This rare American flintlock pistol is featured on page 411 of "The William M. Locke Collection" by Frank Sellers and also in plate 149 of "The Kentucky Rifle" by Capt. John G. W. Dillin. It is a very high quality American pistol. It is dated to c. 1810-1825 based on the lock. Charles Bird (1778-1849) of Philadelphia was a prosperous businessman active in the hardware trade starting in 1802, and records indicate he and his partners operated as Charles Bird & Co. c. 1810-1825. The smoothbore barrel has a dovetailed brass blade front sight with some filed accent lines, and a notch rear sight is part of the standing breech. The lock has some floral engraving and is marked "C BIRD & Co/PHILADA/WARRANTED" ("B" has a die break making it look like a "P"). The furniture is brass. The trigger guard has a pineapple finial and a floral bloom engraved on the bow. The pommel cap also features a floral bloom. The full-length maple stock has a bird's head grip profile and shows signs of having a dark red "violin" type finish. A hickory ramrod is fitted underneath. Provenance: The William M. Locke Collection; Property of a Gentleman

Very good The attractive stock was revarnished many decades ago when the pistol was part of the Locke collection and is otherwise very good with strong areas of the original dark red finish in the protected areas, some nice figure showing in the worn areas, general mild scratches and dings, a tension crack at the rear lock screw, a tiny repaired flake at the tip of the upper tang, and generally mild wear. Mechanically fine.