Lot 42
Pair of Brass Barrel Flintlock Canadian Militia Style Pistols by W. Ketland & Co.
Sale 2030 - Arms, Armor and Militaria
Oct 23, 2024 10:00AM ET
Live / Cincinnati

Estimate
$2,000 - $3,000
Lot Description
Pair of Brass Barrel Flintlock Canadian Militia Style Pistols by W. Ketland & Co.
.63 caliber. 7.875" pinned brass barrels. NSN. Bright finish, brass furniture, hardwood stocks. Single shot smootbore flintlock pistols. 4.5" flat locks in original flint and marked under the pans W./KETLAND/&Co. Locks with rounded and fenced, unbridled steel pans and flat faceted swan neck cocks. Locks and cocks with simple boarder line engraving. Breeches with post-1813 Birmingham proof marks and nocksforms marked LONDON. Flat New Land style sideplates, rudimentary brass butt caps, simple trade grade triggerguards, two ramrod pipes secure wooden ramrods with steel wipers at the ends, one with a brass disc tip. The overall form is very similar to the inexpensive Canadian Militia Pistols contracted for by the Board of Ordnance circa 1810-1815, with the exception of these having brass barrels. While very similar they are not an identical pair but more likely a mated pair. These pistols would have been equally at home in the pommel holsters of a militia cavalryman, an officer of lesser means or being used as items of trade. William Ketland established himself in the Birmingham gun trade in 1802 and worked as W. Ketland & Co circa 1808 to 1831.
This lot is located in Cincinnati.
Condition Report
Very good. Bores moderately oxidized and discolored. Brass with a dark mustard patina, steel with a mottled and oxidized gray appearance. Markings remain legible. Mechanically functional locks, although the combs of both cocks are broken off leaving minimal rotational support for the top jaws. One frizzen spring is likely a period of use replacement. Wood with moderate wear, including bumps, dings and scuffs. One stock has a small area of filler forward of the triggerguard, below the front edge of the lock.

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