Question
Antique pistol
Dear Sir I recently purchased an antique pistol from an antique stall. I was told it was a Victorian pocket gun.
It has double side by side barrels and is a pin fire. The hefty trigger guard is levered sideways to allow the barrels to drop to allow loading. It has two triggers and pronounced cocking levers.
It has no names or no's anywhere just the barely discernible letters ETBAH ( I think ) on the barrel bridge. The handle panels are hardwood I think and have well worn " criss cross " patterning on them. The barrels are quite pitted and the pistol looks well used or worn. I am at my wits end as to what it is.
I am almost sure it is English made ?
Sincere thanks , Phill Kettle. England.
Answer You certainly have quite a find if the gun is authentic, and from your description the gun may just very well be authentic. Interestingly enough, the Victorian Rolling Block Pistols were breech loading pistols, meaning you had to "break" the barrel downward and load a cartridge into the chamber before closing it.
The thing with your pistol is, the victorian era was from June of 1837 until Januarary of 1901. You would be looking at anywhere from 109 years to 160+ years depending on the exact manufacture date. From looking at the picture you provided, the gun is in excellent shape for that time frame.. which could be a bad thing, if you understand where I am coming from.
The best place for you to start is not with a gunsmith or a gun person, you might want to get that gun to a historian at a local museum to see if the gun was legitimate.
