US Model 1876 McKeever Cartridge Box

Here’s the cartridge box relating to my previously posted Trapdoor Springfield.

The McKeever cartridge box is named for its designer, First Lieutenant Samuel McKeever of the US 2nd Infantry Regiment. It was originally designed in 1874 and continued to be used in various calibers and styles by the US Army till 1910. There is a bellows made of webbing behind each row of cartridges, so the rows will incline forward slightly when opened to allow easy extraction. The hinge is a simple brass rod passing under the two sections, connected at the ends.

Mine is an example of the 1876 variant, which had a bulge in the side to make space for a small tool for disassembling the rifle. Unfortunately I don’t have the tool. The cartridge box is black leather, indicating use before the Army switched to russet leather in the 1890s.