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LOT 3291
Fine, Rare and Incredibly Historic Pair of Gold and Silver
Accented American Flintlock Dueling Pistols by B. & J.
Cooper of New York with Case Inscribed to Dutch West Indies
Plantation Owner Robert Neilson of Saint Croix
-A) B. & J. Cooper Dueling Pistol - NSN, 62 cal., 9 1/4 inch
octagon bbl., brown/casehardened/blue/gold finish, walnut stock.
These pistols are very much English in styling and no doubt in part
use imported English components but were built in New York by
evidently English trained gunmakers. They feature “B & J COOPER/
NEW YORK” on the gold makers’ marks on the breeches, “B&J.C”
on the underside of the barrels rather than English proofs, and
“B & J COOPER” on the gold makers’ marks on the locks. Benjamin
and Joseph Cooper were located at No. 19 Partition Street in New
York City c. 1805 when they advertised “To SPORTSMEN” that they
offered firearms of “workmanship to be warranted equal to the
best London Manufacture” as well as “Mahogany cases for guns
or pistols...” and by 1813 were listing their “Military Store” as at No.
4 Maiden Lane. They were both gunmakers and importers. They
remained active after the War of 1812 until c. 1831, and Joseph Cooper remained active c.
1831-1858 and lived at 233 Broadway. The smoothbore barrels have dovetailed silver blade
front sights, “D-C 1270” and “D-C 1271” Irish registration marks from Dublin Castle c. 1843-
1846, and patent breeches with gold lined vents, gold bands, and the noted gold maker’s
marks. The rainproof locks have the noted oval gold makers’ marks, frizzen spring rollers,
burst and floral engraving, stepped tails and sliding half-cock safeties. The locks are fired
using adjustable single set triggers. The triggers are enclosed by spurred trigger guards
with pineapple finials. The forend caps and wedge escutcheons are silver. The half-length
stocks have multi-point checkered wrists with a swirl designs carved on the pommels,
a feature noted on other Cooper dueling pistols as well as those by H.W. Mortimer. The
stocks have a slightly humped profile at the top of the wrist, possibly indicating they were
originally going to be made as saw handle stock, a design the company also produced, or perhaps to fit the pair to
the original owner. The pair comes in a fitted mahogany case with green baize lining, Cooper trade label inside the
lid, rod with rammer and covered worm as well as a jag, powder flask, “22” marked ball mold (22 bore is around .596
caliber), some patches and balls, a casehardened mainspring vice, screwdriver, and brush. The lid has a flat folding
handle and an oval escutcheon inscribed “ROBT. NEILSON/SAINT CROIX.”
A biography of Robert Neilson of Beck’s Grove Plantation, St. Croix, written by Greg Lampe is included. It indicates
Neilson was a plantation and slave owner/”planter” on St. Croix in the Danish West Indies (now U.S. Virgin Islands). His
“Beck’s Grove” plantation was purchased from Jens Michelson Beck (1721-1791, a Danish surveyor and cartographer)
in 1787 after the plantation had been damaged by a hurricane. Beck had purchased the land in 1750 after surveying
and mapping the island. In 1816, Neilson is noted to have 124 slaves and 310 acres, 150 of the acres dedicated
to sugar production. Neilson’s wife, Mary, died in 1807. Neilson died in 1821. The plantation and the adjoining
plantation Clearmount/Clairmount was sold at auction on May 23, 1834, and purchased by Samuel Betts, originally
of New York. As part of the stipulations of the sale, any owners of the property had to pay Neilson’s daughter Jane
Mathilde Neilson (1807-1883) a 700 pound annuity. Betts was married to Neilson’s half-sister Susannah Lake. Lampe
theorizes that Neilson may have been from Ireland and that the pair of pistols may have thus been returned to
family members in Ireland after the sale of the plantation in 1834. The pair was sold to Irish collector Morris Cohen of
Dublin by an Irish family in the 1950s.
CONDITION: Fine overall with bright original gold inlay, aged patina on the silver, 60% plus distinct Damascus
patterns along the barrel along with a mix of light original brown finish and gray and brown patina, traces of case
colors, strong original blue on the entry pipe and trigger guard bow, mild oxidation, and general mild overall wear.
The stock is very fine and has crisp carving and checkering, small flakes by the tumbler, tension crack and scratches
by the lock screw, and general mild wear. Mechanically fine. The case and accessories are also fine and have mild age
and storage related wear. The mainspring vice has nearly all of the vibrant case colors remaining.
B) B. & J. Cooper Dueling Pistol - NSN, 62 cal., 9 1/4 inch octagon bbl.,
brown/casehardened/blue/gold finish, walnut stock. See “A.”
CONDITION: Fine overall with bright original gold inlay, attractive aged patina on the silver, 70% distinct Damascus
patterns along with a mix of fading original brown and gray and brown patina along the barrel, patterns of original
case colors, a faint crack in the neck of the cock, strong original blue on the trigger guard bow and entry pipe, minor
oxidation, and general mild overall wear. The stock is also fine and has distinct checkering and carving and some
mild scratches and dings mainly by the wedge and lock screw. The adjustment screw from the set trigger is absent;
otherwise mechanically fine. Overall, a very interesting and rare cased pair of American dueling pistols from New
York that were well-traveled and have been in several prominent collections.
Provenance: The Greg Lampe Collection.
Estimate: 22,500 - 37,500
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