Early 19th Century English Long Sea Service Flintlock Pistol With French Grafitti To The Barrell And Stock
Arguably one of my favourite types of military pistol. This is the model of Sea Service Pistol that would have been aboard any Royal Navy vessel during the Napoleonic War. Later many of these were cut down to form the 9" barrel version, 1801/16 model.
The steelwork has a bright finish, although there are areas of pitting which are particularly evident around the barrel breach and the lock beneath the pan (possibly from the corrosive powder residue, although salt water has never been a friend of steel!)
The brasswork is clean and apart from the sideplate and ramrod tip, have an unpolished patina.
The walnut stock looks and feels solid despite there being a crack on either side of the forestock at the muzzle and another running through the butt.
It also carries the bruises that you might expect to see on a Service Pistol of this age.
The mainspring is good and the action is crisp in half position and holds in full position, but not crisp and the cock has a long draw.
The frizen is a little stiff and doesn't snap closed or open.
The Crown over GR, Crowned Broad Arrow and Tower stamps are all clearly visible on the lock.
There is a Crowned 2 stamped on the barrel tang and a Crown on the fitted belt hook. Also present is the clear Barrel Tower Proof Marks.
There are 2 Inspection Stamps in the ramrod channel and there are 2 worn marks on the butt by the trigger guard that might once have been stamps, but are now illegible.
Now to the unusual graffiti:
Pin dot inscribed on the barrel is "fabrique sous Le regne de Georges 2 1700" and on another line is "Co Georges - Weight - Angleterre". This erroniously translates to "Manufactured under the reign of George II. 1700" and the second line to "Company Georges - Weight- England".
I'm sure you will agree that this is a very unusual inscription. I have looked into the possibility of there being an HMS George and there are two HMS George of 1794, a small sailing barge sold off in 1798 and HMS George of 1796 which was a 6 gun sloop captured by Spanish Privateers in the West Indies in 1798.
If (and it is a big if) this is the correct line of thinking then most likely suspect is the HMS Royal George of 1809, a 20 gun sloop that was built on the Canadian Lakes and fought in the War of 1812 and later named HMS Niagara in 1814.
The reason that I believe that this is most likely ties in with another inscription engraved into the right side of the stock (in front of the lock) which reads "M.Jules Lavoie Bagotville.
This name is historically prominent in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region which is where Bagotville is located.
This inscription must have been done long after the War of 1812 however, as Bagotville was not founded until 1839 as a settlement on the Mars river in Quebec.
This one has really sent me down the "rabbit hole" trying to find out relevant information. Am I correct? who knows, but it has been a fascinating journey............a very interesting piece.
Barrel length 30.5cm, Overall length 49.5cm.
This antique pistol is considered obsolete and non functioning, and is sold as a collectable ornamental item. This product is available for purchase in the UK without a license
