[FRENCH & INDIAN WAR]. An engraved powder horn executed by an anonymous artist. Ca. 1759. Length 12". Provenance: Robert T. Lyon (see below); William Guthman.
[FRENCH & INDIAN WAR]. An engraved powder horn executed by an anonymous artist. Ca. 1759. Length 12". Provenance: Robert T. Lyon (see below); William Guthman.

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[FRENCH & INDIAN WAR]. An engraved powder horn executed by an anonymous artist. Ca. 1759. Length 12". Provenance: Robert T. Lyon (see below); William Guthman.

A superbly detailed powder horn engraved with a map of the St. Lawrence River in the area of Quebec, showing a detailed horizon view of the upper and lower towns that made up the city of Quebec. Three engraved ships represent the three British fleets deployed in the siege.

Robert T. Lyon, a previous owner of this horn, studied it extensively and established its context in his article "The Military Map Powder Horn of the Siege of Quebec" (The Gun Report, April 1976). The horn is believed to have been carved between June 26th and September 13th, 1759, since it was on this latter date that the battle shifted to the west of the city and this action is not included on the horn. The battle commenced on June 26th with General Wolfe's army landing on the Isle of Orleans, a short distance from Quebec. The climax of the French and Indian War, the battle settled the fate of the French empire in America. The British capture of Quebec led to the Treaty of Paris in 1763 which gave Great Britain all French territory east of the Mississippi River.

Engraved powder horns were considered the great trophy and souvenir of service in the French and Indian War by British officers and troops. A number of them exist showing the theater of operations from New York to Albany across the Mohawk Valley to Lake Ontario and north through Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence. In Lyon's words, this "is one of the most historically significant map engraved powder horns in existence."

[With:] An engraved map from the Royal Magazine, giving the most accurate graphic depiction and account of the historic siege depicted on this horn. (2)

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