14″ Howdah .455 / .410 pinfire pistol – Circa 1870

Description

Imagine being in a elephant travel basket in the 1870’s, traveling through the outback in India or Thailand… – with only your rifle (to long to use in close quarters), and a .36 caliber Colt revolver to defend yourself (to small for any large game).  Defend yourself?  From what, you say?  The notorious Black Puma’s and Bengal Tigers of the jungle, they don’t want the elephant – but those creatures in the basket are nicely wrapped snacks.   Enter the solution – a  pinfire Howdah pistol for defense.  This pistol has a barrel length of 14 1/4” and shoots .455 cartridge out of a rifled barrel on one side, and .455 shotgun shell (.410) out of the other. Made in Germany (possibly Belgium or France),  shortly after the US civil war (1860 to 1891),  then shipped to a Prussian proof house and proofed there (It bears the Crown over V proof which indicates it was viewed and passed a proof test at Proof House per Prussian law – this was done up to 1891, then the proofing process changed). Your seatmates might not be to happy when you go waving it around, but it gives you a fair shot at surviving.  Pistol is in fine condition with some finish loss, left hammer moves and locks only after right hammer. Hammer sequence is right over left (Right barrel is front trigger, left barrel is rear trigger). Left barrel is for shotshells (smoothbore), while right barrel is rifled. Light engraving on left and right faces, and on pommel.  Appears to have had finger loop on trigger guard that was previously removed.