François Prélat was a Frenchman involved in gunmaking in the early part of the nineteenth century. It is sometimes claimed that he invented the first fully contained

cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...

in 1808, as well as the

percussion cap The percussion cap or percussion primer, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. This crucial invention gave rise ...

in 1818. However most gun historians agree that his expertise was not as a gunmaker but as someone who monitored British patents and patented the best of them in France, which was not subject to UK law. The innovations he is sometimes credited with are more properly the work of British innovators and his partner, the gunmaking genius that was Jean Samuel Pauly. The jury is out as to whether he invented anything, preferring to 'borrow' ideas instead or just provide the financial backing for inventors. The invention of the percussion cap was claimed by several independent makers at around the same time. Despite the work of many historians over the course of many years since, there is still no definitive evidence for a single inventor. Prélat merely took out a French patent for it. In association with the Swiss gunsmith

Jean Samuel Pauly Jean Samuel Pauly (1766 – c. 1821), born Samuel Johannes Pauli, was a Swiss inventor and gunsmith of the early 19th century. Parish records show that he was baptised in Vechigen near Bern, Switzerland on 13 April 1766, the son of Johann Pauli ...

, François Prélat patented from 1808 to 1812 the first totally contained

, incorporating in one package a

fulminate Fulminates are chemical compounds which include the fulminate ion (). The fulminate ion is a pseudohalic ion because its charge and reactivity are similar to those of the halogens. Due to the instability of the ion, fulminate salts are frictio ...

primer, black powder and a round bullet. A percussion pin would provoke ignition.''An Encyclopaedia of the History of Technology'' by Ian McNeil, p.984
/ref> This was a marked improvement over the invention of

Jean Lepage Jean Lepage (1779–1822) was a well-known French gunsmith.''Eugene Onegin and Other Stories'' by Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin p.25/ref> He worked for Louis XVI, Napoléon and then Louis XVIII. He was the inventor of fulminate percussion systems ...

, in which the fulminate was simply poured into a pan near the breech. The new cartridge was particularly considered useful for cavalry firearms, as the motion of the horse and the difficulty of movement rendered conventional loading extremely difficult. However the failure to secure a gas-tight seal meant this important innovation would need much more development before it was adopted widely. The principles of this centre-fire design is today the most commonly used. The two men had set up a gunsmith shop together 4, rue des Trois-Frères, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. In 1818, Prélat took a patent, or ''Certificat d'addition'', for the invention of the

(ignition copper cap) to be used in cartridges, thus replacing the magazine lock mechanism. Prélat showed some firearms at the 1855 Paris Universal Exposition.''Parliamentary Papers'' by Great Britain Parliament, p.390
/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prelat, Francois 19th-century French inventors Ammunition designers