Jean Baptiste Merley-Fraisse is recorded as working in St. Etienne until his death in 1850. These pistols have many of the classic French designs of the mid-19th century. The Damascus barrels have tight etched twist patterns, round blade front sights, "MERLEY FRAISSE" inlaid in gold within an oval on top, and dual gold bands at the breech. Fixed notch rear sights are fitted to the upper tangs. The underside of the barrels have "18" in an oval over a St. Etienne proofmark and some unclear small marks, and the breech plugs have "L" in an oval. There are small "1" and "2" markings on various parts of the pistols respectively. The locks have no maker's marks. Most of the fittings have floral scroll engraving and are casehardened. They have single set triggers and spurred trigger guards. The stocks have silver wedge escutcheons, gold thumb plates, finely checkered wrists, and prominent pommels with carved designs. They come in a French fitted mahogany case with a mallet, ramrod, cleaning rod, bullet mold, screwdriver, wooden container, five lead balls, and ornate powder flask.

Very fine with attractive Damascus patterns, nearly all of the original casehardened finish, minor flaking of the thinner gold band and oval, some minor marks and edge wear, and light spotting. The stock is fine and has crisp checkering, some minor dings and scratches, a crack under the breech into the lock inlet only visible with the lock removed, a slight tension crack on the left flat, and repairs on either side of the wedge on the left. Mechanically excellent. The case is very good with mild overall storage wear. The accessories are generally very fine with light aging.

See "A".

Very fine. The barrel retains distinct Damascus twist patterns and 95% plus of the original gold. Nearly all of the original case colors remain on the other parts. There is some minor edge wear and the slightest minor spotting. The stock is very good and has crisp checkering and carving, a slight amount of chipping between the lock and barrel (not visible without the barrel or lock removed), and mild surface scratches. Mechanically fine other than the set trigger which needs some adjustments. This is a very attractive cased set of classic French dueling pistols complete with accessories.