Few forms of pistol are more streamlined and graceful than the flintlock pistols known to collectors as the “Queen Anne” pistol. Despite the fact that the form appears to have originated during the 1680s, some three decades prior to Anne’s reign, and really came into its own during the early Georgian period (c1715-1760), the design became popular during her rule and the name has stuck to this day. In general, these pistols are “turn-off” flintlock pistols with tapered round barrels and cannon muzzles. The construction was mostly of metal, with a wood grip and without a forend. The barrels screwed off to allow loading from the breech, which meant that the guns were inherently ballistically superior to muzzleloading arms of the period. This loading system allowed the use of a slightly larger than bore sized ball, an impossibility with a conventional muzzleloader of the time, which was compressed when fired and achieved higher breech pressures and higher velocities than could be achieved by a comparable load in a muzzleloading pistol. The elegant form with the curved butt, often capped with a grotesque mask cap, was well designed to point naturally with a lower bore axis than competing designs, making it an inherently accurate pistol. The flintlock action was typically of the side lock design, although at the end of the period of popularity box lock actions did appear. During the zenith of the popularity of these guns, during the second and third quarters of the 18^th century, it was not uncommon for the guns to be mounted in sterling silver with the butt caps, side plates and thumb pieces often intricately decorated and chiseled and chased cast silver pieces from well-known silversmiths of the period.

Offered here is a wonderful Silver Mounted Queen Anne Pistol by Bumford. The pistol is singed BUMFORD block letters below the frizzen spring and is marked with the {Fleur-de-Lis}/IB maker’s mark of John Bumford between a set of London Gunmaker’s Company proof marks. John Bumford (2) was the son of gunmaker John Bumford (1), who had worked in London during the 1730s. Young John (2) was apprenticed to gunmaker Thomas Hardwell in 1735 and free of the Gunmaker’s Company in 1742 with the acceptance of his proof piece. He was elected Assistant in 1746 and master in 1751. He established his own business and was noted to be found at the Sign of the Golden Blunderbuss, at the Royal Exchanged in the Minories 1754-1759 and being located at a couple of other Minories locations through 1774. He served as a contractor to the Board of Ordnance 1756-1771, a contractor to the East India Company 1745-1773 and a contractor to the Hudson’s Bay Company 1757-1775. He served as viewer (gun inspector) for the Hudson’s Bay Company 1750-1756. According to Blackmore, “In 1754, John Bumford, one of the more affluent gunmakers, had in his warehouse trading stock insured with the same company (Royal Exchange Assurance) for £1,980; five years later this value was increased to £2,780.” Using the complex conversion systems provided on the Measuring Worth website, the economic value that those amounts represent today are approximately £6 Million- and £7.8 Million-pounds sterling, respectively, or $7.7 to $10 Million dollars, respectively. Bumford died in 1775, and his estate was probated that year.

This Queen Anne Pistol by Bumford follows the classic “Queen Anne” form and measures a graceful 11.25” overall length, which makes the gun a smaller “belt sized” pistol, rather than the much larger “holster sized” guns intended for carry in pommel holsters, or a possibly a larger “pocket sized” gun. The pistol is equipped with a 4.5” tapered three-stage round brass barrel with baluster turned rings at the transitions and a cannon muzzle. The bore measures nominally .58 caliber at the muzzle, which would be 24-Bore in the English system, in the typical range of .56-.58 caliber that the British military considered “Pistol Bore”. As noted, the bottom of the frame, forward of the triggerguard and immediately behind the barrel junction, is engraved BUMFORD, and is stamped with the London commercial {CROWN}/V view mark followed by the Bumford’s {Fleur-de-Lis}/IB maker’s mark and then a London commercial {CROWN}/GP proof mark. The top of the breech is neatly engraved LONDON in a flowing ribbon. The breech is lightly engraved with foliate themes and the iron breech tang, which is in the form of a busk final, is engraved with more detailed foliate motifs. The triggerguard bow is neatly engraved with floral theme surrounded by a diamond border. The frame is neatly border engraved with alternating classical geometric patterns. The lock is of the conventional Queen Anne pattern side lock with a rounded and fenced, externally bridled brass pan with a frizzen face that is neatly faceted. The cock is of the rounded swan neck variety. The frizzen spring is in the classic form, following the curve of the pan and fence and then terminating in nearly 90-degree vertical leg. The pistol is mounted with a silver butt cap, that is engraved with floral motifs rather than being the classic “grotesque mask”. The buttcap is marked with a CF (or possibly “GF”) maker’s mark and with double Birmingham assay office markings, including the {George III} Duty Mark, the Birmingham Assy Office {Anchor}, the {Lion Passant} and with the date code of X within a {Shield}. While the maker’s mark is not familiar to me and could not be identified, the combination of Birmingham Assay Office marks indicate that the sterling silver butt cap was produced (or at least the duty paid on it) in 1795, some two decades after the death of the gun’s maker. This suggests that the current butt cap, which fits the pistol perfectly, was a period of use replacement of addition. The fact that the pistol remained in a family in Great Britan and quite possibly in use for many decades after it was manufactured is attested to by the barrel marking 2K-S 460. This is an Irish registration mark as required for firearms in Ireland as a result of the Act of 1843. K-S is the mark of King’s County, which is now County Offlay. The “2” prefix before the “K-S” mark suggests that this pistol was originally part of a pair. A thirty-year survey of Irish Arms registration marking only notes 23 surviving King’s County marked firearms, which relatively low when compared to Dublin City (131), Dublin County (122), Down County (75), East Cork (65) and Tyrone (59). The analysis of surviving registration marks and the highest numbers known have allowed the researchers to determine that of the 190,860 guns registered and licenses issued between 1843 and 1845, roughly a quarter of the guns were located in six counties (Antrim, Armagh, Down, Tyrone, Londonderry and Fermanagh) and that the average number of licenses issued in the remaining counties was 3,729.

The pistol remains in FINE overall condition. It has been cleaned to bright in a European manner, a not uncommon occurrence for arms that were collected in England and on the Continent over the last 100 to 150 years. The gun remains quite crisp throughout with strong lines and edges and clear markings, showing only some weakness to the assay marks on the buttcap. The brass barrel shows moderately scattered oxidation and discoloration and has a mostly golden patina indicative of the aforementioned cleaning. The iron parts have a richly oxidized brown patina and shows some scattered surface roughness and light pitting. The brass flash pan and touchhole show some moderate erosion and a layer of old powder residue. The barrel has been tightly screwed down on to the frame and is now seized and cannot be removed by hand. The wrench lug on the bottom of the barrel is slightly off-center and is not correctly indexed by about 10%.  The silver butt cap has been polished to bright and has left the marking somewhat weak. The pistol is mechanically functional with a crisp lock mechanism and a tight frizzen. The bore of the pistol is VERY GOOD. It is deeply oxidized with the rich dark green of verdigris and the discoloration of powder residue. The bore shows some light erosion but is still relatively smooth. The walnut grip remains in NEAR FINE condition. It is still relatively crisp but does show an assortment of scattered bumps, dings, handling marks and minor surface scuffs.

Overall, this is a really attractive and very crisp example of a classic Silver Mounted Queen Anne Pistol with a less common brass barrel and produced by one of the more successful London gunmakers of the 3^rd quarter of the 18^thcentury. The gun was produced between 1751 and 1775 and places it squarely in the period of both the French & Indian War and the American Revolution. The fact that nearly 100 years later the gun was being registered in Ireland indicates that it was a prized possession of a family that wanted to keep a firearm that likely belonged to an important ancestor. The gun is in much nicer condition than many of the surviving examples found today and while it has been cleaned in the expected fashion, it has not been over cleaned, and the cleaning does not detract. The gun would be a lovely addition to any collection of French & Indian War or Revolutionary War era arms, a collection of early English flints, a collection of arms made by Hudson’s Bay or East Indian Company contractors, or simply as a lovely example of the gunmaker’s art in third quarter of the 18^th century. This is a gun that you will be very glad to add to your collection that displays wonderfully.