Imagine, you are a man living in the early 1800s. You were once in the navy, but now you are a sailor on board a merchant ship. You love life at sea, but it can occasionally be dangerous, so you are always glad to have some protection with you. Your time in the navy taught you how to load and shoot very accurately, and you always have your pistol on you and your powder flask hanging from your belt. It is better to be prepared than sorry!
When I took this powder flask to show the children, they were fascinated by it. We were spending the week looking at pirates, and although the children at first had no idea what the powder flask was, when they found out they were amazed. To be holding something that a pirate, or perhaps someone in the army or navy many, many years ago had held was very special. They were fascinated to find out how much was involved in using a gun in the 1800s, and began to understand why swords were often used instead.
The powder flask which I showed the children probably dates from the mid 1800s, but the history of powder flasks actually goes back over 100 years before then. Originally, powder flasks were actually made of horn, which is why often they are known as powder horns. Horn had been used to make a variety of objects for thousands of years. Being naturally hollow, smooth, robust and easy to work, it was perfect for shaping into a variety of things from jewellery to tools. One of the common uses of horn was as a container as the horn was naturally hollow and could easily be made watertight and airtight. So, when gunpowder needed to be stored, carried and dispensed it was a natural step to adapt horn to this use.
The horns were given a brass lid which fitted around the open end of the horn. The thin end was cut and fitted with a brass 'nozzle' which could be used to empty the gunpowder into the waiting gun. If the horn was made well, it was waterproof, light, airtight and didn't create sparks which might lead to disaster! They could also be very beautiful, with the horn carved in intricate designs, often by the owners of the horn. Later, as more horns were needed, they began to be fashioned out of other material, and this is when they became known as powder flasks. They could be made entirely of brass, or of a mixture of brass and leather. Some still used horn, and often they were still highly decorative.
