Holster Pistol
date: label: date made
content: ca 1790
name: label: associated person
content: Paul, L
label: maker
content: Halbach & Sons
notes: label: Description
content: Physical Description:
label: Description
content: This .52 caliber smoothbore flintlock holster pistol has the appearance of a Halbach and Sons officer’s pistol. The barrel is part octagonal and the pistol has all brass mountings including a brass butt cap with an embossed eagle and shield. It has a full walnut stock and wooden ramrod with a swelled tip. There is an additional sunburst and acorn filial on the trigger guard.
label: Description
content: The pistol bears no markings other than “L Paul” stamped into the wooden grips.
label: Description
content: History:
label: Description
content: This pistol bears a striking resemblance to a Halbach and Son’s Holster Pistol. Halbach and Sons originated in Baltimore, Maryland around 1780. They were famous for producing brass cannon muzzle style barrels and brass mountings. A Halbach and Sons pistol can also be identified by the brass butt cap depicting an American spread eagle surrounded by 13 stars and a raised carving around the tang; the lockplate would be stamped “Halbach & Sons.”
label: Description
content: This pistol has many of those traits. It has the identical butt cap, brass barrel and overall appearance as a Halbach and Sons pistol. However the addition design is not near the tang, it is on the trigger guard. This pistol is also not stamped on the lockplate.
label: Description
content: The stamp “L. Paul” on the grips most likely signifies the officer who owned the pistol.
label: Description
content: References:
label: Description
content: Flayderman, Norm. Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms…and their Values, Gun Digest Books, Iola, 2007. 9th edition.
label: Description
content: Gardner, Robert E. Col. Small Arms Makers: A Directory of Fabricators of Firearms, Edged Weapons, Crossbows and Polearms, Crown Publishers Inc, New York: 1963, p. 82.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Maryland
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Military
label: See more items in
content: Military
label: See more items in
content: The Bitter Collection of Firearms
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: The Adriana and Edwin W. Bitter Family Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1985.0783.12
label: accession number
content: 1985.0783
label: catalog number
content: 1985.0783.12
objectType: label: Object Name
content: pistol
label: Object Name
content: pistol, flintlock
label: Other Terms
content: pistol; Firearms; Army; Flintlock; .52 In; Smooth Bore; Muzzle Load; Sa
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (part material)
label: Physical Description
content: wood (part material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 12 5/8 in; 32.0675 cm
label: Measurements
content: overall: 12 3/8 in x 5 in x 1 7/8 in; 31.4325 cm x 12.7 cm x 4.7625 cm