Nicholas-Noël Boutet & Jean LePage

[survtech]

Thank you for admitting me to your portal, my name is Mike Barnett, I am based in Perth, Western Australia. My collecting focus is on French high-art pocket pistols made by the gunmakers to Napoleon and the French Royal Court, specifically pistols made by Nicholas-Noël Boutet and Jean LePage.

I have not always focused exclusively on pocket pistols, so for my first post I will discuss a pair of pistols, commissioned by Napoleon and presented to Mariano Luis d'Urquijo, Spanish first minister for Foreign Affairs who later presented them to José de la Serna e Hinojosa, 1st Count of the Andes and last Viceroy to Peru. (May 1, 1770 – July 6, 1832)

They were passed down by descent to Eugenia de la Rocha y Fontecilla, Marquesa de Angulo great grandmother of the last person to own them before me.

The pistols were sound but on the verge of becoming seriously corroded due to neglect.

I wrote a paper on these pistols with further information, including hidden marks, I'm not sure if links to PDF's are allowed, so I won't link at the moment.

[Pendita65]

Hi,

nice to see such a beautifull set of pistols in such high quality thanks for sharing them.

best wishes, Martin

[fernando]

Welcome to the forum, survtech .
I know from talks with collector historian Rainer Daehnhardt that he is a great fan of Jean LePage. I remember visiting an exhibition where he had for show an interesting pair of Portuguese barrels made in 1584, which were later mounted on a pair of pistols by LePage in 1811. Pity i don't have clear pictures of the pistols themselves.


.

[fernando]

Originally Posted by fernando

... Pity i don't have clear pictures of the pistols themselves...

For yours and all interested members delight, here is a set of pictures of these great pistols, a kind courtesy of Professor Rainer Daehnhardt.
As previously noted,these barrels were manufactured in Lisbon in 1584 for the Duke Don Diego de Gomez de Silva y Mendoza, a noble Luso Spaniard, Captain General of the Portuguese frontier, later Vice Roy of the Kingdom (1564-1630). They were remounted under commission in Paris in 1811 by Napoleon's gun smith Jean Lepage, exclusively for the reuse of these magnificent pair of Portuguese barrels.
It is known that Le Page used to produce all guns for Napoleon's personal use, as being preferred by him to those of Boutet, due to a flaw in their nechanism.



-

[fernando]

A couple more ...



-

[Fernando K]

With all due respect, allow me to doubt. The cannons seem very elaborate to be from 1584. The fire gilding, the chiseling work...
Affectionately

[corrado26]

This boxlock pistol proves that Lepage not only made the most valuable pieces, but also pistols for the common man - unfortunately in not particularly good condition.

[survtech]

Thank for your kind words.

"I know from talks with collector historian Rainer Daehnhardt that he is a great fan of Jean LePage."

Me too Fernando, below is nice pair of cased percussion pistols and a very rare pair of presentation pocket pistols.

The percussions are by LePage Moutier; the pockets are much earlier and very very rare.

Jean LePage made some spectacular presentation pistols and long-arms, but his presentation de-luxe grade pocket pistols are exceptionally rare.

There is a magnificent Montagny engraved pair of double-barrel pocket pistols by LePage in the Metropolitan Museum of Art but, other than the pair shown here, I am not aware of any others, search engines also only come up with the Met pair and the pair you see here.

To say that these pocket pistols are the equal of anything from the Versailles Manufactory is an understatement, these pistols are stunningly beautiful.

As is usual for presentation pocket pistols, each lock-face carries a different engraving. Like the Met pistols, the lock-face engravings are likely the work of Fleury Montagny; they are certainly from the pattern book of Ignace Joseph Chevalier de Claussin (1766-1844), as are many of the presentation pistols by both Boutet and LePage.

The four lock-face engravings are: –

“Neighing Horse” from an etching by Paulus Potter (1625-1654) (This exact engraving is also on one of the Met pistols.)

An untitled etching of a ram by Paulus Potter.

An untitled etching of a ram by Nicolaes Berchem (1620-1683)

“Pissing Sheep” by Marcus de Bay (1639-1844).

[survtech]

"I know from talks with collector historian Rainer Daehnhardt that he is a great fan of Jean LePage."

Fernando, apart from the pair in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and this pair, I have been unable to find any other examples of deluxe grade pocket pistols by Jean LePage.

I would be very interested to know if Mr. Daehnhardt or any other Jean LePage collector knows of any other pocket pistols by Lepage of similar quality to these.

Unfortunately, I have no idea of the provenance other than they were photographed for an article by Boutet expert Dean Taylor for the 1982 American Society of Arms Collectors Bulletin 68:70-82.

Kind regards

Mike

[fernando]

Originally Posted by survtech

I'm not sure if links to PDF's are allowed, so I won't link at the moment.

Yes Mike, PDF's are allowed. Only some times they are a bit tricky to open.

On another note, once my source (RD) decided to open his voluminous data chest, i would like to post here in written text, some biographic notes on the LePage saga, for our members perusal. I also hope they include some 'missing links' to your info files of this master.

Quote:

During the period of the French Revolution, 1789 -1799, LePage's workshop and store were robbed by the crowd and all the weapons present were stolen. There is an engraving of this with women coming out of the LePAGE store with halberds, swords and rifles in their hands. After seing this, what was new to me at the time, that LePage also sold halberds, i researched and came to conclusion that it was true. LePage also sold polearms. Actually, one has already passed through my hands.
Also i have a espadim (small sword) made and signed by LePage, richly inlaid with worked gold, with the Royal Portuguese coat of arms, which Queen Dona Maria the 2nd, while in refuge in Paris during the liberal Campaigns, had it made for the Duke of Loulé, who went to collect her and bring her back to Portugal.
Back to the plunder, his employees fled with parts of pieces they have started, to later complete them minimally, with little decoration. The value of weapons at the time depended on their functional condition.
Many weapons from Boutet and also from LePage have passed through my hands. Those for Napoleon's personal use tend to be by LePage and those he offered were by Boutet.

PS
Concerning Udo's pocket pistol (post #9), this has the basic characteristics to be a LePage product ... although with a low quality finish. The easiest way to confirm that, is to disassemble it and check whether it has the serial number and production year.

[survtech]

One often reads that Nicholas-Noël Boutet was, “arguably, the finest gunmaker the world has ever known". This, of course, is not true, Lepage, Aubron, JB Laroche, Jean La Roche, Chasteau, Pirmet, Gosset, Manceaux and many others produced equally magnificent firearms.

The mounting of their arms at Versailles is certainly excellent and the carving of their stocks is most beautifully conceived; but their barrels are not fitted in that workmanlike manner. They are also very inferior to my countrymen in the art of browning and in the construction of their locks.


The above observation, read without context or a reference to the utterer, could leave the student of arms with an incorrect view on the arms produced by the Versailles Manufactory.

When one realises that the comment was made by visiting Englishman, Colonel Thomas Thorton, when English/French relations were stressed due to imminent war, one realises that the comment was churlish and biased.

My wife commented that antique firearms (probably also weapons in general) seem to be the domain of old geezers, or perhaps to put it more delicately, the hobby attracts an older demographic (I am also 76).

Thinking about your quoted comments regarding Boutet-versus-Lepage; I think it is important for future generations (who may rely on us older collectors for information) that we do not let our personal biases colour the facts.

I think it is important that we quote a reference when making controversial statement such that the student can evaluate the likelihood that one or more of the Logical Fallacies are not in play.