Perrins Gunmakers
of
Worcester
Cartridges & Accessories
As far as we know there may only be one or possibly two Perrins cartridges still in existence. The one we have here is owned by John Coole, an avid collector, which has taken him 4 years to track down and acquire. As you see it is an unfired and only partly loaded case with the brass head engraved with Perrins & Son Worcester. While I have not seen the other case, and neither has John, it is supposed to be a fully loaded case with the over shot card marked Perrins but it would appear that neither case has printing on the side.
Tony Mallam brought this strange object down to the shooting ground recently. It is an 'Alarm Mine', an early form of burglar alarm. The mechanism has a blank cartridge inside and when the trip wire is pulled the mechanism falls onto a block, which is missing. When the firing pin, which sticks out of the bottom, hits the block it fires the cartridge. The loud bang not only makes the poacher jump out of his skin but would also alert the keeper to their whereabouts.
This superb mahogany and brass double gun case by Thomas Perrins, Windsor, turned up at a car boot sale in Germany. I was then put to auction where one of our members bought it, brought it back to the UK and donated it back to Windsor Castle for their collection. We think it was probably the case made for the pair of Perrins percussion cap 16 bore shotguns owned by Prince Albert, although they now only have the No. 2 of the original pair.
