Guns International #: 102859629
Seller's Inventory #: BP24-

Category - Military Pistols - Antique - Military Arms

Category
Military Pistols - Antique
Military Arms

Rare French Maubeuge Royal Arms Factory Model 1814 Gardes du Corps Roi Flintlock Pistol * RARE!! *

Description:
This is a totally-original, completely un-molested/un-modified French Maubeuge Royal Arms Factory Model of 1814 Flintlock pistol built specifically for the "Gardes du Corps Roi" or Bodyguards of King Louis the XVIII.  This flintlock was made for soldiers tasked with protecting the King of France himself, the best-trained and most-loyal soldiers that were hand-picked by the king himself.  Their pistols had to be of the highest-quality, a design proven reliable, and have plenty of knick-down power, all while still being man-portable. The Maubeuge-made Model 1814 met all these requirements, and even exceeded them in many ways with this handsome big-bore pistol.  Chambered for a both huge and heavy .69 caliber round ball, typically weighing 463 grains, this pistol had tremendous knock-down power.  The pistol itself was beautifully-made with the best materials and technology available at that time, and it was designed to be as compact as possible, so that the King's bodyguards could carry a pair of them each with relative comfort while on foot, and with ease when mounted.  This was a big departure from the typical flintlock pistols of the day, which were mostly long, heavy, and designed to be carried primarily in holsters mounted to a saddle. 
     The Model 1814 Gardes du Corps Roi Flintlocks are just 13.5" inches long overall, they have a 7.5" inch long .69 caliber barrel, and were designed to be as slender as possible, from the butt of the pistol grip all the way to the muzzle.  The locks were made slender and relatively shallow, requiring only a slight taper outward of the stock at the front edge of the lock, which then tapered back down just rearward of the lock, just before transitioning to the gracefully curved pistol grip.  Opposite the lock on the left side fo the pistol there is a fairly-narrow curved brass bar serving as the sideplate  They were designed with just one brass barrel band, solid at the bottom with only the opening for the iron ramrod (with a trumpet shaped head) and one hole in the right rear side for the band-spring retainer, but was cut-out at the top to form just two narrow and flat bands of brass that pass over top of the barrel.  There was no front sight on the barrel band nor barrel, which is correct.  The brass triggerguard assembly was also one-piece, expertly shaped to support the lock, barrel, and wood with a brass extension inlaid into the wood 2.25" inches ahead of the triggerguard, with the forward tip shaped and engraved into a Fleur-de-lis.  Moving rearward, that extension transitions into the actual bow protecting the trigger, which then tapers at the rear of the bow into a narrow, but relatively thick, protective brass strap that runs the whole length of the front of the pistol grip, ending at the cupped brass pistol grip cap.  The pistol grip cap was made to be both substantial in size and weight, and to be unique to these King's Guard pistols only.  The bottom of the pistol grip cap was engraved and shaped into the Royal Coat of Arms and symbol of the royal House of Bourbon, which consists of an Acanthis leaf wreath wrapped around the bottom and sides of an oval shield with three (3) Fleur-de-Lis raised in the center, and at the top of the shield a large crown. This symbol had not been used since the French Revolution and overthrow of the monarchy in 1792, but was restored in 1814 with the fall of the First French Empire, and remained in use by the King until the July Revolution of 1830.  This pistol grip cap served as both one of the features distinguishing it from the standard military-issue Model 1814 pistols, and to make the pistol more effective when held by the barrel and the butt of the grip used a club in hand-to-hand combat.  Today this would be known as a "skull-crusher".   All of the screws in this pistol were embellished with engraving on BOTH the head of the screw, and on the end of the screw's threaded post (exposed on the opposite side of the pistol).  The lock itself was engraved with a "Maubeuge/Manufacture Rle" maker's mark, there is a stamped "Crown" over "B" proof on the lock just above the "M" in "Maubeuge", there is a 3-part gold band design wrapping around the rearmost portion of the barrel, there is a round golden proof just above the band, and finally, on top of the barrel,  "Garde du Corps du Roi" was written in golden script/leaf, parallel to the bore.  Also of note is there is an uppercase "E" on the bottom of the triggerguard bow, likely an identification mark assigned to a particular guard.
     These pistols are QUITE RARE, as just 123 pairs of these Model 1814's were manufactured in TOTAL by the royal arms manufactory in Maubeuge for the Gardes du Corps du Roi (the Life/Body Guards of King Louis XVIII) during the Bourbon Restoration and 100 Days. The Gardes du Corps du Roi, unlike most of the household units, continued to exist during the second restoration, and as-mentioned previously when discussing the pistol grip cap design, was finally dissolved after the July Revolution in 1830. At that point I found there was little to no information about what became of these pistols.  I would guess they would have been scrapped or stripped of the royal markings at that point, or stripped and converted to a percussion ignition system, as the French began converting their weapons in the late 1820's and early 1830's.  Between that possibility and the 200 plus years since these pistols were manufactured, the number of ALL-ORIGINAL examples surviving has to be VERY SMALL!  
     As you can see from the pictures, this particular example appears totally untouched and original.  No collector has cleaned it, restored anything, made any repairs to the wood, or "improved" it in any way.  We acquired it "from the woodwork" so to speak, having been stored for many, many decades in an attic up until just a couple weeks ago.  It was with one other small percussion converted flintlock pocket pistol and NOT part of a collection.  The pistol shows a very handsome and honest patina, and it is totally-intact just as it left the factory 210 years ago with one exception.  The gold leaf script of "Garde du Corps du Roi" that was on top of the barrel when new is now just barely visible in a few spots.  Whether this was purposely removed post-1830, or just worn-off from age/time is not known.  You can see where is was in places, but the gold is no longer there.  The remaining deductions from it's condition come from the top-most last tenth of the frizzen (the hinged strike plate for the flint) has been broken-off most likely from being dry-fired with it in the "down/closed" position, which in-turn also slightly bent the top jaw screw on the hammer. There is a small chip of wood missing located at front lower-right corner of the lock of looking at the pistol from the right side, there is a very small surface-level only crack located just above the band-spring, there is a small crack just to the left of the upper screw that goes thru the curved sideplate bar on the left side of the pistol, and there are some scattered very minor dings/handling marks in the wood stock.  As you can see, none of these deductions take much away from the clean and original overall look of the pistol.  The slightly-bent top jaw screw could be straightened easily as long as it is done carefully by the next owner if he or she chooses.  We decided to leave it as-is because it is not really noticeable unless you are looking for it.  Ultimately, there are no "eyesores' that draw your attention away from the very handsome, totally honest, and very-original "look" of this Model 1814.  When you look it, what strikes everyone is the unmolested look of it.  The vast majority of pistols from this time period look heavily cleaned, or look artificially new, or they have replacement parts that stick out due to having a different patina to them, or they have visible repairs that draw your eye.  There is NONE of that with this true survivor.  It has never been converted to percussion then back to a flintlock, the stock is untouched, the metal has a matching patina down to the smallest part, and the brass is all evenly tarnished/dull.  It is the definition of a real "one-looker", where just one quick look-over tells the person looking at it that it is almost certainly an all-original piece.  A subsequent close inspection of the pistol only supports that assumption as 100% correct! 
     The mechanics of this pistol are just as clean and free from wear and damage (except for the specific deductions listed above) as the rest of the pistol.  The action and hammer still have both the half-cock and full-cock positions intact, both solid as a rock, and the trigger works perfectly, only dropping the hammer from the full-cock position as-designed and not at half-cock.  The springs powering both the hammer and locking/unlocking the hinged iron-frizzen closed or open are still strong, the brass flash pan is in excellent condition, and the flash hole is open with very minimal erosion visible on the steel surrounding it.  The smooth bore in this Model 1814 is very clean, showing only some extremely light pin-prick pitting in spots, and the barrel is still full-length just as it left the factory.  All of the screws and parts in this pistol are still the original parts, both fully intact and in great shape.  Everything is nice and tight on this flintlock, there are no loose or ill-fitting pieces or assemblies.  All in all, this is one of the finest examples of one of these rare guns we have ever had, and it has to be one of the nicest all-original and totally-untouched guns still in existence today.  The amount of history that this pistol has likely witnessed is mind-boggling, and the direct connection to a French king and French royalty adds exponentially to the pistol's appeal.  The ultimate combination of this pistol's rarity, it's age, it's history and royal connection, it's extremely handsome looks, it's superb fit and finish, and it's long-term investment value, all add up to make it one of the most interesting and thought-provoking pieces that a person could possess.  It would be a SUPERB addition to any antique weapons collection, and it would be one of the finest decorators/display pieces that one could own.

Price: $3,295.00

Antique: Yes
Handgun Caliber: .69
Manufacturer: Maubeuge Royal Arms Factory (France)
Model: Model 1814 Gardes du Corps du Roi Pistol
Barrel Length: 7.5" Inches
Condition: Very Good
Metal Condition: Very Good
Wood Condition: Very Good
Bore Condition: Minty
Action: Flintlock Single Shot
Sights: None
Manufacture Date: 1814