French & Indian War Era French Flintlock Pistol – SOLD

Description

French & Indian War Era French Flintlock Pistol. The maker, as it reads on the lockplate, “D GOVR / GOVLIAT.” Round iron barrel with cannon muzzle and decorative flat ending with a floral finial, running back toward a stepped breech. Caliber is .48.  The flat lockplate is 3 3/4 inches long, having a two notch tumbler that locks up just fine,  with fine zigzag engraved line along the entire rear edge, ending beneath the pan.

Furniture is all brass, including an open work side plate of floral decorations. The trigger guard bow has a simple engraved design, with the rear guard area beveled.  The iron trigger guard end in a “rat tail.” The front comes to a leaf finial, which has been broken away, with the carved wooden area leaving the exact shape that is missing. The escutcheon on the wrist looks like an upside down pear shaped base with a upper section that works in a bearded grotesque mask of sorts. The two tiny ramrod pipes hold the original ramrod (with rounded end and iron front plate), made of the same wood as the stock, being a dyed reddish walnut. The stock has finely fastened trim work along the barrel channel, around the ramrod pipes extending around the rear pipe, and around the barrel tang, and lock.

Overall a nice untouched brown patina.  There is a repair in the stock at the mid point of the brass butt cap; a sliver of no more than an 1/8 of an inch, thinning to a point about 1 inch long. This a an old repair that could very well have been made in the manufacturing.

The trigger guard finial can be repaired, but just as attractive a piece regardless.

Fine condition for it age.