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French Flintlock Pistol Eprouvette

French Flintlock Pistol Eprouvette

  • Product Code: FPTA-1726-SOLD
  • Availability: Out Of Stock
  • $1,250.00


From the invention of gun powder, there was a need to sort and classify it by its strength and quality. Before the invention of any mechanical devices, the powder was often sorted and graded by simply burning a sample of the powder, with the burning and flash of the powder evaluated, as well as the color of the smoke released, and the composition of the residue left behind. While this could provide clues about the quality of the powder’s formulation, it provided little information about its actual strength. The 1647 publication, The Art of Gunnery by Nathanael Nye, gives a detailed description of this “burning” type of powder testing, with chapter 14 going into some detail about how to decipher the qualities of the powder based upon the residue left after the power was burned.

 

In his excellent paper A Brief History of Powder Testers, H.G. Muller Ph.D. provides a concise evolution of the devices. Early mechanical powder testers start to appear during the mid-to-late 16thcentury. These were relatively large devices and were likely designed for the testing and evaluation of powder used for artillery pieces, as hand carried small arms were not plentiful during the mid-1500s. These testers were likely capable of making basic comparisons between batches of powder, but still provided little information about the actual strength of the powder. By the second quarter of the 17thcentury, more refined testers had been developed. These were still large devices for use in arsenals, armories and powder works and were not generally portable. These new testers provided a more quantified method of comparing the strength of the powders being tested. 

 

The end of the 16thcentury saw the development of the classic, pistol shaped powder tester, known as the eprouvette, in France. St. Remy’s 1697 publication  Memories d’Artilleriedepicts an early flintlock ignition pistol eprouvette. For the next century and a half, this form remained little changed, although commercial English powder testers from the beginning of the 19thcentury were often very much simplified. By the mid-18thcentury, the French pistol eprouvette had become the classic form for the portable powder tester. These devices were essential for military ordnance men, those who worked in the firearms trade and those who were merchants or dealers in powder. All needed to know the quality and strength of the power that they were dealing with, in order to use it safely, by correctly adjusting loads based upon its explosive properties. For those who were trading in the American wilderness, the device was indispensable, again to assess the powder to use it safely and to determine its quality (and thus value) as trade commodity. By the latter half of the 18thcentury, no serious merchant or trader in the American wilderness would be without such a useful tool.

 

Offered here is a really lovely French Flintlock Pistol Eprouvettethat is likely from the mid-to-late 18thcentury. The device resembles a medium sized flintlock pocket pistol. The tester is 9 ¾” in overall length, with a 3 5/8” flat lock that is rounded behind the hammer and terminates in a small teat. The lock is marked with small Crown/Pinspection of maker’s mark between the hammer and the pan. The only other marking on the lock system is a small *, a star-shaped inspection on the interior upper edge of the pan. The lock is mounted with a rounded, reinforced cock with a heart-shaped cut out, resembling the French military musket hammers that came into use circa 1770. The lock has a rounded, bridled and fenced removable iron pan. The flash in the pan ignites the powder being tested, which is placed in a small, tapered chimney shaped receptacle, located where the breech of the barrel would be located. This chimney appears to be capable of holding between 15 and 20 grains of powder, depending upon the fineness of the granulation. The chimney is capped by a small cover that is attached to a 1 9/16” diameter wheel. The wheel is controlled by a spring, that applies pressure to its rim, requiring a certain amount of strength to make it move. The wheel is graduated on the reverse from “0” to “12”. The detonation of the test powder would create enough pressure to push the cover off the chimney, causing the wheel to rotate. The strength of the power would then be indicated by the number that the vertical pointer, which supports the wheel, points to. The entire device is iron mounted with the triggerguard terminating in a rudimentary urn finial and the 3.5” sideplate secured by two lock mounting screws. The stock is of walnut and the butt is carved in the shape of a stylized bird’s head, or more specifically, an eagle.

 

The eprouvette remains in FINEoverall condition. It is 100% complete, correct and original. The lock remains in original flint and is mechanically excellent. The entire testing mechanism appears to be fully functional, with the powder measure wheel moving as it should and secured quite tightly by the strong spring. The iron components has a medium dull gray patina with scattered light surface oxidation, flecks of age discoloration and some small areas of light surface corrosion. There is some powdery, lightly rusted oxidation on the hammer, primarily in the heart-shaped cut out. The stock of the eprouvette remains in FINE condition as well. It is solid and complete and free of any breaks, cracks or repairs. The stock shows numerous small bumps, dings and handling marks, but shows no signs of abuse.

 

Overall this is a very attractive and wonderfully complete and functional example of a mid-to-late 18thcentury French Flintlock Pistol Eprouvette. This would be a wonderful addition to any collection of 18thcentury arms and accouterments and is a really lovely example in a very high level of preservation.


SOLD

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