‡ A FINE PAIR OF 40 BORE FRENCH PERCUSSION RIFLED... Lot 317

‡ A FINE PAIR OF 40 BORE FRENCH PERCUSSION RIFLED TARGET PISTOLS OF PRESENTATION QUALITY BY DEVISME À PARIS, NO 1215, DATED 1853 with octagonal swamped sighted multi-groove rifled barrels profusely encrusted in gold with scrolling vine foliage and tendrils within segmental lines over almost their entire surfaces, signed in gold-encrusted block capitals on the top and with the serial numbers in gold beneath, case-hardened breeches signed, dated and numbered beneath, gold-encrusted tangs numbered '1' and '2' respectively, finely carved ebony half-stocks decorated with scrolling vine fruit and foliage over the fore-ends, fluted butts carved en suite, iron mounts encrusted with gold including spurred trigger-guards, side-plates and pommels, vacant German silver escutcheons, engraved German silver barrel bolt escutcheons, no provision for ramrods and preserved in fine condition: in a modern fitted dark-stained wooden case 26.0 cm; 10 ¼ in barrels (2) F. P. Devisme was the pupil and successor of the Parisian inventor Deboubert (1843-1870). He exhibited at the exhibitions of 1834, 1839 and 1841, receiving silver medals at the latter two.