Key box

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A key box is an improvised alarm or gun firing device that consists of a key as a firing device, an explosive charge and a containment . Key boxes were a popular toy among young people and adults until the second half of the 20th century .

Construction methods

Key boxes correspond to the technical principles of muzzle loaders . They were made from simple beard keys with a hollow shaft, the beards of which were in many cases separated from the shaft. There are basically two different systems: with or without an ignition hole .

  • The barrel of the key box without an ignition hole was usually loaded with scraped-off coatings from friction matches , the forerunners of safety matches. Their coating was ignitable by friction or impact. A blunt nail was then clamped into the pipe. To fire, the key was thrown onto the ground on a strap or loosely with the nail first. The impact of the nail on the impact-sensitive charge triggered its detonation , which threw the nail out of the pipe with a loud bang.
  • For key boxes with an ignition hole, an ignition hole was drilled or filed into the shaft of the key at the end of the barrel. The tube was filled with gunpowder or other explosive material and dammed with a piece of wood or paper. The charge was then ignited through the ignition hole with an open flame, for example a match, and the shot broke off with a loud bang.

Historical mentions

In an ordinance from 1667, the Hamburg city ​​council repeatedly saw itself compelled to forbid the firing of key boxes, pistols and rifles by city guards after work hours; the Meiningen city ​​council issued a similar ban on August 2, 1791. Occasionally, key boxes are synonymous with special small firearms are mentioned, so Mark Twain in his novel In Gold- und Silberland condescendingly describes an opponent's revolver as a key box . In July 1823, the revolutionary Franz Raveaux was expelled from the Düsseldorf Karmelitergymnasium because of his involvement in militant student unrest and the firing of a key box. In 1893, in Chapter 21 of his autobiographical novel Meine Kinderjahre , the writer Theodor Fontane describes the firing of key boxes as one of the main pleasures of the protagonist, who, in retrospect, was only injured by luck and not by broken key parts.

safety

Loading and firing a key box involves incalculable risks and can lead to serious or even fatal injuries. In Germany, as in many other countries, it is generally prohibited under weapons and explosives law.

literature

  • Key box . In: Eugen Pierer (ed.): Universal Lexicon . tape 15 . Pierer, Altenburg 1862, p. 305 ( online [accessed October 8, 2013]).
  • Key box . In: Johann Georg Krünitz (Ed.): Oekonomische Encyklopädie (1773-1858) . ( Online [accessed October 8, 2013]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c key box . In: Johann Georg Krünitz (Ed.): Oekonomische Encyklopädie (1773-1858) . ( Online [accessed October 8, 2013]).
  2. ↑ Key box in the theater at www.bachlertal.de
  3. ↑ Collection of the by E [inem] Highly Noble Council of the City of Hamburg so wol for the handling of laws and constitutions as in the case of special observations ... Piscator, Hamburg 1763, p. 330 , urn : nbn: de: bvb: 12-bsb10552483-6 .
  4. ^ Chronicle of the city of Meiningen from 1676 to 1834 . tape 1 . Kenßner, Meiningen 1834, p. 126 .
  5. ↑ Braunschweigische ads: Offiz. Government and Display sheet . tape 21 , 1781, p. 46 .
  6. ↑ Mark Twain : In the gold and silver country . Lutz, Stuttgart ( online ).
  7. ^ Franz Raveaux (11): a biographical sketch on the Franz Raveaux archive
  8. ^ Theodor Fontane: My childhood years at Project Gutenberg-DE

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