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King George I V
LOT 1305
Historic and Absolutely Spectacular, Cased, Engraved, Gold-Inlaid and Silver-Mounted Joseph Egg Over-And-Under “Baby” Flintlock Pocket Pistol Made for the Future King George IV while Prince Regent - NSN, 32 cal., 2 3/4 inch octagon bbl., blue/gold/casehardened finish, walnut
stock. Famed London gunmaker Joseph Egg (1775-1837) was the nephew
of Durs Egg and is particularly noted for his fine over-and-under pocket
pistols, affectionately known to collectors as “Baby Eggs.” This example is truly extraordinary both in terms of its condition and its provenance, the first owner being Prince George Augustus Frederick (1762-1830) while Prince of Wales and Prince Regent circa 1818 prior to his being crowned King George IV. Egg is also known to have made other pistols for Prince Frederick Augustus (1763–1827), Duke of York and Albany, and members of the aristocracy. A similar pistol from the W. Keith Neal Collection is illustrated in W. Keith Neal & D.H.L. Back, “British Gunmakers: Their Trade Cards, Cases, and Equipment”, plates 348-349, and a pair from the J.F. Hayward Collection is held in the Collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (accession number: M.2802&A-1931). Rock Island Auction
Co. sold one of the later pistols with percussion cap ignition in 2019. Many of George IV’s fine firearms were held within the Carlton House Armoury and remain in the Royal Collection at Windsor.
