EUROPEAN BACKPLATE, LATE 17TH-18TH CENTURY

During this period, armor declined further as firearms became more common and effective. Cavalry wore cuirasses and helmets only. The need for heavy protection for sappers was unchanged. A further use, largely ignored by historians was protection on shipboard from musket and cannon fire (Nelson was killed by a sniper) and flying wreckage which could weigh hundreds of pounds and tear a man in half. See Neumann p.15 for the cuirass worn by John Paul Jones and p.14 for a French offices cuirass of 1750-60. By this time, the form was optimal and as used in the 19th century and to date by elite cavalry including the Queen’s Household Guard. This example is easily twice the weight of those later examples at well over 4 pounds, hand-hammered with the arm and neck edges rolled forward in the Gothic fashion. It is a laminar (duplex) construction, made of two sheets forged together to double the thickness. See our Catalog 97, items #1051,-1056 for details of this construction. The inside has remnants of red lead arsenal paint. 16 1/2” height. First we have offered and wonderful addition to nautical/pirate collection.

Stock Number: FNS1040

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