Rare pair of FAVARCQ system percussion test pistols, type 18 - Lot 54

Rare pair of FAVARCQ system percussion test pistols, type 1833, with tilting barrels. Rifled barrels with thunder key for opening and tilting. Rear plates signed "FAVARCQ A CHATELLERAULT" and flat-bodied hammers. Plain iron trigger guards and unscrewable caps. B.E. Circa 1835-1840. Presented in a later shaped case, with accessories: spring remover, primer dispenser, ramrod, oiler, bullet mold, ramrod. Louis Joseph FAVARCQ Turntable reviser in 1837-1840, then 2nd controller in 1840-1849 at the Manufacture de Châtellerault (Vienne). Appointed 1st controller in 1849-1861 (retirement) at Manufacture de Saint-Etienne (Loire). (Information from Jarlier-Buigné). Punches are also found on the Manufacture's 1833 regulations. Related work: A type 1842 pistol, kept under the name "FAVARCQ system" in the collections of the Musée de l'armée de Paris, on deposit at the Musée de Saint Etienne (n°D2001.1.573). It too has a tilting barrel with thunder key opening. These highly modern weapons had no immediate military application, but prefigured the opening keys used on shotguns from 1880 onwards.