Bonhams
Lot 287
A Fine Cased Pair Of Flintlock Box-Lock Pocket Pistols Of Small BoreBy Samuel Henry Staudenmayer, London, Early 19th CenturyWith bright turn-off barrels each engraved with a band of foliage at the breech and numbered '1' and '2' respectively on the lug, border engraved rounded actions each decorated with a martial trophy on both sides and signed along the breech over each side beneath the rectangular pan, engraved thumbpiece safety-catches also locking the steels, the latter each with blued spring, ring-neck cocks, blued folding triggers each within a border of beadwork, silver escutcheons engraved with owner's crest, and chequered figured rounded butts: in contemporary fitted mahogany case lined in red velvet with a barrel-key and bullet mould (one arm incomplete), the pistol tray lifting out to reveal a compartment beneath, the exterior of the lid with circular ivory escutcheon engraved with owner's crest and motto, London proof marks 3.4 cm. barrels Footnotes:ProvenanceSold in these Rooms, Antique Arms and Armour, 1 December 2004, lot 448The Dr. Shaun Brown Collection sold in these Rooms, 24 April 2013, lot 455LiteraturePeter Hawkins, The Price Guide To Antique Guns & Pistols, 1973, p. 126Samuel Henry Staudenmayer, former workman of John Manton, was gunmaker to the Prince of Wales and the Duke of York. He is a noted maker of rifles and air weaponsThe crest and motto appears to be that of the Dukes of Manchester. The most likely candidate is Colonel William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester (1771-1843). Following his education at Harrow he joined the army, attaining the rank of Colonel in the Huntingdonshire Militia in 1794, having been appointed Lord Lieutenant of the county the year before. He served as Governor of Jamaica between 1807 and 1827, and was instrumental in preparing the colony for emancipation. He retired to England to serve as Postmaster-General under Wellington. In 1841, due to ill health, he resigned the post of Lord Lieutenant and died in Rome two years laterThis lot is subject to the following lot symbols: Y ФY Subject to CITES regulations when exporting items outside of the EU, see clause 13.Ф This lot contains or is made of ivory. The United States Government has banned the import of ivory into the USA.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
