The British Duelling Pistol by John A.Atkinson

The British Duelling Pistol by John A.Atkinson

The British Duelling Pistol by John A.Atkinson. The starting point is the year 1770, the date hallmarked on a pair of silver-mounted duelling pistols made in holster style by John Twigg of London. From then on, the book traces the many changes in style and character which marked the duelling pistol’s development through its blood-stained reign of more than 80 years, until 1851 when only three London firms displayed duelling pistols among the firearms on their stands at the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace. The text is a guide to dating the duelling pistol. Details range from the weight and style of the barrel to the shape of the lockplate, cock, trigger and pan. Silver furniture went out with changing fashion and was replaced with steel. Makers produced pistols which were more austere, more functional, heavier – and were also increasingly lethal as technical improvements to breech and barrel were accepted. The butt, too, changed in shape as time went on and makers sought to develop a pistol which would balance easily in the hand, “come up” naturally to cover the adversary – and despatch him. The butt with flat sides, typical of the fine light-handling duelling weapons of the 1770’s was soon modified. The flat sides were reduced to a flat strip and from about 1797 the butt, more often than not, was made entirely round. Its finish, too, offers a guide to dating the pistol. To this end, the author discusses the butt with plain finish, the introduction of hatching and its later modification to rough chequering, and then fine and smooth chequing. Small details, too, are analysed in the text as a guide to dating. These finer points in the art of pistol appreciation include the inlay of gold lines and maker’s stamp on the breech, the use of rouletting engraved in the same position; introduction of the sliding bolts which replaced wire nails to secure the barrel in stock; and the use of silver oval plates around the head and tail of the bolt to protect the stock from bruising when the bolts were being pulled, or pushed, through in order to dismount the barrel. Contemporary sources are quoted on the making of barrels, on boring and the cost of proof; why gold was used on touch hole and pan; when and why gold was replaced by the platina touch hole; why barrels from Spain enjoyed high favour for a time and why they were eventually spurned by English sportsmen and connoisseurs.” It begins with an Acknowledgements, followed by a nine page Introduction. The book is divided into eight chapters: 1 – The True Duelling Pistol Evolves; 2 – Lock, Stock and Barrel & the Pistol Case Too; 3 – Moulding the Bullets and Loading; 4 – Changes, Improvements – and Three New Makers; 5 – Presenting Robert Wogdon; The Man, His Family, and Some of His Pistols; 6 – H.W. Mortimer; John, & Joe Manton; 7 – Other Makers of Flintlock Duelling Pistols; 8 – The Percussion Duelling Pistol. The book contains 112 pages of text, complemented by multiple black and white photographs