This exhibition/museum quality pair of pistols come from the shop of famed Parisian gunmaker Jean Louis-Francois Devisme (active 1833-1886). Devisme exhibited his work in London and Paris and was highly regarded for his artistic and technical skills in crafting fine firearms and edged weapons. His elaborate firearms received numerous awards and medals at various French and international exhibitions. These included silver medals in 1839 and 1841 and additional awards in 1855, 1862, and 1867 as well as a medal at the famous Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, the first of the World's Fairs. His work is on par with any of the other great French "de luxe" arms makers. A gilded Devisme sword was presented to General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. These pistols are dated 1853 and are superb examples of his work. That year the World's Fair was held in New York. The visible metal surfaces are essentially entirely covered in gold leafy vine patterns with dark textured backgrounds. The rifled barrels have "DEVISME A PARIS" in bold script on top, and the locks have "Devisme a Paris." The barrels and upper tangs have gold "1"s (A) and "2"s (B). The bottom of the barrel of "A" has "No 1215/DEVISME A PARIS/AN 1853", and "B" has the same but with the bottom and top lines switched. The serial number is also on the breech hook, in gold among the designs on the bottom of the barrel, and on the wedges. They have beaded post front sights and fine notch rear sights. The triggers are not set but were tuned to have very light pulls. The ebony stocks have elaborate scroll carving and flutes in the wrists with volutes at the tops. The rosewood case has wine colored lining and is closely fit to the pistols and the included key.

Very fine overall with 95% plus original finish and only minor age and storage related wear such as some light scratches and a minor tension crack at the lock screw. Mechanically excellent. The case is also very fine and has some mild wear such as small slivers and chips at the inside edges and some compression wear from contact with the pistols.

See "A."

Very fine overall with 95% plus original finish and only minor age and storage related wear such as some very minor scratches and slight hairline tension cracks at the lock screw. Mechanically excellent. These pistols would be as at home in an art gallery as they would in a gun room and would be an excellent addition to any private or institutional collection of fine arms. They are highly attractive examples of the classic French dueling and target pistols of the mid-19th century and remain in incredibly high condition.