Lot 51
51
AN EXTREMELY RARE PAIR OF PAULY PATENT 16-BORE CENTRE-FIRE PISTOLS, with lightly swamped heavy browned twist sighted barrels secured by a sliding ring and signed 'D. Egg. No 1 Pall Mall, London' on the octagonal breech, and struck beneath with the initials of William Fullerd, each breech with hinged circular lid incorporating the back-sight, scroll engraved case-hardened iron actions engraved 'D. Egg, Patent, London' on the left side-plates, and fitted on the top with hinged traps each engraved with a skull and crossbones, scroll engraved case-hardened cocking levers, plain swelling figured walnut butts, and attachable figured walnut shoulder-stock: in their brass-bound fitted oak case lined in plum velvet, with some accessories and two spare pistons, London proof marks, circa 1820-30

Details
AN EXTREMELY RARE PAIR OF PAULY PATENT 16-BORE CENTRE-FIRE PISTOLS, with lightly swamped heavy browned twist sighted barrels secured by a sliding ring and signed 'D. Egg. No 1 Pall Mall, London' on the octagonal breech, and struck beneath with the initials of William Fullerd, each breech with hinged circular lid incorporating the back-sight, scroll engraved case-hardened iron actions engraved 'D. Egg, Patent, London' on the left side-plates, and fitted on the top with hinged traps each engraved with a skull and crossbones, scroll engraved case-hardened cocking levers, plain swelling figured walnut butts, and attachable figured walnut shoulder-stock: in their brass-bound fitted oak case lined in plum velvet, with some accessories and two spare pistons, London proof marks, circa 1820-30
16in.

Lot Essay

These pistols conform to Pauly's British Patent No. 4026 of 1816. Durs Egg is recorded at the 1 Pall Mall address from 1816 to 1831 and William Fullerd is listed in the London Directories between 1809 and 1835.
Cf. a similar pistol in the Department of Science and Industry Collection of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (Inv. No. 564'85)
Prior to the manufacture of these pistols, Egg and Pauly were granted Scottish and English patent No. 3909 on 25 April 1815 for a fish-shaped airship the 'Dolphin', which never flew. This ended in the lawsuit, Egg v. Pauly, which lasted from 1817 to 1820. Durs Egg was never granted a patent for firearms on the Pauly patent (despite the inscription on the action of these pistols), but Pauly claimed during the lawsuit that Egg had failed in his undertaking to cooperate in the production of the breech-loading system as part of the agreement of March 15, 1815, covering the building of the balloon. The present pistols appear to be the only Egg/Pauly examples recorded

For an account of Samuel Jean Pauly of Berne, Switzerland see W. Reid, 'Pauly, Gun-Designer'; and 'Pauly, A Postscript'
For Egg's dispute with Pauly see Claude Blair, 'Egg v. Pauly'

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