Flintlock Pistol, ca. 1750-1800

Pistols were easier to carry than muskets but were more difficult to shoot with any accuracy. They were carried by officers in various branches of the military and by well-to-do private citizens. Sometimes these pistols were inlaid with precious metals. A "silver" pistol was listed in the 1748 estate inventory of Marie Catherine Baron along with a large hunting knife and a reed cane--all valued at 30 livres. The English led Europe in the production of pistols in the early eighteenth century, and therefore some French settlers carried English pistols.

Gift of Mortimer C. Grover and Mrs. Ella Grover Foster, Evanston, IL, from the collection of Frank R. Grover (700371)
Made by Jones & Son, London

© Illinois State Museum 31-Dec-96