Original Item. Only One Available. This is a lovely Belgian-made Officer's Pistol, made very much in the high end French style of the day, known as the "Versailles" style. Designed by famed gunsmith Nicolas-Noël Boutet, this pattern pistols were very popular and extensively made for French Officers. This example was made in Liège, Belgium, a gunmaking center even today, which at the time was controlled by France. It has an octagonal 8 inch barrel with a lovely taper that narrows towards the middle, which has numerous fine rifling grooves inside. This was very typical for the style, and we have seen several examples with this same shape on the barrel, which is very attractive.

The lock plate on the pistol is marked Raymont a Liège, and there is also ⇾ RAYMONT ⇽ marked on the top of the barrel. We have looked for information on this gunsmith, but unfortunately we have not been able to locate any verifiable information. The pistol definitely looks to have been made as a percussion pistol, so we estimate it was made about 1840. The bottom of the barrel has a maker marking for A. RUBANS, and some other markings that we do not recognize.

The lock is fully functional, and as an added treat, the pistol is fitted with a "set trigger", which allows the pistol to discharge with a very light trigger pull. This type is actuated by pushing the trigger forward until it clicks, after which it requires very little pressure to fire, though it may be a bit out of adjustment. The pistol can be used without the set trigger, and the lock does have wear on the tumbler, as it can be fired at both the full and half cocked positions.

The pistol has all iron mountings, which are rather simple in design, making this a much more utilitarian example than we often see with this style of pistol. There is no provision for a ramrod, though it does have a lovely extra spur under the trigger guard. This would aid greatly with "setting" the trigger, providing a place for the middle finger to press against while the trigger is being set.

The walnut stock is checkered around the wrist and terminates in a lovely wide ring of the Versailles style. We can also see some lovely figuring to the wood, which shows some lovely chatoyancy in the light. The underside of the fore stock has a lovely carved scallop or fern frond design. The left side of the fore stock does show cracks and also a wood graft repair, with the right side showing just some small cracks.

A very nice Belgian-made 'Versailles' style percussion pistol, ready to research and display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: circa 1840
Caliber: about .59" pistol
Ammunition Type: Lead Ball & Powder
Barrel Length: 8 inches
Overall Length: 13 3/4 inches
Action: Flintlock Side Action with Set Trigger
Feed System: Muzzle-Loaded

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