I am very pleased to be able to offer this fresh to the market example of a Confederate made bayonet for shotgun and sporting guns manufactured by the famous firm of Ferdinand and Francis Cook. While much better know for their English pattern arms supplied to the Confederacy during the war, the firm also did a number of bayonet adaptations in 1862. The exact number of sporting guns altered to accept saber bayonets is unknown, but based on surviving examples the included both single and double barrel arms.
The adaptations performed by the Cook Brothers consist of a two pronged brass lug brazed to the right side of the long gun's barrel. The forward hook features a notch on its bottom side that engages the locking spring on the bayonet. The bayonets, rather than having a muzzle ring and locking slot are mounted via two rectangular loops on the left side of the bayonet's handle. An iron locking spring is located on the underside of the handle.
The bayonet offered here appears to be an early battlefield find. The iron components of the bayonet are fairly well pitted and darkened. The entirety of the bayonet is covered in an old coat of varnish. Our example measures 24 and 5/8 inches, with a 20 and 1/4 inch blade. The brass hilt, which is numbered 326, has an attractive mellowed patina and exhibits some flaking of the lacquer finish. The iron blade is heavily pitted with numerous nicks on either side of its double edged blade. The locking spring still functions perfectly and would still mount correctly on a Cook altered sporting gun.
Although this is by no means a pristine example, these bayonets are quite scarce compared to other Confederate saber bayonets. New information on Confederate shotguns will be released imminently in the new book "Confederate and Southern Agent Marked Shotguns" which will almost certainly drive the demand for these bayonets up. If you have ever considered adding one of these unique bayonets to your collection this is an excellent opportunity to do so. This bayonet is a must have for a collector of Cook Brothers arms and appendages, the Confederate blade collector, or collectors who focus on Louisiana related items.