black powder 
black powder
A little inexpensive black powder, fuse and common sense can provide hours of fun with small black-powder cannon. During the late 1800's the most prominent black powder cannon makers were Ives, Stevens & Kenton.
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Circa 1885, Ives and Williams (later Ives and Blakeslee) & Company, Bridgeport Connecticut produced over a dozen different powder cannon from 1880 to about 1902. Production stopped abruptly in 1902 when a over loaded powder cannon exploded, when Harry Ives fired it. It was quickly decided that children shouldn't be playing with them. A long time Bridgeport, Connecticut landmark, The Ives factory was torn down on October 1, 1997. |
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Ives was shipping barrels of cannon to Woolworth's department stores in the late 1800's. The one on left was selling wholesale at $4 a gross, .20 cents retail! |
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From old toy sales catalogs, we can identify this ornate barrel being made by the Ives Manufacturing Company during the 1890's. Barrels are often the only remaining piece found, of what was once a full cannon. However, some companies offered barrels only, as with Ives. |
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J & E Stevens Co., Cromwell, Connecticut, produced black powder cannon from about 1872 to 1928. Stevens produced various models, most popular were the series to the left, with the solid trails. There were 12 different sizes available. The open trails variety (right - 3 sizes), introduced circa 1906 are harder to find. |
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Patent no. 525,307 was issued for this Stevens cannon in 1895. The barrel tilts down to clean out the ash. It too was produced in different sizes sporting both "fancy" and plain wheels. |
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Stevens also offered barrels only. All the manufacturers around this time referred to barrels only as "un mounted" |
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Circa 1899, "Dewey"
cannon, manufactured by Kenton Hardware Mfg. Company, Kenton, Ohio. Kenton made other
cannon also. It has a picture of Admiral George Dewey (Spanish American War) and the name
DEWEY on the side. They were made in different sizes, with different finishes. Shown
is one nearly 12 inches long and nickel plated. A larger one, 14 inches was
painted red and black. |
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Circa 1903, Made by the Kenton Hardware Manufacturing Co., Kenton, Ohio. The Kenton cannon are distinguishable by the leaf pattern on the trails. Their cannon were available in different colors as well as finishes. Several sizes were available in each series. |
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Peter G. Thomson
- Cincinnati, OH Circa 1900. Mr. Thomson had a toy store in Cincinnati and sold various games under his name. There were slight variables in the cannons, including color. Wheels = 3 inches, barrels 4.5 inches. |
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This very small naval cannon had a unique fuse holder that positioned the fuse across the touch hole. Just a few grains of black powder is all that is required to provide a loud "pop". |
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There are numerous other black powder cannon, ranging in size, styles, and materials. These are still being researched. |
