This pistol has a high level of ornamentation, from the sea serpent sideplate to the ball and cheek butt cap with its Grotesque Mask which is detachable from the twelve-sides engraved cap itself. The trigger guard and ramrod pipe are brass as well, while the carved walnut stock is in raised relief at each location. The barrel is reinforced three times, and of the very large and unusual 16-bore, or .656 caliber in today's conversion. The pistol is nicely complimented with the maker's name on the lock plate, M. Stones, a London gunsmith from 1660-1700./p
The 10 inch barrel has a foresight nock, and is slightly tapered. Strawberry and leaf motif are engraved in several locations, including the trigger guard that has a hollow backwards curl trigger, called a Queen Anne trigger. A very top example of an early firearm for a private British subject.
This Pistol is Illustrated in "British Pistols and Guns, 1640-1840"by Ian Glendenning, pages 24-25, 1957. From the Author's Collection.Pistol Measures 16⅜ Inches Overall with a 10 Inch Barrel
