The maker’s records confirm that this pair of rifles were completed for the Maharaja of Jodhpur in 1862 and remain in apparently unfired condition. Highly unusually this pair of rifles are not consecutively serial numbered but were certainly made as pair with matching specification and decoration. Raja Takht Singh ruled Jodhpur as Maharaja from 1843 until his death in 1873 and during this time purchased a great many fine firearms from Great Britain creating an immense armoury with those he purchased from Charles Lancaster of London forming the most well known group. Lancaster’s foreman, Henry Thorn promoted the firearms of Charles Lancaster to the wealthy ruling classes in British India and is perhaps the gunmaker most associated with the Maharajas. With browned damascus barrels with bold twist pattern and broad raised matted sighting rib, each tube rifled with nine grooves and respectively signed “CHARLES LANCASTER” and “151. NEW BOND STREET. LONDON” towards the breeches. The underside of the barrels are struck with London proof marks and the barrelsmith’s mark “C.L” for Charles Lancaster. The sighting arrangement comprises a bead front sight and blued rear sight of three folding leaves graduated from “100” to “200” yards and each with gold inlaid center line. The patent breeches are casehardened and each has a pierced platinum plug and single platinum inlaid line, the rib section between the breeches is engraved with scrollwork and numbered “1”. The casehardened standing breech and detented locks are each finely engraved with scrollwork, the locks are each fitted with a blued safety bolt locking the hammer and are signed “C. LANCASTER LONDON” within a ribbon. The walnut straight hand half stock is finely figured and has a checkered grip and forearm, and is inset with a blank silver initial escutcheon on the underside of the butt. The scroll engraved iron mounts comprise blued ramrod entry pipe, casehardened trigger plate with large pineapple finial, blued pistol grip trigger guard engraved with a panel scene involving rutting stags, casehardened hinged patch box cover engraved with a panel scene depicting a herd running of deer, and checkered blued buttplate engraved with a panel scene involving a hunting hound and numbered “1” on the upper tang. The underside of the butt is fitted with the rear sling button, the corresponding forward sling eye being fitted to the central ramrod pipe. Original brass mounted ramrod with worm.

In remarkable condition considering this rifle is nearly 160 years old. The barrels retain 99% deep dark original browned finish with crisp engraved signatures and only some very slight muzzle rub and the occasional storage blemish. The breeches, standing breech, locks and mounts retain near 100% original blued and casehardened finish, the engraving is of excellent quality and remains as crisp as the day it left the factory. The stock has very attractive figuring and sharp multipoint checkered panels with some old occasional storage marks and bruises. Mechanically excellent.

Of identical form to “A”, the rib section between the patent breeches and the upper tang of the buttplate are each numbered “2”. The pair are housed in the original maker’s brass cornered fitted two tier oak case lined in green baize, the lid with printed “CHAS. LANCASTER” trade label. The case contains numerous accessories including two two-piece brass-mounted loading rods each with worm, two small leather tool rolls each serial numbered to one of the rifles, two polished octagonal oil bottles, two turned wooden patch-pots, three sprue-cutters, four spare mainsprings, two William Davis iron pincer-type bullet moulds each serial numbered to one of the rifles, patch-cutter, various cleaning mops, jags and bronze brushes.

The rifle is in consummate condition with “A”. Mechanically excellent. The case remains in excellent condition with old handwritten storage label to the front. The baize lining has some rubbing, marking and occasional age staining, the trade label in the lid is age stained with two handwritten Sanskrit notations to one corner (probably the serial numbers). The accessories remain in fabulous original condition, the spare parts such as the mainsprings are like new and the powder flasks appear to never have contained powder. This pair of rifles have survived in incredibly sharp original condition and rate amongst the very finest extant British percussion sporting firearms in private or public ownership. Provenance: The Malcolm King Collection.