Pistol

The rarity of an unusual saleroom visitor - and its original condition - was confirmed after research by Bonhams’ arms and armour department.

A pair of pistols Napoleon Bonaparte supposedly intended to use on himself after defeat sold for €1.69m (£1.4m) including buyer’s premium at auction house Osenat in Fontainebleau, France.

Stellar English, Indian and Turkish pieces are promised at Olympia Auctions on December 6 in west London.

A childhood in Wiltshire partly spent picking up ammunition lying around as a result of the Allied preparations for D-Day helped to spark Alexander Jeremy Peckover Penrose’s (known as Jerry) interest in firearms.

Key and pistol combination stands out in a comprehensive firearms collection offered during a dedicated sale staged on home turf

This Victorian purse gun was designed by Oscar Frankenau from Nuremberg and patented in both the UK and the US in 1876.

A pair of ornate presentation flintlock pistols made in London and later owned by an American patriot sold for $55,000 (£46,200) at a US saleroom.

Chris Wynne dedicated his collecting energies to early guns by a London maker that became an international brand

The sales at Stride & Son (21.6% buyer’s premium inc VAT) in Chichester on September 1-2 included a trio of avidly contested items, each a rarity in three highly specialised collecting areas.

A composite German full armour, c.1500-10, from a European Collection was one of the highlights of Thomas Del Mar’s (25% buyer’s premium) sale of Fine Antique Arms, Armour & Militaria held at Olympia Auctions on June 29.

This cased pair of English flintlock duelling pistols by Joseph Gulley, London, c.1810-15, sold for £8600 at Halls (20/12% buyer’s premium) in a timed online sale that ended on August 2.

For 19th century sahibs in tiger country and bwanas dealing with charging lions, howdah pistols like the one offered at West Sussex gun specialist Gavin Gardiner (25% buyer’s premium) were the preferred sidearm.

The government has reminded owners of certain old firearms that they will need to obtain a licence following a change in the law from September 22.

London-made flintlocks with a solid provenance to Alexander Hamilton took to the stage at US sale

Two lots from the March 30 live online auction held by Antony Cribb (22% buyer’s premium) of Newbury are shown here.

Very soon after the gun was invented men were trying to find ways of speeding up the process of reloading powder and shot to obtain a superior rate of fire.

Three pistol lots came to the fore at a recent sale at Bonhams (27.5/25/20/14.5% buyer’s premium) in London.

A premium-inclusive total of £1.5m was achieved at Holts’ (25/20% buyer’s premium) summer auction in Norfolk, the third consecutive sale held with no one bidding in the room because of Covid restrictions.

Two iconic Colt pistols were the big money-earners from both sides of the Atlantic in the pre-Christmas arms and armour sales.