This is a lovely example of an English flintlock holster pistol from the last quarter of the 18^th century. The pistol was made by William Perry, a Birmingham based gunmaker and wine merchant who was known to mark is guns “London”, as was a somewhat common practice among Birmingham based gunmakers of the era who were hoping to make their guns more marketable and to add an air of higher quality to their work. Perry was located at 94 Snow Hill in Birmingham from 1776-1783 and relocated to 6 Steelhouse Lane, working there from 1784-1788. 

The pistol is a wonderful example of the types of upper grade handguns made for and sold to the wealthy and military officers during the last quarter of the 18^th century. The pistol is mounted in Paktong, a Chinese alloy that actually inspired the creation of “German silver”. Paktong was an alloy that was primarily copper with some nickel and some zinc and which had the general appearance of silver but was not made of the precious metal and was not subject to tarnishing over time the way real silver did. During the 18^th century the only real source for the alloy was China and the metal as rather expensive, but less so than real sterling silver. It was an optimal metal for the production of higher end small arms were to be mounted in something nicer and more expensive than iron or brass, but without the even higher cost of silver. The metal was so popular that during the late 18^th century the German’s worked to develop their own version of the alloy, which they did during the latter part of the 18^th century. The end result was named “German silver” when it was introduced to England around the turn of the 19^th century, and was an allow comprised of nominally 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. As noted, the Paktong metal greatly resembles German silver (also called “nickel silver”) and due to its high copper content has a slightly yellowish tone but is free from the ravishes of tarnish over the years. It is also durable and stronger than silver, making it made a perfect metal for firearms mountings.

The pistol is .60 caliber and smoothbore, with a nominally 9” long pinned barrel that is slightly swamped with the traditional two stage octagon to round form that features baluster turned rings at the transition. The pistol is just under 16” in overall length. The gun has a 4 ½” flat beveled stepped lock with a pronounced teat at the rear. The lock is lightly engraved with decorative border lines and foliate themes at the tail. The flat faceted swan neck cock is engraved ensuite. The lock neatly engraved Perry in decorative script below the pan. The lock has an integral rounded, fenced and externally bridled pan. The lock incorporates a roller frizzen, a rather advanced lock feature in the 1770s and 1780s, that was typically only encountered on higher end guns during that period. The frizzen toe is curled, and the tip of the frizzen spring is bulbous. The breech plug tang is engraved with simple flowing foliate themes, similar to the engraving on the lock. The engraved geometric border lines at the rear of the breech match the patterns around the periphery of the lock. The top flat of the barrel is engraved London in a clear, swooping script and the left angled breech flat shows London proof marks. The lock remains in original flint and is unaltered. 

The Paktong mountings are lightly engraved with foliate themes. The mountings include a flat side plate with a stepped rear, mimicking the lock, the triggerguard, the ramrod thimble and entry pipe and the bulbous buttcap with long, swooping langets. The triggerguard features an acorn finial and has simple foliate engraving on the triggerguard bow. The buttcap has more detailed foliate themed engraving. The ramrod pipes secure a tapered wooden ramrod that appears to be original to the pistol but is frozen in place and cannot be removed.

The pistol remains in VERY GOOD condition and is very attractive. The barrel is lightly oxidized with a thinly mottled dark gray patina over a dull pewter base patina on the barrel. The metal is almost entirely smooth with some minor freckles of light surface roughness and some minor pinpricking. The lock has a similar patina with darker freckled gray oxidation over a dull pewter patina. The markings on the lock and barrel remain clear and crisp, as does the engraving.  The Paktong mountings have an attractive, slightly yellowish tone similar to the German silver that the Paktong alloy inspired. As noted, the lock remains in original flint and is not reconverted. The lock is mechanically functional and remains crisp and works exactly as it should. The bore of the pistol is in GOOD+ condition. It is dark, dirty, moderately oxidized and lightly pitted. The wood is in VERY GOOD condition and is fairly crisp and shows no indications of having been sanded. As is typical of any gun from this era, there are some old drying and minor stress cracks in the wood. There is small crack that runs from the rear lock screw to the barrel channel, which is probably the result of the screw being over tightened. There is also a small tight crack that runs from the bottom center of the lock mortise towards the triggerguard. Finally, there is a small, tight grain crack running from the tail of the entry pipe towards the triggerguard’s acorn finial. Otherwise, the wood only shows the usual scattered minor bumps, dings and mars typical of a gun that is approaching 250 years old.

Overall, this is very nice example of a late 18^th century English holster pistol that could potentially have been made during the period of the American Revolution but realistically was probably made during the latter part of the 1780s. However, since Perry’s working dates are the fairly narrow window of 1776 to 1788, it can certainly be said that the gun is Revolutionary War era. The gun is very attractive and a much higher-grade gun that most of the typical holster pistols of the era. It will be a fine addition to any collection of English flintlock pistols or in a display of pistols typical of British officer of the era.