The standardization of military small arms patterns by the major world powers was something did not really start until the first half of the 18^th century. In England, this began with the adoption of what has been labeled by scholars as the Pattern 1722, the first real attempt to create a standard set of specifications for the flintlock infantry musket with the design being an amalgamation of features found in the wide array of infantry muskets being obtained by colonels to arm their regiments prior to an official pattern adoption. Like any design, it would go through a series of upgrades, updates, improvements and changes, that would later be given the designations of Pattern 1742, 1756, 1768, 1777 and so on. Many muskets produced prior to the adoption of the initial pattern in 1722 and the beginning of Pattern 1722 production in 1730 were very similar to Pattern 1722 but were simply the direct ancestors of what the Board of Ordnance would eventually adopt as an official pattern. 

In France, the first military firearm to be standardized based upon an official pattern was also the infantry musket. In this case the pattern was standardized in 1717 and was given the designation of Model 1717. In 1733 the first official French handgun pattern was standardized as well as the Model 1733 pistol. These guns saw use with mounted troops, as well as with the navy, some officers and occasionally government officials. The Model 1733 took the form of a long barreled, large caliber flintlock pistol, typical of the first half of the 1700s. The official pattern was about 19 ½” in overall length with a 12 ¼” octagon to round barrel of about .63 caliber, often expressed in the number of round balls to the pound that would fit the bore size. As such, the pistols were usually nominally 18 Bore, but extant examples vary from as small as about 24 Bore (.58 caliber) to as large as about 16 Bore (about .66 caliber)  . The pistol had a flat beveled flint lock with a grooved, stepped tail, and was quite similar to the Model 1728 musket lock, which was the standard French infantry arm at the time. The integral iron pan was facetted, with a simple external bridal, and the cock was of a flat, swan neck design that was not reinforced. Early production pistols typically did not have an internal bridle for the tumbler, but this refinement was adopted during the service life of the guns. The standard issue pistol was typically brass mounted with a simple reinforcement band near the forend tip. Some naval pistols were iron mounted, and often contractor made arms were made with iron mounts as well. The issue pistols often incorporated a short belt hook, similar to those normally associated with sea service pattern pistols. These long-barreled pistols remained the standard French cavalry pistol through the early part of the 1760s, when the Model 1763 pistol supplanted them. The Model 1733 was the standard issue pistol during the course of King George’s War, The War of the Austrian Succession, and the Seven Years War, which was called the French & Indian War in the American colonies. After the replacement of the Model 1733 with the Model 1763 and later Model 1777 pistols, many of the older guns saw additional years of service in French colonies around the globe and some were sold to the Continental Government in the newly formed United States for use during the American Revolution. 

The French Arsenal system for the production of military arms during the early 18^th century was similar to the Tower of London contractor system that was used in England. Until about the third quarter of the 18^th century, the French arsenals were more assembly and storage locations than true manufacturing facilities. Contracts were let to qualified gun makers to produce components like locks, barrels and gun furniture, which were delivered to the arsenals for assembly into completed arms. The Tower of London used the same contractor-based supply system during this period. Eventually the arsenals became mostly self-contained manufactories, but in the early days they relied on the work of local contractors for this part. This is part of the reason why the major French government arsenals were established in the cities of Charleville, St. Etienne, Maubeuge and Tulle, as these were cities with large concentrations of gunmakers, much like London and Birmingham in England. During this period contractors were also relied upon to make completed arms, particularly in the case of pistols, which were used not only by mounted troops but by the navy, military officers and some government officials. These guns were often signed on their locks by the maker, but with the addition of the arsenal name, indicating the gun had been made under contract for the arsenal at St. Etienne, Charleville, Tulle or Maubeuge. Due to their location near the primary port bases for the French Navy’s two primary fleets, the French navy primarily relied upon St. Etienne for the small arms for its Mediterranean Fleet and Tulle for the small arms for its Atlantic Fleet, which meant Tulle was often the source for the small arms that were used in the French colonies in the New World.

Offered here is a lovely example of a French 1733 Type Flintlock Officer’s Pistol. The pistol was made by French gunmaker E. Le Lorain who worked in Valence, Drôme, France circa 1720-1733 according to Stockel. The lock is clearly signed in two lines:

LE LORAIN

A CHARLEVILLE

The “A Charleville” location, rather than listing Lorain’s actual town of Valence indicates the gun was made on contract for the Royal Arsenal at Charleville, almost certainly for a French officer or government official who would have had the ability to arrange for small arms through the arsenal, although in the case of the officer, he would have almost certainly had to have paid for the gun, rather than have it issue to him.

The pistol is likely a pre-1733 pattern gun, both based upon Lorain’s known working dates and the fact that this gun does not exactly follow the 1733 pattern specifications. The pistol is about 20” in overall length, with a 12 ¼” long, pinned octagon to round barrel that is approximately .58 caliber, or about 24 Bore. The general profile of the barrel is more like the earlier, pre-1733 pattern pistols, with an extended nocksform that results in a narrow flat that runs the length of the barrel and some rudimentary moldings at the breech. The barrel is secured by pins along the length of the stock, and with a single screw through the breech tang. Traces of an illegible mark, probably a name, is present on the nocksform of the barrel and the breech aera and periphery of the nocksform are engraved with a geometric border, with the same pattern found on the lock. The lock is very much in the pattern of the Model 1733 lock. The lock is 5 1/8” in length, with a slightly curved “banana” profile. The lock is flat and beveled, with a grooved, stepped tail. The rear of the lock terminates in a pronounced “teat”. As mentioned, the lock is clearly engraved in two lines, forward of the hammer, LE LORAIN/A CHARLEVILLE. The lock is lightly engraved, with geometric border lines. The same geometric motifs are engraved around the periphery of the cock, under the pan, along the edge of the pan and on the edge of the pan cover. The integral pan is of iron and is facetted and fenced. Unlike the Model 1733 pistols, the pan is unbridled externally, which was typical of earlier pattern guns. Interestingly, the lock features an internal bridle over the tumbler, an advancement that makes the lock function more smoothly and something that would not be incorporated into Model 1733 production until at least the 1740s. The cock is of the flat, faceted swan neck form without reinforcement. The hammer (frizzen) has a curled toe, and the steel (frizzen) spring has a feathery pointed finial. The lock remains in original flint and is unaltered with even the top jaw and screw appearing to be original to the lock. The iron trigger is essentially plain with only the most rudimentary hint of a reverse curl at the tip. Model 1733 triggers were plain without a curl . The pistol is mounted in iron, rather than the standard brass of the Model 1733 production pistols. It has a bulbous faceted butt cap with 2” long langets and is marked with an illegible set of initials stamped into the lower obverse of the cap that are probably an arsenal or inspector’s mark. The mark may be a J • B.  Other iron furniture includes a flat decorative two-screw side plate that is lightly engraved, a 1 ½” crowned engraved wristed escutcheon plate that has not been personalized, and a flat faceted decorative triggerguard with an engraved topiary finial. The pistol has a single faceted sheet iron ramrod thimble, and a matching faceted sheet iron entry pipe. The pipes secure a wooden tapered trumpet head wooden ramrod with an iron reinforcement disc on its face. The ramrod is frozen in the pipes and could not be removed. The pistol is made without sights, a not uncommon feature of the era where handguns were point and shoot weapons used as rather short distances. The highly figured and striped walnut stock has a simple two-tiered stepped molding carved around the rounded breech plug tang and more detailed carved moldings around the lock mortise, side plate, around the triggerguard and the entry pipe. A raised carved molding with incised line border is carved along the edges of the ramrod channel. These decorative features are more typical of the pre-1733 pattern and are higher grade work than would be expected from a standard issue pistol.

Considering the age of the pistol, which is approaching 300 years, the gun remains in about VERY GOOD+ to NEAR FINE condition overall. The pistol appears to be completely correct and original in all respects, with even the ramrod appearing to be original or at worst a period of use replacement. As noted, the lock is clearly engraved and marked.  The lock is moderately oxidized with a mottled brown and dull  gray color to it and showing an essentially untouched patina. The lock is mostly smooth and has only some scattered pinpricking and minor surface roughness scattered over its surface. The lock is fully functional and works well on all positions. The pistol is in its original flint configuration and is not a re-conversion. As noted, even the cock appears to be completely original to the lock, including both the top jaw and screw. The interior of the pan shows heavy oxidation, some surface rust and moderate roughness. The touchhole appears unmolested and is well located in the pan, it slightly forward of center. It shows good wear and moderate erosion and retains its original taper and angle. The hammer (frizzen) shows good age and wear, and the edge of the pan cover retains the original engraving that matches that found on the lock and the cock. The barrel has about the same overall appearance and patina as the lock, having a mostly brown and dull gray patina with some darker patches of oxidized salt and pepper and pinpricking scattered along its entire length. There is also some light wear along the sharper edges of the extended nocksform, where the patina has worn away from handling, leaving a dull pewter color in those areas. It is nice that the gun has escaped the typical “cleaned to bright in a European manner” treatment that many Continental arms have received over the last century or so. As would be expected, the  barrel does exhibit some scattered oxidized surface roughens and shows some patches of light to moderate pitting scattered along its entire length. The nominally .58 caliber smooth bore is in about FAIR to GOOD condition. It is rough, dark and dirty with light to moderate pitting along its entire length, including a few patches of deeper pitting. The iron furniture has the same richly oxidized brownish gray patina found on the barrel and lock. The butt cap shows some moderate pitting on the underside and has a very thickly oxidized brown patina. The pistol stock is in wonderful condition for its age as well and does qualify as NEAR FINE considering that is about 300 years old! The stock is full length and solid with no breaks or major repairs or major restoration noted. There is a relatively well concealed repaired crack that is about 2” long, emanating from the front edge of the lock mortise and traveling up to the edge of the forend in the barrel channel. There is some minor restoration and filler in the moldings above the ramrod pipe near the muzzle, on both sides. There are also some scattered areas of small chipped loss, mostly around the various stock pins and there is some minor gapping and imperfect fit along the lower edge of the butt cap. Otherwise, the stock shows only the numerous expected bumps, dings and minor surface mars that would be expected on a military pistol that nearly three centuries old. The wood has a really wonderful smooth, polished patina, the result of being handled for almost three hundred years.

Overall, this is a really fantastic looking and completely original pre-French & Indian War era French Model 1733 Type Officers’ Flintlock Pistol. The pistol is maker marked by a known French gunsmith who worked c1720-1733 and remains in really lovely condition. The pistol is in original flint, is mechanically fine and is absolutely gorgeous. If you are a serious collector of early martial pistols, from the first half of the 18^th century, this would be wonderful addition to your collection. This gun may well have seen service during the Revolutionary era as well and would be equally at home in a collection of arms from that era. Every collection of American Colonial period arms needs to have representations of English, French, Low County (Dutch/Germanic), Spanish and American made arms. This would be a great French piece for an advanced collection and is one that you will be very proud to display.