A FINE CASED PAIR OF 40 BORE FRENCH RIFLED PERCUSSION TARGET PISTOLS BY GASTINNE-RENETTE ARQUEBUS

A FINE CASED PAIR OF 40 BORE FRENCH RIFLED PERCUSSION TARGET PISTOLS BY GASTINNE-RENETTE ARQUEBUSIER DE L`EMPEREUR À PARIS, NO.2406 AND 2407, DATED 1865 with engraved three-stage octagonal reblued barrels rifled with ten grooves, decorated with bouquets of oak foliage and acorns behind the muzzles and over the breeches, fluted wasted medians signed in full on the flats, engraved breeches decorated en suite, numbered `1` and `2` on top and stamped `88` and `87` on the back respectively, struck with the barrelsmith`s mark beneath, engraved numbered breech tangs fitted with adjustable back-sights and decorated with oak bouquets on a matted ground, flush-fitting stepped locks decorated en suite with the tangs and signed on scrolls beneath the hammers, ebony half-stocks carved with oak foliage and acorns behind the tangs and above the pommels, the butts cut with a finely chequered panel, engraved steel mounts comprising vestigial side-plates, spurred trigger-guards, and pommels, all decorated with oak foliage and acorns on a matted ground, the latter incorporating an acorn finial, engraved steel fore-end caps, and engraved steel barrel bolt escutcheons: in a contemporary case veneered in rosewood, the lid inlaid in German silver with a vacant central scrollwork panel and with bands around the borders (cracked, the key escutcheon replaced), the interior lined and fitted in green baize (restorations) complete with a number of contemporary accessories, including bullet-mould, mallet and copper Dixon powder-flask 40cm; 15 3/4in The firm Gastinne-Rennette are recorded in Paris from 1839. They made pistols for the Emperor Napoleon III and the King of Spain and were awarded a silver medal at the Exposition Nationale of 1839.