A 1548 Nuremberg Dagger-grip Over-and-Under Double Wheellock Pistol

Matchlock · 6th December 2013, 06:56 PM

This interesting and early pistol/small arquebus showed up first in the States in Theodore F. Dexter's Scrapbooks in the 1950's and 1960's. It was then in the Frank E. Bivens and Geoffrey Jenkinson collns.
As I have stated several times, the modern term 'pistol' was not in use in the 16th c.; all that those portable small guns were called was just (h)arquebuses.

I remember Geoffrey Jenkinson telling me when we met at a Christie's sale in November 1991 that the only price he would part for from that thing was one million GBP.

That price was both so ridiculous and out of my orbit that I called it quits. Moreover I knew that he did not have the arquebus any longer but that it was in the W. Keith Neal colln., Warminster.
On Nov 9, 2000, it was sold from that collection at Christie's London, lot 262, at GBP 43,475 including auction fees, which would be approximately 75,000 euro in today's money. A minor difference as compared to Jenkinson's one million pounds, I should say ... A German dealer bought it for his private collection.

There are only very few surviving specimens of dagger-grip over-and-under double wheellock arquebuses ranging from ca. 1535 to ca. 1550; most of them are in the Real Armería, Madrid, and one is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y. The sickle-shaped dog spring running around the wheel is common to all of them.

I do not collect 'pistols', so I did not buy this one. Furthermore, I did not like the overall condition the piece was in, with the date only faintly visible and the ramrod primitively replaced - and painted red ...
After all, I own three Landsknecht matchlock arquebuses, and all of them preserved in fine original condition throughout:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...lock+harquebus

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...lock+harquebus

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...lock+harquebus

Best,
Michael

6th December 2013, 06:56 PM	#1
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	A 1548 Nuremberg Dagger-grip Over-and-Under Double Wheellock Pistol This interesting and early pistol/small arquebus showed up first in the States in Theodore F. Dexter's Scrapbooks in the 1950's and 1960's. It was then in the Frank E. Bivens and Geoffrey Jenkinson collns. As I have stated several times, the modern term 'pistol' was not in use in the 16th c.; all that those portable small guns were called was just (h)arquebuses. I remember Geoffrey Jenkinson telling me when we met at a Christie's sale in November 1991 that the only price he would part for from that thing was one million GBP. That price was both so ridiculous and out of my orbit that I called it quits. Moreover I knew that he did not have the arquebus any longer but that it was in the W. Keith Neal colln., Warminster. On Nov 9, 2000, it was sold from that collection at Christie's London, lot 262, at GBP 43,475 including auction fees, which would be approximately 75,000 euro in today's money. A minor difference as compared to Jenkinson's one million pounds, I should say ... A German dealer bought it for his private collection. There are only very few surviving specimens of dagger-grip over-and-under double wheellock arquebuses ranging from ca. 1535 to ca. 1550; most of them are in the Real Armería, Madrid, and one is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y. The sickle-shaped dog spring running around the wheel is common to all of them. I do not collect 'pistols', so I did not buy this one. Furthermore, I did not like the overall condition the piece was in, with the date only faintly visible and the ramrod primitively replaced - and painted red ... After all, I own three Landsknecht matchlock arquebuses, and all of them preserved in fine original condition throughout: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...lock+harquebus http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...lock+harquebus http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...lock+harquebus Best, Michael Attached Images Last edited by Matchlock; 6th December 2013 at 08:27 PM.