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FINE CASED PAIR OF PERCUSSION POCKET PISTOLS BY

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:4,000.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD
FINE CASED PAIR OF PERCUSSION POCKET PISTOLS BY

HENRY TATHAM JR. WITH ACCESSORIES. Cal. 38. NSN. Henry Tatham was a well known London gunmaker working until around 1835, best remembered for his contract with the British Board of Ordinance to supply presentation rifles for the chiefs of the five Native American Nations for their help during the war of 1812. The pistols presented here were made by his son, Henry Jr. between 1824-34 when he was at his 24 Pall Mall address. They have 3 1/2" twist octagon barrels w/ top flats engraved "24 Pall Mall London". Patent breeches are case hardened & inlaid with platinum bands & have vented platinum blow outs. Breech irons with integral u-notch rear sights are nicely scroll engraved. Front spring, small size, percussion locks w/ flat faced hammers having dolphin heads, are fitted with back sliding safetys, which engage at half cock. Locks & hammers are engraved w/ 80% coverage well cut open shaded scroll. Each lockplate is also engraved "Henry Tatham Junr". European root walnut stocks w/ bag grips extend to muzzles with horn caps. Iron mounts include square shouldered trigger guards w/ stylized pineapple finials & nicely filed thimbles holding short rosewood ramrods with brass tips & tails (worms under both tails). Blued trigger guards are scroll engraved "en suite" with locks. Grips are nicely checkered. There are rectangular silver crest plates at tops of grips depicting Griffin rampant, wings extended which have a cross on their chests. UNATTACHED ACCESSORIES: Guns are housed in their original mahogany case with circular brass medallion on top, and brass key escutcheon. Case is lined in green velvet & has Henry Tatham Jr. paper label with Pall Mall address in lid. Bottom compartment is nicely fitted for pistols & original type accessories including small fluted copper bodied power flask by Hawksley. A steel nutcracker type ball mold engraved "76", a small square steel oil bottle, ebony handled nipple wrench with pricker & an ebony handled small turn screw. Two covered compartments with bone knobs on covers are present, one contains a large number of cast balls. CONDITION: very fine, barrels retaining 80-90% original brown finish with excellent definition of pattern. Locks & breech irons retain about 80% of their original case hardening color. Trigger guards retain over 90% original bright blue. Stocks retain about 90% French polish finish, with considerable marking on sides. Bores are very fine, smooth & shiny. Mechanically fine. Case is also very fine, exterior retaining most of its original varnish. There is some minor loss of wood in front of locking mechanism. Interior cloth is fine, with some rubs & light soiling. Label is very fine with some compressions from one pistol & some light soiling. Partitions are good, a few somewhat loose. Accessories are generally fine, mould showing heat discoloration. (01-21912/MGM). ANTIQUE. $8,000-12,000.