Original items: One of a Kind Pair. This is a fantastic set of highly decorated early-18th Century French Modèle 1733 Flintlock Officer pistols, dating to approximately 1740. They are truly works of art, and are believed to have been used by a member of the Gardes du Corps du Roi, or the French Royal Bodyguards. They match the Mle 1733 design well, but are definitely well above even those issued to the Gendarmes de la Maison du Roi (Police of the King's House). There is very little on these pistols which is not decorative in some way.

The pistols feature 8 3/4 inch long part octagon barrels with a bore of approximately 0.58", and measure 14 1/4 inches in overall length. The breech areas of the barrels feature some fantastic gold inlaid floral designs, now a bit worn due to cleaning and use, but definitely still easily visible. The stocks are fantastic "flame" figured wood, possibly walnut, with the dark finish used to highlight the grain patterns. They stocks are ornately carved with foliate designs around the barrel tangs and ramrod throats, with some line carving around the edge of the barrel and on both sides of the lock area. There is even some fantastic silver wire inlay on the backs of the grips! Truly incredible!.

The pistols are fully brass mounted, and almost all of the fittings bear line and foliate engraving, showing an incredible amount of hand work. The lock side plates show stands of arms as well as additional foliate designs, and the butt caps are the classic "long eared" type of the pattern, but definitely far more decorated than usual. They are fitted with butt caps that look to be roses or something similar.

The lock plates are lovely, and are also fully engraved, with special attention given to the swan neck hammers, as well as the rear of both plates, which show a hound next to some type of tree or flower. Both lock plates also still bear a clear maker name engraved under the faceted flash pan:

J LOUIS
BLANCHON

This is a known maker from the early-mid 18th Century in France, based in Saint Étienne, a firearms making City in France, where one of the Royal Arsenals was based. We have not been able to find much more information about this maker, but they were definitely extremely skilled, having produced these lovely works of art.

The metalwork on the pistols is in beautiful condition, with the barrels and locks looking to possibly have been restored sometime in the past century or so. The barrels show a lovely dark blued color, which highlights the remaining gold inlay, and the locks show the lovely rainbow colors of case hardening. The locks are both fully functional, holding correctly at half cock and firing only at full, with a strong mainspring. The brass mountings are a lovely deep gold color, only produced after decades of gentle cleaning.

The stocks on the pistols are lovely, with the original carving and finish well retained. One of the pair has however suffered damage to the fore stock area, with repaired cracks on both sides along the wood line, as well as an open crack on the right side. While highly attractive, flame figured wood can also be much more prone to cracking due to the grain irregularities, especially if the stock is relatively thin, as it is on pistols. There are brass fitted ramrods installed on both pistols, but we believe they are most likely replacements.

A fantastic highly decorative pair of early 18th Century French Mle 1733 Flintlock Pistols by a known maker, ready to research and display!

Specifications (Both):-

Year of Manufacture: circa 1730
Caliber: .58" Pistol
Ammunition Type: Lead Ball & Powder
Barrel Length: 8 3/4 inches
Overall Length: 14 1/4 inches
Action: Flintlock Side Action
Feed System: Muzzle-Loaded

The Pistolet modèle 1733 was a flintlock cavalry pistol, in service in French units starting from 1733. These Pistols were generally issued in pairs to Cavalry Units and Cavalry Officers (cuirassiers, hussars and uhlan lancers), In less quantity to Naval Officers and in uncommon cases to Infantry Officers.

The modèle 1733 was the designation of the first standardized pistol in France. As a result of a standardization effort under Louis XV, who selected the pistol variant used in 1731 by the Garde du Corps as the basis on which future pistols would be made, this variant would become the Modèle 1733.

In general, many of these standard pistols shared several superficial qualities with their Musket pattern counterparts; including their Caliber of 0.69" (17.5mm) and many elements of their furnishings. Several iterative variants of this pistol were produced until the Modèle 1763 Pattern; which included some revolutionary changes. One of these additions the Modèle 1763 had compared to earlier Models was the use of a spring based barrel band system; similar to the type used by the Modèle 1763 musket pattern around the same time. This aided in disassembly and maintenance compared to earlier types. The Modèle 1766 was of a similar case, being similar to the modifications made to the musket pattern of the same year. Both the 1763 and 1766 Models became the most popular of all French Flintlock Pistols and remained so until the Modèle 1801 (An IX) was issued to the French Military. Due to the Failure of the 1777/1786 Pattern Pistol to please the French Soldiers, examples of the 1763 and 1766 Patterns were reissued to the troops until 1801.

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IMA considers all of our antique guns as non-firing, inoperable and/or inert. Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 921(a)(16) defines antique firearms as all guns made prior to 1899. This law exempts antique firearms from any form of gun control or special engineering because they are not legally considered firearms. No FFL, C&R or any license is required to possess, transport, sell or trade Antique guns. All rifles and muskets sold by IMA that were manufactured prior to 1899 are considered Antiques by the US BATF (United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms). Therefore, all of IMA's Antique guns may be shipped to all US States and most nations around the world.

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Pre-1899 Manufacture, no licenses required, allowed to ship to almost any deliverable address across the globe. Please note that for international shipping, these MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services. International customers should always consult their country's antique gun laws prior to ordering.