Who made this Antique Pistol? Photos added of Barrel Stamps and Lock

[mountainman]

So I'm asking for a friend of mine who owns this unique pistol, as to who possibly would have made it, and what that unusual feature is on the lock where the frizzen would have been?

[Shreckmeister]

Looks middle eastern to me

[JPK]

That unusual part where the frizzen would of been is a safety device.

[Mattox Forge]

That appears to be a very old ~1700ish barrel combined with a later flintlock. The lock has clearly been converted to percussion. The style of cone blocking safety was popular in the 1830's in the German states (Shul or the Potsdam regions). I think a German gunsmith from those regions would have done a better job though. The stocking is also a very crude job. I suspect the restocking and conversion were done in a back-water place where the locals would have had some familiarity with German and French weapons, but little to no artisan training. Possibly the horn of Africa?

Mike

[wabeek]

Apparatus where frizzen would be expected if flint, swivels foreward & down to hold percussion cap on the nipple.

[Mattox Forge]

Apparatus where frizzen would be expected if flint, swivels foreward & down to hold percussion cap on the nipple.

If it works like the other ones I have seen, it is not for holding the cap on. It blocks the hammer from striking the cap if it is in place on the nipple.

Mike

[mountainman]

Thanks all for your response! I thought too that the construction of building this pistol didn't seem to follow the same quality as some of the British makers would have done.
No Tang bolt, but screws, I don't what holds the trigger plate in place, I can't see any screws or bolts, I'm guessing it's held by a spur on the rear of the plate, the front will slightly move up and down if I push on it.
That was one example I noticed.

[Seth Isaacson]

If I had to guess, I would say that it came from Brescia in Northern Italy based on the barrel and to a degree stock shape, but it is likely a bit of a "parts gun" from the overall appearance. The piece on the lock is a safety device/hammer stall that allows you to rest the hammer down safely over a cap while carrying it. Those are pretty common on early Continental European percussion guns.

[Daryl]

Thin barrel and looks as-if it is swamped just ahead of the "breech" section as well.

[mountainman]

So I had the privilege of taking the lock out to see what's underneath. Would anyone have seen this stamp before on the last photo?

[mountainman]

I was surprised, but this is what I found under neath the barrel.

[mountainman]

So would anybody know where these stamps were originated? Or Who? I would think the barrel and lock were salvaged or bought from the old country, and whoever built this pistol didn't have the same skills, as the British gunmakers, but had some vague ideas on how to put one together. So I think the parts were from another source, but I could be wrong?

[Mike Brooks]

The lock looks Belgian or Dutch to me. Early, say pre 1700

[Elnathan]

So would anybody know where these stamps were originated? Or Who? I would think the barrel and lock were salvaged or bought from the old country, and whoever built this pistol didn't have the same skills, as the British gunmakers, but had some vague ideas on how to put one together. So I think the parts were from another source, but I could be wrong?

Given the nature of the conversion I think it is more likely to be European than not. I have a cute little percussion shotgun with 1830-ish central European styling using a converted flintlock with a banana-shaped plate, so even in Europe they evidently did reuse old parts from time to time, even for fairly nice guns such as mine.

Wild guess: Birch stock? If so, I think rural Scandinavia might be a good candidate, and it could have made its way to the US in the hands of an immigrant later in the 19th century.