sometimes sold to collectors or are offered at auction.
A word of caution to the less than knowledgeable collector: almost all spurious examples are engraved on old horns. Just as the faker painted his illegitimate masterpiece on an old canvas, the horn faker used an old horn. Stylistically, the actual shaping of a French and Indian War powder horn was quite definite and usually different from the style of the later horns produced during the American Revolutionary War. Fakers do not always conform — another point to watch out for, and beware of inscriptions that are not contemporary; words as well as calligraphy.
Collectors should never ask an expert to authenticate a rare horn from a photograph. It must be carefully examined by hand and preferably with a loupe. Even then it is difficult to spot a really good fake. Two expert opinions are better than one. Beware of elaborately engraved horns with large and accurately drawn figures. This advice is also useful in examining whale tooth scrimshaw. Some collectors speak of engraved powder horns as being 'scrimshawed.' This is a misnomer as whaling scrimshaw did not occur until almost a century after the advent of the engraved horn.
From a collector's standpoint, a horn carried by a noted soldier or patriot would certainly have more value than one carried by a common soldier. For example, the Eglinton horns. On the other hand the common soldier might have owned the more elaborate horn, so one balances out the other. Beware of a prominent name. it may be right, but often is not, and try not to be a bargain hunter. Those attempting to buy mink for the price of rabbit, usually wind up with rabbit!
Certainly scarcity is a factor in evaluating rare powder horns. Of the 346 described and pictured in the 1895 sketches of Rufus A. Grider (now owned by the New-York Historical Society, New York City), only thirty two were map horns. Since Grider's time, a few useful books and articles on the subject have been produced and these represent tools no serious collector should be without (see Further Reading).
Should a map collector have a map horn in his collection? By all means - and good luck to you!
Read Illustrated Article >>
[Acrobat Reader required]
COPYRIGHT December 1985 The Map Collector, All rights reserved.
No portion of this article nor the accompanying illustrations can or may be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
The author of this article is an American with an unusual collecting interest — engraved powder horns. The golden age of powder horns only lasted for about thirty to forty years during the eighteenth century but it was an art form which was pure americana and quite fascinating. Here he describes the history of those horns which were engraved with maps.
MAPS ON COW HORNS? As improbable as this may seem, over 200 years ago these rare collectors' items did exist — and still do.
Most students of eighteenth century military history are familiar with the cow horn that carried a soldier's supply of black powder. This was used as a propellant for the lead ball fired by his flintlock, musket, fowler or rifle. It was light, tough and spark-proof. Wooden plugs were fitted in the base and the spout, making the horn virtually waterproof. In fact, they often floated when dropped in water. By placing the raw horn in boiling water and potash, the small amount of pith inside was readily removed and the wooden base plug shrank to a tight fit when the horn dried. The owner, carefully scraping and shaping the outer surface of the horn could, if he wished, make it almost translucent, and this allowed him to tell how much powder was inside.
Almost every American male for the twenty to thirty years after about 1755 carried a powder horn for use in hunting or war. By its curvature, the horn fitted his body when suspended from a shoulder strap, regardless of whether he was left or right handed — almost as though it was designed to do so! And horns were cheap. Besides the local supply, thousands were imported from England for a few pennies apiece.
While these horns became a part of the soldier's equipment he was expected to supply, the black powder to fill them was carried by the army in kegs riding in supply wagons or stored in magazines in forts. When horns required filling they were taken to the wagons or magazines. In order to ensure that he got his own horn back each soldier had to mark it with some means of identification. Some scratched their name or mark on the horn with the point of a knife, and eventually, those with more artistic ability than others began to decorate them with various designs, quite beyond simple names or initials.
Some decorated their horns with drawings of the fort where they were stationed — with pictures of birds, animals, ships, towns or foliate designs and some drew maps of the area in which they served militarily.
The practice of engraving powder horns may have been a carry-over from European tradition since some seventeenth century European horns were steamed, flattened and decorated with foliate designs and hunting scenes. But the map horn is probably a strictly American innovation which reached its apogee during the fourth French and Indian War (1755-1763) in America, or as it was known in Europe, the 'Seven Years War.' Obviously, some makers were more artistic and skilled than others and soon found themselves employed making decorative horns for other soldiers, trading their handiwork for money or onerous duties which they wished to escape. In winter, with time hanging heavy on soldiers' hands, some very fine examples of this primitive art form were produced.
Engravers began to form engraving tools, superior to the knife, and the more advanced craftsmen rubbed soot from camp fires and various stains made from berries into the cuts, producing a pleasant polychrome effect. The finest horns, which we term 'professionally' engraved were probably done by army topographical engineers who were doing nothing more than they did regularly on oilskin or map paper. Wearing a finely decorated horn became something of a status symbol and many officers sported splendid examples of the engraver's art. Some English officers brought them home as souvenirs of their campaigns and there is evidence that upon seeing them, competent engravers in England turned out duplicates for admiring officers, but strangely enough, copying only American scenes and maps, including the phonetic spelling of fort and place names — many of which had Indian derivations.
Perhaps the most elaborate map horns extant are those owned by the 11th Earl of Eglinton, Archibald Montgomerie, Lt. Col. of the 77th Regiment in 1757. Unlike many map horns that had the British Royal Arms engraved on them, Montgomerie's usually carried his own arms and it is believed that he, at one time, owned six of these horns. On professionally made examples, produced for sale, a cartouche was left in the centre on which the owner's name would later be cut. Some horns show no name, indicating that the horn was probably never sold.
A map horn was said to serve a two-fold purpose: besides carrying a soldier's powder, it gave him the location and direction of forts, waterways, towns and landmarks in the area in which he was campaigning. The validity of this claim is questionable. Due to the ovoid shape of the horn, neither the scale nor the points of the map were accurate. While it may have been of some basic use — as some map horns carried compass points — it is likely the map served its best use as a souvenir of the area in which the owner served. Most maps covered the primary areas where the war was fought — the New York, Hudson and Mohawk River valleys, or routes from New York City to Albany and then north through Lakes George and Champlain to the St. Lawrence River and Canada, or westward to the Great Lakes. Maps of other areas or cities, including the Havana Campaign, are rarer, as are those of the American Revolutionary War period (1775-83). The latter are scarce because of the introduction of the leather cartridge box to the army which supplanted the powder horn as had already happened in England. Few really desirable decorated horns are found after 1778.
So, for a few short years these splendid examples of Americana provided the historian with some very useful data. The maps gave them the names and locations of forts and places now lost in the haze of history. We can be grateful to men like Thomas Davies, who served as aide-de-camp to General Sir Jeffrey Amherst in America from 1758-60 and as an artist, depicted campaign scenes at Louisburg and other locations in his sketch books which may have been the inspiration for scenes on those elaborately engraved powder horns of the period, for they show marked similarities. It is known that as early as 1755, the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich in England was teaching topographical drawing to student officers.
The engraved horn also gives historians details of both the dress and equipment of the soldier, civilian and Indian of the period as well as flags, placement of cannons and engineering design of forts — all fascinating bits of the historical puzzle that can be pieced together by an observant student. Further, by using the owner's name and dates, the student or collector can often successfully research the soldier's military career as it can sometimes be traced in army records. Some decorations were copied from contemporary publications and bring, via the crude doggerel and verse, keen examples of political thought — all in all a fascinating insight into the minds and mores of the, eighteenth century American.
From a collecting standpoint, it is rather superfluous to state that contemporary map horns are rare. Auction and sale prices catalogued show a steady rise in value and unfortunately bring with them the advent of the purveyor of the spurious example. Thus the collector's watchwords should be 'Caveat Emptor.' Antique dealers and even auction houses have sold spurious horns in recent years and it should be pointed out that some of the finest copies have originated in England. It is imperative that the collector must examine a high priced engraved powder horn very carefully — preferably in company with an expert, or buy from a reputable dealer or auction house which will guarantee the authenticity of their wares in writing.
Some map horns were commemorative and would indicate that the owner detailed his military career to the engraver, who transcribed it to the horn as a memento of the soldier's service. They were often handed down from generation to generation and sometimes a different name and date than the original will be found. Also, when a soldier was killed or died in the service his effects were usually auctioned; the small amount of money realized going to the surviving family. Often his only possession of value was his decorated horn.
Because of their souvenir value, some of these rare map horns have been found in England as well as in America and when their worth is made known to descendants, they are sometimes sold to collectors or are offered at auction.
A word of caution to the less than knowledgeable collector: almost all spurious examples are engraved on old horns. Just as the faker painted his illegitimate masterpiece on an old canvas, the horn faker used an old horn. Stylistically, the actual shaping of a French and Indian War powder horn was quite definite and usually different from the style of the later horns produced during the American Revolutionary War. Fakers do not always conform — another point to watch out for, and beware of inscriptions that are not contemporary; words as well as calligraphy.
Collectors should never ask an expert to authenticate a rare horn from a photograph. It must be carefully examined by hand and preferably with a loupe. Even then it is difficult to spot a really good fake. Two expert opinions are better than one. Beware of elaborately engraved horns with large and accurately drawn figures. This advice is also useful in examining whale tooth scrimshaw. Some collectors speak of engraved powder horns as being 'scrimshawed.' This is a misnomer as whaling scrimshaw did not occur until almost a century after the advent of the engraved horn.
From a collector's standpoint, a horn carried by a noted soldier or patriot would certainly have more value than one carried by a common soldier. For example, the Eglinton horns. On the other hand the common soldier might have owned the more elaborate horn, so one balances out the other. Beware of a prominent name. it may be right, but often is not, and try not to be a bargain hunter. Those attempting to buy mink for the price of rabbit, usually wind up with rabbit!
Certainly scarcity is a factor in evaluating rare powder horns. Of the 346 described and pictured in the 1895 sketches of Rufus A. Grider (now owned by the New-York Historical Society, New York City), only thirty two were map horns. Since Grider's time, a few useful books and articles on the subject have been produced and these represent tools no serious collector should be without (see Further Reading).
Should a map collector have a map horn in his collection? By all means - and good luck to you!
Read Illustrated Article >>
[Acrobat Reader required]
COPYRIGHT December 1985 The Map Collector, All rights reserved.
No portion of this article nor the accompanying illustrations can or may be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
