430 TRANTER

Research notes

William Tranter (1816 – 1890) was one of the most influential and well respected gun makers in Birmingham in the middle to late 1800’s. He was involved in making a large quantity Adams revolvers under licence and during the mid-1850’s he started making his revolvers based on the Adams design in both double and single trigger versions. he was also one of the first of the Birmingham gun makers to make use of large steam driven machinery to power his factory. During the mid-1860’s his factory was the most extensive in the Midlands with over twenty of his own designs but he also had government orders manufacturing Snider rifles as well as fire arms in general. He also manufactured a large variety of handguns and rifles under patents held by other firms or individuals that did not have the manufacturing capabilities that he had. He was also a founder/shareholder as well as an early director of the Birmingham Small Arms Co. Ltd. (Erlmeier, Brandt Ref. 399)

The J.A. headstamp was by Jules Ancion et Cie, from Liege Belgium.