A 1792 guillotine in Venlo
At the Limburg Museum in Venlo (Holland) I found an old guillotine. It is the same type as the one used in 1792. No substantial improvement were made to this guillotine from approximately 1795 - 1800.
The bascule is a narrow tilting board. There are still remnants of the leather strap that was used to hold the convicted.
The lunette was operated manually, but the handle for lifting the upper part is missing.
The release mechanism is seen at the outside of the upright. The mouton is sequered with a blocking of the grooves.
5 cm above the support beam, one can see the bracket in which the frame for the leather bag is attached.
The mouton has four wheels that run on the inside of the uprights.
On this exhibition model, the mouton is also secured with a steel wire instead of a rope.
In Bruges (Belgium) there also is a real guillotine. It is a machine from 1830.