I know it's not cat related, but you guys are friends, so maybe you can refer me to a better source?

So, this new guy at work comes up to me, and asks me, "hey, I hear you like guns." He then says, why don't you come over to my house to see some old guns my Dad gave me and tell me what they are.

So... I go over there, for the free food, fully expecting for him to pull out an H&R Topper and he pulls out a couple really fine percussion duelling pistols that he has stored in a couple of towels. They are really nice, with a deep blue barrel with what looks like Whitworth or something similar rifling, Silver, highly engraved metal-work, with apparently handmade, engraved screws, a very intricately carved butt-cap on the grips, and the wood engraving is out of this world. All the bluing (only the barrel is blued) is there, with only a couple of spots where very light rust has started.

The pistols are marked "1" and "2", with "R. P. Pope" carved very lightly on the wood of pistol "1" only, and a badge engraved in each pistol behind the number (which is on the top of the chamber, in highly engraved silver obtw) with the stylized letters "L. F." on top of a small rampant lion. On the left side of each barrel there is an oval with an "E." atop an "L. G." and that is atop a small, five pointed star.

The entire pistols are extremely ornate, and the guy claims they have been in the family for generations. Anyone have some ideas as to where they came from and what they might be worth? I'm trying to get the guy to protect them a little better than he is. Can't stand to see nice guns like this stored in a tote in towels.

Thanks.

The British gun trade have their own forums and a very extensive Historical Database that is accessible after free registration here.

If you cannot find information on the gunmaker in the database, just post pictures in the Historical Questions thread and you'll definitely have a response in a little while.

Do post pictures here as well - I am sure that many would enjoy looking at them.

Cheers!

quote:

an oval with an "E." atop an "L. G." and that is atop a small, five pointed star.

This is a Liege/Belgian, Proof Mark

Hog Killer

I tend to agree with HK on the proof, but proofs can be a squirrely thang, and sometimes misleading. For example, leaving one country(Belgium) for another(England) requires(d) reproof in the new country of residence in the past/present...or so I understand.

IF the guns were built in Belgium it will be very difficult to garner a provenance due to WWII. Gun making was a cottage industry there before the war, and much of the record keeping, such as it was, has been destroyed for all time. I've had similar issues with my J. Pire Cape Gun.

Might want to garner some digital photos and bandy them about to the likes of the bigger aution houses....or mebbe Ross Seyfried. He wrote an article some time back on a Howda pistol a fella from Denmark wanted to convert to CF(bike ridin' rocker), the thread at LoadYourOwn.Com some years back. And yes, they should be better cared for, like the ding-dong I met in St. Marys some years back with an original brass blunderbuss. Turned out to be worth 5 solid figures. Mebbe my willingness to give him 4 of those was patently obvious?

Sure would like to try them out on some krittens though.

Dan

POTYHC

www.LifesLittle.Treasures

Panzer, what your friend has there is a pair of 1830-1840's percussion cat pistols. You describe the kind of pistol that a wealthy townsman would have owned for the purpose of shooting cats around the house and yard, sort of like the "Zimmerschuetzen" pistols that were popular for parlor cat shooting in Europe later in the same century. At this stage however, the necessity of using a cat pistol was frequent as they had no other defense against cat rabies and such, except maybe pointy toe boots which didn't always work effectively. The pistols are marked "1" and "2" to indicate the order of firing: i.e., "first" and "second". The R.P Pope carved in the wood was the name of the owner first to "blood" the pistols as was the custom of the time. "L.F." over the rampant lion probably was the maker's suggestion to use the pistol for "LARGE FELINES". The "E" in an oval atop the "L.G." originally meant "Excellent" for L(awn) G(ato), that is, Lawn Lions. That is a tiny bit of Spanish influence. The engraved star meant the caliber was cat appropriate. Since all the other markings are in English the set was made in America for use in controlling cats, recognized even in those days as pests. It would be proper to display them in holsters, loaded, after first making sure they are sighted in. Use them and continue time honored traditions. Good luck to your friend.

NS - great explaination

Wow! I'd never have guessed....

Dan

POTYHC

www.DidntSeeThe.Copperhead