This is a really lovely example of Birmingham Small Arms Trade (BSAT) commercial Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle musket, manufactured by the Birmingham maker Pryse & Redman. The BSAT was a Birmingham, England commercial arms making consortium that worked together to help each other manufacture weapons for commercial sale around the world. Many of the charter members of the BSAT were the major arms makers of Birmingham who had established themselves as major suppliers to the British War Department. With the advent of the new British national armory & arms manufactory at Enfield Lock, and the end of the Crimean War, these arms makers saw a substantial decrease in business. The American Civil War provided a fresh new market for arms, and BSAT was formed in order to more effectively and expediently meet the needs of this new conflict. It built upon the old “cottage industry” gun making tradition of Birmingham, where small, specialized makers would produce the locks, barrels, stocks and small work (bands, swivels, cones, etc) and these parts would be delivered to “Setter’s Up” who would assemble the guns and then deliver them to the contractor who had the contract for the gun. It was not uncommon for a contractor who was to deliver the gun to not have produced the gun at all, or to have only assembled it. Through the BSAT these various makers agreed to work together and to support each other in the completion of the various contracts that were obtained for small arms.

The P-1853 Enfield offered here is a classic BSAT contract gun, marked with the master contractor name Pryse & Redman in the wood on the toe of the stock. Pryse & Redman was the Civil War era incarnation of a gun making firm that started with Charles Pryse at 12 St Mary’s Row in 1838. From 1842 through 1873 the firm was known as Pryse & Redman and was located at 84 Aston Road. It returned to the original name and operated at the same address as Charles Pryse from 1874 to 1883, with Thomas Pryse taking over in 1884 and operating the business at the same location until 1904. The gun has multiple BSAT marks, including a circular cartouche on the right side of the buttstock, a simple CROWN-BSAT on the lock (forward of the date) and the same mark in the wood behind the trigger guard. The lock is marked in the typical Birmingham manner, with a (CROWN) behind the hammer and 1862 / TOWER forward of the hammer. The bottom of the barrel is marked by the barrel maker FAULKNER. The mark refers to gun barrel makers David & Charles Faulkner who were listed as gun barrel makers in Birmingham at 38 Great Lister St from 1851-58 and subsequently as “Faulkner Brothers” at the same address from 1859-1874. The stock flat, opposite the lock is marked J LLOYD. This is most likely the mark of gun & rifle maker John Lloyd who operated at 76 Aston Road (just down the street from Pryse & Redman) from 1849-1861, and at 8 Summer Lane from 1870-1874. Lloyd is not listed in the directories from 1862-1869. During this time he more than likely worked as a “setter up” for Pryse & Redman, as his mark on this gun is where the “setter up” would typically mark a gun, if he marked it at all. The gun is also clearly marked with the standard Birmingham commercial proof, view and definitive proof marks on the left breech of the barrel, along with a pair of 25 gauge marks, indicating .577 caliber.

The gun is in about VERY GOOD condition overall. It is complete, with the exception of missing the upper sling swivel and “doughnut” screw keeper on the upper band tension screw. The gun has the typical Birmingham "file slash" assembly marks throughout, and they match as they should. The gun retains the original rear swivel as well as the original rear site & front site/bayonet lug. The original ramrod is in the channel under the barrel, but it is about 1” short of full length and does not retain the threads at the end. The gun has a pleasing, untouched brown patina over the majority of the metal surfaces. There is some mild pitting around the breech and bolster area, which is quite typical of a percussion gun that saw actual use. The balance of the metal is mostly smooth, with only scattered light peppering and pinpricking. The brass furniture has a lovely mustard patina that is very attractive. The rear of the trigger guard has the initials WT punched into it in a series of dots. The lock functions crisply on all positions and is in mechanically fine condition. The bore of the musket is in about FAIR condition with little visible pitting, but it does not retain any rifling. The stock is in about VERY GOOD condition with a lovely orange tone to the wood, and clear marks as previously noted. The stock is full length with no breaks or repairs. There is small grain crack from the rear lock escutcheon to the barrel channel. This is the result of the lock screw being over tightened as some point during the muskets life. The stock shows the usual bumps, dings, rubs and minor marks of a military musket that saw real use, but it does not show any abuse.

Overall this is a really attractive and well above average condition example of the classic Birmingham made Enfield rifle musket that saw use in significant numbers on both sides during the American Civil War. The gun shows no US or CS import marks, and could have easily seen use on either side. It would be a great representative example of a Civil War era Enfield with the desirable 1862 lock date and BSAT stock cartouche. This would be a solid example of the second most used long arm during the American Civil War that would look great in any collection.