The Puckle Gun - 1718: invented before its time.

In 1718, Londoner James Puckle demonstrated his new invention, the "Puckle Gun," a tripod-mounted, single-barreled flintlock gun fitted with a multishot revolving cylinder.

The weapon fired nine shots a minute at a time when the standard soldier's musket could be loaded and fired just three times a minute.

Puckle demonstrated two versions of his invention. One weapon, intended for use against Christian enemies, fired conventional round bullets, while a second version could fire square bullets at infidels.

The "Puckle Gun" failed to attract investors and never achieved mass production or sales to the British armed forces.

One newspaper of the period observed following the business venture's failure that "those are only wounded who hold shares therein."

According to the Patent Office of the United Kingdom, "In the reign of Queen Anne, the law officers of the Crown established as a condition of patent that the inventor must in writing describe the invention and the manner in which it works." James Puckle's 1718 patent for a gun was one of the first to provide a detailed description.