Complete package of paper-wrapped Maynard primers (SOLD)

This is another nice item being offered, it is a package of Maynard primer caps. The Maynard tape primer was a system designed by Edward Maynard to allow for more rapid reloading of muskets. Dr. Edward Maynard, a dentist with an interest in firearms, embedded tiny pellets of priming material in thin strips of paper, then glued a second strip of paper on top of the first, creating a "tape" of primer.

The tape could be manufactured quickly and cheaply, since paper was much less expensive than copper. Maynard also developed an automatic feeding system that would advance the tape when the musket's hammer was cocked. The hammer not only detonated the primer, but would also automatically cut the paper, thus removing the spent portion of the primer tape (see pictures).

Maynard's new system still required the musket's powder and Minié ball to be loaded conventionally into the barrel, but the tape system meant that the percussion cap no longer needed to be manually loaded onto the percussion lock's nipple. This saved the soldier a step during the reloading process, which increased the soldier's overall rate of fire.

The Maynard tape worked well under controlled conditions but proved to be unreliable in the field. The mechanism proved to be delicate and fouled easily with mud and debris. The tape had been advertised as waterproof, but moisture tended to be its worst problem. The paper strips were susceptible to adverse weather and even humidity. For later muskets like the Springfield Model 1861, the Ordnance Department abandoned the Maynard system and went back to the earlier percussion lock.

These packages have been difficult to find lately, but this one is in nice condition. The original paper is on it and one side is exposed to let you see exactly how the caps looked.