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LOT 111
Exquisite Silver Mounted Pair of Willoughby Sidelock “Queen Anne” Flintlock Pistols -A) Willoughby Flintlock Pistol - NSN, 60 cal., 5 3/8 inch round bbl., bright/silver finish, walnut grips. These pistols by gunmaker Robert Willoughby of Birmingham c. 1740-1760 are similar to the classic “Queen Anne” pistols and have turn-off barrels, separate breech chambers that hold the powder, half- length stocks, and silver furniture. Unlike the “standard Queen Anne” pistols, however, this pair uses separate sidelocks. The smoothbore barrels are multi-stage, cannon form and have small studs on the bottoms for removal with a spanner (absent). The breech chambers have shell and martial engraving and Birmingham private style proofs flanking an “RW” maker’s mark. The Locks have light scroll and border engraving, non-bridled pans, and “WILLOUGHBY” signed below the pans. The iron trigger guard and trigger plate have light engraving. The top of the wrists around the upper tangs have silver wire and pin inlays in the shape of shell and scroll designs. The silver wrist escutcheons have Rococo shell and scroll accents and are blank. The silver side plates have checkerboard and dot patterns at the front, scrolls, and armorial designs at the rear. The classic grotesque mask pommel caps have “JA” maker’s marks and Birmingham lion hallmarks.
CONDITION: Very fine overall. The iron surfaces display silver-gray patina with some barely noticeable scattered pitting. The silver has attractive dark aged patina and distinct designs. The stock is also very fine aside from a chip/sliver absent along the back of the lock mortise edge, and has light scratches and marks, and attractive grain. Mechanically excellent. B) Willoughby Flintlock Pistol - NSN, 60 cal., 5 3/8 inch round bbl., bright/silver finish, walnut grips. See “A.” CONDITION: Very fine overall. The iron surfaces display mostly a silver gray patina with some faint spotting and minor pitting. The silver displays attractive aged patina throughout and crisp designs. The wrist escutcheon is slightly loose. The stock is also very fine and has a crack at the nose of the lock, some dings and scratches concentrated around the front lock screw, and attractive grain and drop flats. Mechanically excellent. Estimate: 7,500 - 11,000
LOT 112
Documented Pair of Silver Mounted and Engraved Ransford Irish Flintlock Pistols Featured in “Early Firearms of Great Britain and Ireland from the Collection of Clay P. Bedford” -A) Ransford Flintlock Pistol - NSN, 65 cal., 8 3/8 inch round bbl., bright/ silver finish, walnut stock. This attractive pair of pistols is illustrated and described The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “Early Firearms of Great Britain and Ireland from the Collection of Clay P. Bedford” and were displayed at the MET in 1971 on pages 36 and 39. They note “Michael Ransford worked in Dublin from about 1735 until his death in 1757...Literature: Blackmore, Royal Sporting Guns at Windsor, p. 55 pl. 11; Christie’s sale, June 10, 1969, lot 191.” The pistols have silver mounts, and all but the upper ramrod pipes and wrist escutcheons have Irish
hallmarks. The furniture includes border, shell, classical martial, and floral patterns, and the pommel cap studs are grotesque green-man masks. The locks are signed “RANSFORD.” The two-stage, smoothbore barrels have traces of proofs on the upper left at the breech and dished rear sights on the tangs. The stocks have raised relief floral carving between the barrel tangs and wrist escutcheons and nicely shaped flats. The wrist escutcheons feature a crest with an armored hand holding a dagger and a ducal coronet. CONDITION: Very good with mostly silver gray patina on the lock and barrel along with some light pitting and darker patina at the edges, attractive aged patina on the silver furniture, and mild overall wear. The stock is also very good and has crisp raised relief carving, a thin crack at the nose of the lock, some small chips and slivers absent at the edges, and a couple of thin cracks/repairs between the tendril and the trigger guard tang on the right. Mechanically fine. B) Ransford Flintlock Pistol - NSN, 65 cal., 8 3/8 inch round bbl., bright/silver finish, walnut stock. See “A”. CONDITION: Very good with mostly silver gray patina on the lock and barrel along with some darker patina in the recesses and mild pitting, attractive aged patina on the silver, and mild overall wear. The stock is also very good and has some cracks in the wrist and forend, some filler, minor flakes and dents, and light scratches. Mechanically fine. Provenance: The Clay P. Bedford Collection; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1971; Property of a Gentleman. Estimate: 6,500 - 9,000
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AS PICTURED AND DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK EARLY FIREARMS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND FROM THE COLLECTION OF CLAY P. BEDFORD