another powderhorn made of lanthorn

[Dutch Blacky]

Dear friends and "blacknoses",


Today I want to introduce you to my latest acquisition. A powder horn made from molded lanthorn plates. Probably a handicraft from continental Europe, because the head is different from the powder flasks produced in series in English metal goods factories












J. Riling calls this type "lapabout spring". He says that this sort of a powerflask head might be an early tpye. (see page 394)

What is your opinion about this flask?

[BOB HILL]

I love it. Thanks for sharing.
Bob

[Brokennock]

Very nice looking flask.
Maybe you could fill us dummy types in on the material amd the making of powder flasks from it?
When I Google searched the word "lanthorn" it just tells me it is an archaic word for lantern.

[Dutch Blacky]

You're right that lanthorn is an ancient term for lantern. The "glass" of the lantern was made of flat-pressed cattle horn, which was ground so thin with a knife or scraper that it became translucent.

The same material was also used for other objects and - as far as I know - was also called  "lanthorn".


"The word ‘lanthorn’ can be traced back to first use in 1587 although it has experienced great semantic change through centuries, to become the modern word ‘lantern’. Originally consisting of ‘lant’ and ‘horn’, the name refers to the thin translucent sheets of horn" (see also https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/horn-working/)






This Powder flask of horn has brass and copper mountings. 19th century. The flask consists of moulded horn pieces fitted together into metal edging in the middle and copper rings for a cord. Continental in origin. Exhibited at the Worthing Museum in 1973. (https://www.horners.org.uk/the-company/the-horn-collection/)

[Dutch Blacky]

If you will start a google search with the words Lanthorn Powder horn you will get a lot of results for powder flasks or powder horns, where "lanthorn" is used for the thin translucent horn material for the bodies of powder flasks or powder horns. Lanthorn seems to be a usual definition for this special horn material.

[Dutch Blacky]

Christie´s used the word "lanthorn" in a description of a european powder flask in 1993
"A VIENNESE POWDER-FLASK, the rounded lanthorn horn body with flattened edges joined by brass round-headed nails, sprung brass nozzle with windows and stamped 'Beetz Wien', and four brass rings for suspension, mid-19th Century;" (https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-2999250)

J.  Riling also calls the transparent molded horn, which was used for powder bottles, "lanthorn horn" (page 81; pages 393-395)


For me, the word "lanthorn" seems to be rather good for the description of thin translucent cow horn

[Bob Roller]

An old and now gone friend used to say somethings are so thin there is only one side to them.Lock maker Chet Shoults said that about case hardening as well.
Bob Roller

[Brokennock]

You're right that lanthorn is an ancient term for lantern. The "glass" of the lantern was made of flat-pressed cattle horn, which was ground so thin with a knife or scraper that it became translucent.

The same material was also used for other objects and - as far as I know - was also called  "lanthorn".


"The word ‘lanthorn’ can be traced back to first use in 1587 although it has experienced great semantic change through centuries, to become the modern word ‘lantern’. Originally consisting of ‘lant’ and ‘horn’, the name refers to the thin translucent sheets of horn" (see also https://heritagecrafts.org.uk/horn-working/)






This Powder flask of horn has brass and copper mountings. 19th century. The flask consists of moulded horn pieces fitted together into metal edging in the middle and copper rings for a cord. Continental in origin. Exhibited at the Worthing Museum in 1973. (https://www.horners.org.uk/the-company/the-horn-collection/)

Thank you. Very, very interesting.
I think a friend of mine has a small clamshell shaped container, I think it was for jewelry, that I really thought looked like horn but was so thin and clearly molded to shape that I could not convince myself it was actually horn. Now I know better.