Fourth of July as celebrated during the 1880’s, 1890’s and into 1900 was a far cry from the Fourth of July as we know it today. The Fourth in those days was a real bang-up affair with all types of noisemaking devices employed in the celebration. Unfortunately these devices were, in most cases, rather dangerous and accidents of varying degrees of seriousness were rather common. Then too these various noisemakers were made for and largely used by children and the younger segment of the population.

One of the popular type of noisemaker was the toy cannon. The word toy is rather loosely used from a descriptive standpoint since certain types under some circumstances could be dangerous. However, cannon in the overall picture were considerably safer than many of the other Fourth of July items.

Toy cannon as a collector’s item offer several very interesting groups. There are those that actually fired powder and numbers of different types and styles were made in this particular group. Then there were cannons made to fire 22 and 32 blank cartridges and blank shotgun shells. Others were made to shoot firecrackers and paper caps. In each group, whether a firecracker shooter, a paper cap shooter, or one of the others, there are numbers of varieties. Some have four wheel carriages and others two wheels. There are breech loaders and others are loaded through the barrel. Many patents were issued to cover all the varieties and types and, of course, this is part of the interest in collecting the old toy cannons.

One of the very interesting and most desirable of the cannon items is the Flying Artillery shown in the center of the cover picture. This was made by Ives of Bridgeport, Conn., in the 1892 period. It is a powder cannon. The cannon and carriage are black with gold outlining and the wheels are red. The caisson section is painted the same as the cannon and each of the men have blue uniforms with red striping and red hats. One horse is brown and the other white. This is a very attractive piece. It is not only a cannon item but also quite desirable as a horse drawn toy.

A number of the cannons have historical significance. "Remember The Maine," bottom row center in the cover picture, is a rare example of this type. It was made by W.S. Hawker of Dayton, Ohio, and shoots blank shotgun shells. It is nickel plated and sections of the carriage and wheels are painted black. Two other historical items each have the name "Swamp Angel." This name comes from the historic Swamp Angel Cannon of Civil War fame. In the picture one Swamp Angel is to the left of the Flying Artillery and the other is to the right. The one on the left was made by Ives and it fires a 22 blank cartridge. In color it is an overall black. The one on the right was made by Kenton and shoots paper caps. It is completely nickel plated. The fine "Dewey" cannon is another historical piece. This is a nickel plated powder type cannon and it was made by the Kenton Hardware Company. It is pictured in the center of the top row.

The Monarch Cannon fired 32 blank cartridges. This was made by Ives. The barrel is painted black and the carriage is red. This is the first cannon to the left in the bottom row. The "Young America Rapid Fire Gun" was patented February 19, 1907. This was made to shoot marbles. A number of marbles were put in the top barrel and when the side crank was turned the marbles fired from the lower barrel in rapid succession. This cannon is black and the carriage is painted in red and gold. In the picture it is the first item in the top row. The last cannon in the top row is a powder type with red wheels and black barrel. The last cannon in the bottom row is a firecracker shooter. It is dated September 3, 1889. The breech turns to the side so that a firecracker could be inserted into the barrel. The fuse then protruded from the touch hole. This cannon is also black with red wheels. The small cannon between the Monarch and Remember The Maine is also a firecracker shooter. The breech on this cannon opens at the top instead of turning to the side. It is also black with red wheels. The "Match Cannon," the fourth piece to the right in the bottom row, was made to fire the old type sulphur match. It is entirely black with a red rim on the end of the barrel.

Toy cannon with the different groups, types, and varieties offer a very interesting field to the collector. All cannons shown in the cover picture are cast iron.

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