Page 200 - Auction84-Book2

LOT 1397
Incredibly Scarce Pair of 18th Century Bohemian Engraved and Gilded Flintlock Revolving Three- Shot Pistols by Johann Adam Knod -A) Bohemian Flintlock Revolver - NSN, 52 cal., 9 1/2 inch round bbl., gold finish, walnut stock. Multi-shot flintlock pistols were the forerunners of the true revolvers of the 19th century and are rare and highly desirable antique arms. The system used on these pistols is similar to the “wender” or “turn-over” design employed on double barrel pistols and long guns in the flintlock era, but instead of having multiple complete barrels, the pistols each have three 3 3/4 inch chambers that rotate to
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align with the main barrel. Each chamber has its own pan, frizzen, and long frizzen spring like the Wender pistols, but they are mounted on longer brass bars and use a very long and fairly straight frizzen spring. The chambers are mounted to two circular plates, and can be hand rotated by pulling back on the front of the trigger guard bow. They are loaded manually through holes in the front plate using the short ramrods. The pistols each have a single back action lock. Since each chamber has its own pan and frizzen, no complicated automatic priming system is needed with this design. The arrangement also keeps the vents out of line with one another which should limit the risk of chain fires. The design overall is an interesting and straightforward solution to getting multiple shots out of a flintlock without reloading. The metal components are nearly all gilt brass. The smoothbore barrels have rounded blade front sights, scroll engraving, and “Johan Adam Knod- In CarlsBaadt” signed on the raised sighting ribs which have border engraving.