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RARE AND WONDERFUL MATCHED PAIR OF J RESOR CURLY MAPLE FLINTLOCK KENTUCKY PISTOLS.

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Firearms & Armory Start Price:15,000.00 USD Estimated At:30,000.00 - 40,000.00 USD
RARE AND WONDERFUL MATCHED PAIR OF J RESOR CURLY MAPLE FLINTLOCK KENTUCKY PISTOLS.
NSN. 8-3/4" oct to rnd .54 Cal smooth brass bbls signed "J Resor". This is a matched pair of pistols and apparently the wood for the pistols was cut from the same plank of curly maple as evidenced from the matched "Tiger Striped" grain. Pistols each have an oval raised silver inlay behind bbl tang and bbl tangs are both identically engraved. Brass trigger guards are also engraved on bow and each have a pineapple finial. Nearly identical flintlocks are unsigned. Finely striped curly maple stocks are pin fastened to the bbls. Pistols have no sideplates. Jacob Resor II, the maker of these pistols, was a son of gunsmith Peter Resor who worked in Lancaster, PA; Hagerstown, MD and Mercersburg, PA. Jacob was born in 1784 in Lancaster, relocated to Hagerstown the next year with his family. Jacob moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1811 where he continued work as a gunsmith. It would appear Jacob may have finished his apprenticeship in Hagerstown about 1805 so that he could have spent 6 years as a gunsmith in Hagerstown prior to moving to Cincinnati. It can not be determined in which of the two cities these fine pistols were made, Sam Dyke was of the opinion they were of the 1812 period and probably made as officers pistols. It is exceedingly rare to ever locate a matched pair of signed Kentucky pistols. This pair of pistols are pictured on pgs. 18-19 of The Samuel E. Dyke Collection of Kentucky Pistols, 1964 and on p. 252 of Kentucky Rifles & Pistols 1750-1850 by The Kentucky Rifle Association. PROVENANCE: Ex Samuel E. Dyke and Tom Seymour Collections. Frank Sujansky Collection. CONDITION: Pistol one's flintlock has chevron engraving running from top to bottom at tail end of lock and there is no engraved line running from behind hammer to pan. Brass trigger guard has engraving on the forward finial from bow forward. There is a very small crack in wood at muzzle running to first bbl pin. This gun is in excellent condition throughout. Pistol two appears to have a different engraving pattern running from top to bottom at tail of lock than pistol one. In addition pistol 2 has an engraved line running from behind hammer to pan. Forward finial on trigger guard appears to have been replaced as it does not have same pattern and engraving as pistol one, the orig. In short this is a wonderfully matched pair in which the forward tang of pistol two has been replaced and except for engraving at tail of locks, locks were identical before being reconverted. 4-49448 RG29