Over-and-Under Flintlock Pocket Pistol of the Hughes of Gwerclas Family with Case and Accessories

Diminutive in size and elegant in form, small side-lock pistols like this one were one of Joseph Egg’s specialties, prized for their precision craftsmanship and jewel-like quality, as well as their convenience as pocketable weapons. Its novel single-trigger mechanism, designed by Egg, allowed for the barrels to be fired in succession with two pulls of the trigger. Egg made similar pocket pistols for the Prince of Wales after he became Prince Regent and his younger brother, Prince Frederick Augustus, Duke of York and Albany (1763–1827). This particular pistol belonged to a member of a Welsh royal family, Hughes of Gwerclas, whose arms are engraved on the gold pommel cap.

The finest London firearms made in the classic British style of the early nineteenth century rank among the most stately and innovative in the history of gunmaking. They are immediately recognizable by their elegant proportions, restrained ornament, and technical refinement. Graceful yet practical and perfectly balanced in the hand, they privilege overall formal quality and flawless mechanical work over applied adornments. This emphasis on the purity of form references the Neoclassical style then in vogue. It also breaks from the longstanding tradition of decorative opulence in fine Continental European firearms.

London gunmakers favored subtle embellishments that complemented the firearms’ deliberate and meticulous assemblies. An aesthetic vocabulary of blued, case-hardened, and browned steel and richly finished walnut, both with tasteful gold and silver accents, defines much of their best work. The various component parts of these firearms were individually produced under the direction of a master gunmaker by highly specialized craftsmen, including a lock smith, barrel forger, stocker, and engraver. From about 1790 firearms were generally fitted with mahogany cases, whose interiors were lined with green baize (woolen cloth) and subdivided into discrete compartments for the weapon, tools, and accessories.