Maynard tape primer

Muskets in the early 19th century were flintlocks, which had a high rate of misfire and performed poorly in damp and humid weather.

In 1807 the first percussion ignition system was patented by Alexander Forsyth based on research on fulminates conducted by Edward Charles Howard, but practical percussion lock systems did not become available until the 1820s, after Alexander John Forsyth's patent had expired.

In 1845,[1] Dr. Edward Maynard, a dentist with an interest in firearms, embedded tiny pellets of priming material in thin strips of paper, then glued a second strip of paper on top of the first, creating a "tape" of primer.

Maynard also developed an automatic feeding system that would advance the tape when the musket's hammer was cocked.

Maynard's new system still required the musket's powder and Minié ball to be loaded conventionally into the barrel, but the tape system meant that the percussion cap no longer needed to be manually loaded onto the percussion lock's nipple.