BOMB EXPLOSION EFFECT.
THEATRICAL FIREARMS.
The accidents on the stage caused by firearms have been many and numerous. In melodramas, after great battles, the auditorium becomes filled with dense smoke and a peculiarly disagreeable odor of burnt powder; and, owing to the great precautions which are necessary to prevent danger of fire, the illusion is seriously injured. On account of these drawbacks, a French dramatic author and pyrotechnist, M. Philippi, endeavored to produce a successful imitation of the effects of firing guns, that is to say, the noise, fire, and smoke, while at the same time avoiding the dangers and annoyances that have already been pointed out. The charge consists of a small quantity of fulminate prepared so as to give a red fire and a light smoke which quickly clears away, leaving no disagreeable odor, and not affecting the throat. The preparation is held in a cavity formed in a small cork which is introduced into the extremity of the gun barrel. The firing pin passes through the barrel, as shown in Fig. 1 in our first [engraving], causing the charge to explode through a simple blow. By the very simple contrivance of the spring, as shown in Fig. 1, it is possible to fit almost any gun, wooden or otherwise, which the stage director may wish to use.
THEATRICAL GUNS AND PISTOLS.
Our second [engraving] represents a mitrailleuse formed by the juxtaposition of a number of short barrels of thin copper arranged in the same manner as in the guns described.
The firing pins are left to the action of the spiral springs, when the hooks, a, in which they terminate, are driven from the catches by means of slider, c, which moves along a rod, placed back of the barrels, to which it is affixed by a screw, in order to prevent its acting while the apparatus is being carried. A movable bar, m, prevents the springs from being set free while the charging is being done, and after they have been set. In order to manipulate, it is only necessary to cause the slider to move along the rod. Firing by platoons is imitated with great exactness. As soon as the cork makes its exit from the barrel, it is thoroughly pulverized, and the discharges received at the end of the muzzle cause no inconvenience.