THE CARTRIDGE COLLECTOR'S EXCHANGE

Contents

Home

General Info

Ordering Info

Contact us

Cartridge Lists
Patent & Miscellaneous
Rim Fire
Center Fire Pistol
Center Fire Rifle
Metric Rimfire, Pistol&Rifle
British Pistol and Rifle
Shotgun Shells
Cartridge Boxes & Related

Posters

This Month's Picture Page

Index to Picture Pages

Prior Picture Pages:
 * September 2003
 
* October 2003
 
* November 2003
 
* December 2003                                * January 2004
 
* February 2004
 
* March 2004
 
* April 2004
 
* May 2004
 
* June 2004
 
* July 2004
 
* August 2004
 
* September 2004
 
* October 2004
 
* November 2004
 
* December 2004
 
* January 2005
 
* February 2005
 
* March 2005
 
* April 2005
 
* May 2005
 
* June 2005
 
* July 2005
 
* August 2005
 
* September 2005
 
* October 2005
 
* November 2005
 
* December 2005
 
* January 2006
 
* February 2006
 
* March 2006
 
* April 2006
 
*May 2006
 
*June 2006
 
*July 2006
 
*August 2006
 
*September 2006
 
*October 2006
 
*November 2006
 
*December 2006
 
*January 2007
 
*February 2007
 
*March 2007
 
*April 2007
 
*May 2007
 
*June 2007
 
*July 2007
 
*August 2007
 
*September 2007
 
*October 2007
 
*November 2007
 
*December 2007
 
*January 2008
 
*February 2008
 
*March 2008
 
*April 2008
 
*May 2008
 
*June 2008
 
*July 2008
 
*August 2008
 
*September 2008
 
*October 2008
 
*November 2008
 
*December 2008
 
*January 2009
 
*February 2009
 
*March 2009
 
*April 2009
 
*May 2009
 
*June 2009
 
*July 2009
 
*August 2009
 
*September 2009
 
*October 2009
 
*November 2009
 
*December 2009
 
*January 2010
 
*February 2010
 
*March 2010

 

 

Links to Other Sites     

Cartridge Collectors Organizations:
IAA
ECRA
SAAACA

Auctions:
Auction Arms
E-Bay
Ward's Collectibles
Sold USA

Books:
Armory Publications
WCF Publications

Other Collector's Sites:
Curtis Steinhauer

Home of the Old Ammo Guy's Virtual Cartridge Trading Table

 


Picture Page

April 2010


A look at a number of  5-IN-1 movie blank boxes.....

Most of us who don't collect a specific caliber or category of cartridges probably have at least one of the 5-IN-1 blanks in our collections. I have these made by Peters, Remington-UMC and Winchester, which I believe are the only companies that produced cartridge cases that are so headstamped. The two cartridges on the right in this picture are typical of these blanks; the one on the left has a longer than standard case.

The boxes of these blanks are usually found with either of two Hollywood movie property company labels attached, these companies being the Ellis Mercantile Company and Stembridge Gun Rentals at Paramount Studios. Ellis Props and Graphics Partners, or Ellis Mercantile as they were called, was established as a pawn shop in 1908 and soon got into the movie prop rental business. They closed shop in 1999. Stembridge Gun rentals of Hollywood, California, was formed in the 1920s by James Stembridge and Cecil B. DeMille to supply guns to the movie industry. The company is still in business and is currently run by the son of the founder's nephew.

5-IN-1 blanks were typically shipped from the factory as primed or unprimed cases, and were loaded by the property companies. The box shown here is just as it was when it left the factory, its unprimed and uncrimped cases still awaiting the loading process, and with no other labels applied.

.

.

.

.

This next box is the same style as shown above, but carries the label of the Ellis Mercantile Company. The label identifies the blanks as 1/8 charge black powder loads. In addition to having copper primers and bullet-shaped case mouth crimps to ensure the blanks would feed correctly in a magazine-fed rifle, these blanks have had a knurled neck cannelure applied, which more often than not was standard for these blanks.

.

.

The blanks in this next Ellis Mercantile Co. box were loaded with a half charge of black powder. Black powder was used when a large amount of smoke was desired in the shooting scenes of a movie. Other types of powder were used when the desired effect was a loud noise or a bright flash. Based on the headstamp, these cases were obviously made by Remington, but it is impossible to determine whether or not this is a Remington box without removing the label or side-sealing tape covering it.

.

 

This box, which appears to be the same generic style as the one above and also contains REM-UMC headstamped cases, was loaded by Stembridge Gun Rentals. This was the fancier of their label formats, incorporating their business card in the layout. These blanks are loaded with a full charge of black powder.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Next is another of these generic white boxes, which may not have had any printing on them at all; perhaps I can confirm this if I ever get the urge to steam the label off one of these boxes. This box has a plainer version of the Stembridge label, lacking the business card graphics. These blanks are loaded with a full charge of flash powder. The colors of the labels on the Stembridge boxes was indicative of the type of load - red for flash powder and yellow for for black. The wads also usually followed this color scheme, providing an indication of the type of powder when the cartridges were out of the boxes, In addition, the wads were usually marked with the charge or fractional charge of powder. This next picture shows some of these wads, including from the left a full charge black powder load, a quarter charge black powder load, a full charge flash powder load, and a half charge of an unknown powder.

.

.

.

This next box is fairly recent, loaded or packed in February of 1982,  using Winchester headstamped primed cases. The 'fancy' Stembridge Gun Rentals label covers whatever printing may be on the front of this white box. The bottom line of small print on the back,  which includes the name Olin Corporation, provides the only external indication that the box of primed cases was made by Winchester, which was a division of the Olin Corporation at that time.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.This box of blanks was actually loaded by Remington rather than being sold as primed or unprimed empty cases to a movie property house to be loaded by them. It dates from the mid-1920s based on the company name and the style. It is impossible to determine what kind of powder these blanks are loaded with without taking one apart, but the label indicates that they were 'specially loaded for flash, smoke and noise'. The labeling on this Remington box provides the logic behind the name '5-in-1, stating that the cartridges are adapted 'for .38-40 and .44-40 rifles, .38-40, .44-40 and .45 Colt revolvers'. This information being on the label of this box suggests that Remington may have been responsible for coming up with the 5-IN-1 name. 

.

Another example of a box of Remington-loaded 5-IN-1 blanks, this one in the green and red box format used by the company for 15 or so years following WW2.

The labeling on the back of the box provides the same information as the box above regarding the firearms the cartridges were intended to be used in. In addition, the labeling indicates that the blanks were 'loaded with a special powder to assure an extra loud report'.   

.

.

.

.

Next are a few more examples of 5-IN-1 blanks that aren't typical of those usually found. The first one actually isn't a blank, but instead is a dummy which has had the 'bullet' painted silver to make it appear more like an actual loaded cartridge, and the case mouth and the primer pocket filled with lead. This one obviously was prepared for a movie scene where the cartridges would be on camera, perhaps being loaded in a firearm or carried on a cartridge belt. This one and the second are also a little longer than the standard 5-IN-1 case. In addition, the second one has two case cannelures rather than the usual one. The third blank has a ring primer crimp, as used on ammunition that is intended to be fired in a machine gun for the purpose of preventing the primer from backing out of its pocket as a result of recoil from the gun. I haven't a clue why a blank would require such a primer crimp. The last blank is plastic, and marked on the head 'PAT PEND'. This is an example of a less expensive, modern replacement for the traditional brass 5-IN-1 movie blank.

.

.


A .32 National No 2 teat fire box label......

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The Williamson teat-fire cartridge was patented by David Williamson of Brooklyn, New York on January 5th, 1864 (patent 41,153), with an improvement patented on June 29th, 1869 (patent 92,136). It was one of several 'front-loading' cartridges that were introduced in the period of transition from loose muzzle-loaded ammunition to self-contained metallic cartridges from the mid-1860s to early 1870s. The only reason these rather odd cartridges were developed was because of the patent that Rollin White secured in 1860 on the bored through revolver cylinder, which covered any revolver design with a cylinder that loaded from the rear. Smith & Wesson, who developed the rim fire cartridge in 1859, acquired Rollin White's patent, ensuring that the company had a virtual lock on the market for metallic cartridge revolvers until the expiration of the patent. Consequently, in order to continue producing revolvers without having to pay a royalty to Smith & Wesson, other firearms makers were forced to come up with innovative revolver and ammunition designs that did not use a cartridge that loaded from the rear of the cylinder and was held in place by its rim. Few of these new cartridge designs or the revolvers that were produced to shoot them proved to be of lasting popularity, including Colt's Thuer, Plant's cup-primed, and Crispin's split cylinder designs. On the other hand, Williamson's teat-fire cartridge and revolver proved to be the most successful competitor of all to Smith & Wesson.

The revolvers that used the teat-fire cartridge were made by Daniel Moore of Brooklyn, New York. Moore had been in business since 1860 as Moore's Patent Firearms Company, producing a seven shot .32 rim fire single action belt revolver. In 1863, he was one of a number of revolver manufacturers that were forced to pay royalties on their breech loading revolvers to Smith & Wesson after that company was successful in suing them for infringing on the Rollin White patent. Orders for Smith & Wesson revolvers far exceeded their capacity to produce them at this time, and they purchased at discounted prices in excess of 10,000 of the patent-infringing revolvers from Moore, James Warner, Lucius W. Pond, and Bacon Manufacturing Company to meet some of this demand. These revolvers will be marked 'Made for Smith & Wesson'.

In 1863, Moore changed his company name to Moore's Patent National Firearms Company and began to gear up for production of a teat-fire revolver for which he had received a patent in April of that year. This revolver used an early form of teat-fire cartridge of Moore's own design. The cartridge had a flat base, and as a result, the chambers in the cylinder of the revolver did not fully cover the head of the cartridge in the area where the hammer had to strike the teat, resulting in the exposed portions of the cartridge heads occasionally blowing out. David Williamson recognized this weakness, and redesigned both the cartridge and the revolver cylinder, giving the cartridge a hemispherical base which allowed the chambers to fully enclose the base with only the teat being exposed. This cartridge was Williamson's flat teat design which was patented on January 5, 1864. He also received a patent on the redesigned cylinder on the same day (patent # 41,184). This cylinder design was immediately incorporated into Moore's revolver, which was introduced in early 1864. The revolver shown in this picture is one of those made by Moore's Patent National Firearms Company. The lever that can be seen at the lower front of the cylinder is the loading gate, in the open position to allow a cartridge to be inserted in the front of the cylinder.

In 1866, after around 20,000 of the revolvers had been produced, Moore changed the name of his company to the National Arms Company,  producing another 12,000 revolvers before being bought out by Colt in 1869, at which time production of the National revolver ceased. The revolvers made by Moore's Patent National Firearms Company were only produced in .32 caliber. The National Arms Company continued production of the .32 revolver, and also produced on an apparently limited basis a larger framed revolver which was chambered for a .45 teat-fire cartridge. The company's four page 1866 catalog includes only the .32 caliber revolver and their No 1 Pistol, a single shot all metal deringer which used conventional .41 short rim fire cartridges. This No 1 pistol was joined within a few years by a modified version of the handgun which they called their No 2 Pistol; it had walnut grips and was also a .41 rimfire. Just when production of the .45 National revolver and its teat-fire ammunition commenced I don't know, but Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms indicates the quantity produced was very limited; the same can be said for the cartridges, which are quite rare today.

Williamson's teat-fire cartridges, shown in this picture, were produced only in .32 and .45 caliber, and were made by Ethan Allen. Allen also made some of the other 'alternative' ignition cartridges during the transition period, including pin-fire cartridges under Christian Sharp's patent and their own patented lip fire cartridges. As discussed above, Williamson's first cartridge design had a flat teat, as seen on the first two cartridges in the picture. The second cartridge has the teat turned sideways to show how thin it is. Because problems could be encountered getting the cartridges fully seated in the cylinder if flat teat was not positioned correctly when loading, it was made round, for which Williamson secured his second cartridge (1869) patent. Two variations of the flat teat cartridge are shown in the picture, one having a cannelure that was set further back on the cartridge, much closer to the teat end, than was typical on these cartridges. The second cartridge has the teat turned sideways to show how thin the flat teats were compared to later round teats. The fourth cartridge from the left is a misfire, the rear portion of the round teat having been flattened somewhat by the tip of the revolver hammer, resulting in a 'V' shaped impression in the side of the teat. Last is the .45 Teat-fire cartridge, which appears to have been produced with the round teat only.

The 1866 National Arms catalog price for the .32 revolver ranged from $14.75 for an un-engraved blued version to $24.50 for an engraved, gold-plated, ivory stocked version; cartridges were $14 per thousand. The 1869 Folsom Brothers & Company catalog lists the National (Improved) revolver at $12.50; I believe this was the .32 caliber model; there is no mention in the catalog of a second National revolver, which would have been the .45 caliber model. The 1871 Great Western Gun Works catalog lists among its ammunition .32 National cartridges, still at $14 per thousand; there is no entry for the .45 cartridge. In addition to the label shown above, boxes of these cartridges will be found also labeled for the Improved National Revolver and without the Williamson patent information. 'Improved' may refer to any of several changes that were made to the revolver in the course of its production, one of the more obvious being the addition of a lever on the side of the frame for ejecting the spent cases. The change in the design associated with the introduction of the round teat cartridges may also be the improvement referred to. However, the label shown above, while indicating that 'round teat' cartridges are in the box, does not mention the 'improved' revolver, so I may be off base in this regard. Incidentally, the No 2 noted on the label refers to the caliber (.32). This was the standard designation used for this caliber at the time these cartridges were produced and does not suggest that there was also a National revolver that used a No 1 cartridge. 

R. Bruce McDowell points out in his book A Study of Colt Conversions and Other Percussion Revolvers that Colt's purchase of the National Arms Company was for the purpose of ensuring that they had a revolver design to produce in the event that the Rollin White patent was extended beyond its expected expiration in April of 1869. That may be the case, but they also immediately began production of their versions of National's No. 1 and No 2 pistols, the little single shot .41 deringers which Colt referred to as their First  Model Deringer and Second Model Deringer, respectively. Their percussion revolver conversions based on Alexander Thuer's 1868 patent had proven to be a disappointment, with fewer than 5000 produced from September 1868 until the end of production in July 1871. So as not to limit their options should the White patent not be extended, Colt engineers were also busy designing metallic cartridge revolvers at the same time the Thuer conversions were being made.

Patent laws at that time allowed protection for a nine year period, with the opportunity to apply for a renewal of the patent at the time of expiration. When the time came for Rollin White to renew his patent, he initially refused to do so because he felt that Smith & Wesson had not compensated him adequately for the use of the patent. Since White had granted them exclusive rights to his patent, it was necessary for Smith & Wesson to agree to allow White to manufacture his own bored through cylinder revolvers when the patent was extended, as well as to split the costs of the application in order to get him to file for the extension. Unfortunately for White and Smith & Wesson, the extension was denied. The denial is thought to have resulted from the effect that the patent had on the production and procuring of revolvers by the US military during the Civil War and the three years following the war. While the patent was in effect, not only were commercial firearms manufacturers prevented from producing bored through cylinder revolvers, but the U.S. government couldn't produce them either, nor could they contract for such revolvers with a manufacturer in this country other than Smith & Wesson.    

At about the time Williamson's second cartridge patent was issued, Colt was in the process of purchasing the National Arms Company, signaling an end to the production of the National revolver. It is possible that Williamson applied for the patent for the round teat cartridge with the expectation that Colt would continue to produce the revolver, resulting perhaps in an increase in royalties being paid to him as demand for the cartridges grew with the production of teat-fire revolvers coming under Colt's control. Continued production of the National revolver was not to be, due in large part to the refusal of the government to extend the White patent. At the time Colt completed the purchase of National, they had already begun converting percussion revolvers to use metallic cartridges on contract for the US Government, based on the Richards patented design. 

The two Williamson patents are shown below. It should be noted that the specifications for the round teat cartridge mentions the difficulty in loading the flat teat cartridge in the dark or when the shooter was in a hurry. The cartridge had to be positioned with the flat side of the teat resting against the top edge of a raised ring that is formed on the rear of the cylinder. If the cartridge is not positioned just right, the teat is unable to protrude fully through the rear of the cylinder and on top pf the edge of the raised ring on the rear of the cylinder, against which the hammer was supposed to strike the teat. Because the cartridge was not fully seated in the chamber, the cylinder could not be rotated.  

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

In comparing the thicknesses of the flat and round teat cartridges, I couldn't help but wonder if any changes needed to be made to the revolver for it to use the thicker round teat cartridge. To check this, I turned to Roger Papke, a gun collector who checks in with me from time to time looking for a cartridge to go with the latest addition to his collection. I knew Roger had one of the National revolvers, as I had sold him a flat teat cartridge for it. After sending him one of the round teat cartridges, he contacted me and advised that the cartridge would not fully seat in his revolver, as the round teat was too thick to allow it to do so. The two pictures here show the resulting problem. In the picture above, the tip of the round teat can be seen making contact with the edge of the raised ring on the breech face, rather than slipping past the edge. The next picture shows the mouth of the cartridge extending beyond the front face of the cylinder, which in turn prevents the cylinder from revolving so as to load the next cartridge. The serial number of this revolver is just shy of 8,000, so there are at least 8,000 (most likely significantly more) of these revolvers that will not accept the round teat cartridge. The modification to the revolver that allowed it to accept the round teat cartridge consisted of a shallow groove cut in the raised ring on the rear of the cylinder, which allowed the teat to slip into place.

It would appear that by introducing the round teat cartridge and the modified revolver that used it, Moore did nothing to resolve the problem that was being encountered by those who had purchased his earlier revolvers that used the flat teat cartridge. Instead, these unsatisfied customers were now faced with the possibility of purchasing the incorrect (round teat) cartridge, which they would then find would not function at all in their revolvers. However, the grooves needed to chamber the round teat cartridges could have easily been added by any competent gunsmith, and I would bet that many of the early revolvers that were made for use with the flat teat cartridges will be found with the modification.

I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has any information regarding when the round teat cartridge and the revolver that would accept it was introduced. While it may have been around the time the patent was issued in 1869, I suspect it was earlier, with the application for the patent being an after-thought by Williamson to secure his design prior to the purchase of National by Colt. One thing that supports my suspicion is the label shown above, which is clearly marked as round teat cartridges, yet it carries the 1864 patent date for the flat teat cartridge. 

The three pictures of the National revolver shown above are courtesy of Roger Papke,  (www.handfulsofhistory.com).
 

 

.