Object Record
Images
Additional Images [4]
Metadata
Object ID # |
1961.038.012 |
Object Name |
Horn, Powder |
Title |
Powder Horn |
Lexicon category |
5: T&E For Science & Technology |
Date |
19th-century |
Made |
Unknown |
Place of Origin |
Sydenham Township (formerly), Municipality of Meaford, Grey County |
Description |
Plain looking powder horn used in Owen Sound, Ontario area circa 1875. Large end covered, plug in small end. Leather strap. Small holes on side; look like natural imperfections in horn. There is a brass spout with a lever mechanism that operates a valve to let the powder out. The plug has a small eyed bolt. The semi-tanned leather strap was likely added by museum staff in the 1960s. |
Provenance |
Two sisters, Eleanor and Laura Rixon, lived in Owen Sound, Grey County. They said that this powder horn was used in the Owen Sound area circa 1875. Their father, Henry Rixon, was an Englishman, who emigrated to Canada in 1860. He worked as a Distiller at Leith, Sydenham Township, Grey County, and married a member of the Ainslie family of Leith. The Rixons moved in to Owen Sound, Grey County in the late 1880s, as Henry Rixon had a lumbering industry based there. Mr. and Mrs. Adam Ainslie (his in-laws) also moved to town at the same time, and resided with the Rixons. Henry Rixon died in 1920. |
Collection |
Sporting & Recreational Equipment, 19th-c Collection |
Material |
Horn/Wood/Leather/Brass |
Dimensions |
L-22.5 Dia-5.5 cm |
Found |
Owen Sound, Grey County |
People |
Rixon, Henry Ainslie, Adam Rixon, Eleanor |
Subjects |
Hunting Firearms |
Search Terms |
Leith (Village of) Sydenham Township |
Function |
The plain-looking powderhorn was intended to store and carry a quantity of black powder for use in a firearm. Cow horn made a good container for black powder, as it would not spark, and the shape of the horn made a natural funnel for dispensing the powder. A lever mechanism is used to dispense a quantity of black powder. |