An Unusually Large Pair of 18-bore Silver-Mounted Pistols of Presentation Quality
With 16 ½ inch three-stage sighted barrels each engraved and gilded with a starburst around the fore-sight, with an urn and foliage along the forward section, and with a trophy of arms at the mid-section, octagonal breeches becoming polygonal, engraved ‘London’ within an oval on the top flat and with foliage on the flat on either side, tangs and flat bevelled detented locks en suite, the former each with back-sight, the latter each retaining some original blueing on the inside, signed in an oval, decorated with a trophy and foliage at the stepped rounded tail and with safety-catch, pierced cock, rainproof pan and roller, figured full stocks each inlaid overall with silver-wire scrollwork, engraved silver flower-heads, a star and a crescent, mounts finely cast and chased in relief with trophies of arms against finely punched grounds and comprising side-plates, spurred pommels and trigger-guards, turned silver ramrod-pipes decorated with flower-heads en suite, set triggers, and ramrods. London proof marks, London Silver Hallmarks For 1809 and silver Maker’s Mark of Michael Barnett.
Note: The firm of Rundell, Bridge & Rundell was established in about 1803 and is famous as royal goldsmiths, silversmiths, jewellers and sword retailers. With premises at 32 Ludgate Hill in the City of London they supplied many of the finest presentation swords, tokens and plate of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars including the sabre presented by the City of London to the then Lord Viscount Wellington in 1811 and all the patriotic fund vases awarded between 1803 and 1809. For more information see Leslie Southwick, London Silver-hilted Swords…, 2001, pp. 211-213
Literature: ‘Pistols of the World’ by Claude Blair Plate 289 and Page 105.