Firearms — 19th century — 1870s
About this product
About this collection
This collection covers 270 firearms from the 1870s, delivered across 638 images in 59 ZIP assets. The 1870s saw European armies complete the transition to breech-loading arms following lessons from the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), the first generation of practical metallic cartridge revolvers enter service, and the beginning of serious experimentation with magazine rifles.
Why it matters
The Franco-Prussian War made clear that needle guns had made muzzle-loaders obsolete, and within a decade every major European power had transitioned to metallic cartridge breech-loaders. This collection captures the Royal Armouries' holdings from this decisive decade, including the Martini-Henry that would serve through the colonial wars of the following generation.
Use cases & time to value
- Game & film production design: Accurate period reference for 1870s-era weapons in historical games, film, and television
- AI training data: Large labelled firearms dataset for object-recognition, period-classification, and type-identification models
- Military history research: Primary visual source for comparative study of 1870s firearms technology and design evolution
- Publishing & editorial: Ready-to-license imagery for histories, encyclopaedias, and military reference works
- Museum education: Accessible digital collection for academic and public programming on 1870s arms development
Data schema
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| object_number | string | Royal Armouries catalogue number (XII. prefix + sequence) |
| object_name | string | Standardised object type name as catalogued |
| class | string | XII (Firearms) |
| period | string | 1870s |
| image_filename | string | Original filename as catalogued by the museum |
| image_format | string | tif (archival high-res), jpg (catalogue), or bmp (legacy) |
| width_px | integer | Image width in pixels |
| height_px | integer | Image height in pixels |
| file_size_bytes | integer | Uncompressed file size in bytes |
Collection stats
59 assets · 270 objects · 638 images · 1870s
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