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Can anyone supply any info on this pistol?
Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 2:09 pm
by Brass Rat
All I have found out so far is that it was made by Sharpe of London as a flintlock and converted to percussion at some point.
There was a pair of them originally with a scabbard that was made to go across the horses neck but they were separated after the Colonel that owned them in their converted form passed away.
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Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 4:24 pm
by Woftam
Can't help with an ID but a nice bit of gear. Pity it got sepearted from the other half.
Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 8:17 pm
by Tom-May
It seems that it's had a rough life - I wonder if the other other one fared any better.
It's a fascinating piece,
Do you have any history for it?
Do you have any dates on the officer who owned them?
Any idea which regiment he was with?
To be honest, the conversion seems a little rough, almost amateurish, I wonder if it was done as a makeshift when the officer was fairly junior, on half pay or was in some 'far flung outpost'.
In a 'gunsmith' conversion, I'd have expected the holes for the frizzen spring and frizzen screw to have been filled and the cocking piece to have been changed (It would be interesting to know just who did the conversion).
I can't help thinking that the pistol and holster don't match, possibly the pistols started as a cased pair - I'd have expected 'retained' ramrods for pistols designed for military service - The gilding on the trigger and trigger mount seems a little delicate for the field, but would fit with a pair of Gentleman's pistols*.
I strikes me that hese started in a case and were pressed into field service, not necessarily by the original owner.
This piece would dfinitely bear closer research.
Tom
* English Duellers, if you wish.
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2007 2:09 am
by Aughnanure
Not only has it had a rough life but it's been restocked and not by a gunsmith or a stockmaker.
Posted: Sun Feb 25, 2007 12:15 am
by bradtx
Brass Rat, I'm no help on the pistol, but my paternal grandparents had a similar holster. I think that, if yours is/was similar it's missing a couple of pieces. Their's had a flap with a leather tongue that slipped into a squared metal retainer. (In the second pic the pistol may be installed backwards.)
Regards, Brad
PS I remember my grandmother mentioning that it predated the Civil War.
