October 30, 2019 The Collection of Steve & Marcy Hench
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/30/2019
Thomas Ketland worked under his own name between 1767 and 1789 in England. He was a master lock finisher. In 1789 he and his brother John moved the the United States and set up shop in Philadelphia and in the early 1820's, he returned to England. He was extremely active in the American gun trade during the time that he had a Philadelphia shop. These pistols are circa 1790, and were probably stocked and sold in America. They are in nearly perfect and untouched condition, showing very little, if any use. The brass barrels are round with swamped muzzles and both are marked "LONDON" on tops. They have no proofmarks, indicating that they were assembled, if not made completely in Ketland's Philadelphia shop. The rounded lockplates have unbridled pans and are marked "KETLAND & Co." in the centers. The brass furniture includes pierced ribbon sideplates engraved with tooled decoration. Both have vacant brass oval wrist escutcheons with tooled borders. Brass pommel caps with engraved finials. Brass triggerguard floorplates and triggerguards terminating in acorn finials, bows are engraved with a flower. Original wooden ramrods with steel worms and horn tips. Plain varnished walnut stocks with simple relief shells around both barrel tangs. CONDITION: Excellent, barrels retain a dark uncleaned patina and bores appear to have not seen any use, still showing striations from boring. Locks retain almost all of original polish with some dark areas from oil, both in original flintlock configuration with strong mechanisms and excellent markings. Brass furniture has dark patina and crisp edges. Stocks show original finish and only some minor storage marks, one pistol with a crack beneath lockplate from spring tension. A fantastic pair of "as found" pistols that were purchased and put away, surviving today in nearly the condition that they were in when originally sold. PROVENANCE: Dick Zeschke, Jim Johnson.
Caliber/Bore
.60 Smoothbore, Both
Manufacturer
Ketland & Co.