Houllier Blanchard & Ch. Robert
Here a jewel of living room made by a French craftsman between 1845 and 1851.
This elegant pistol of living room is approximately in calibre 8, system with percussion. Loading by the breech with a floating room, holding position by a species of locking of the bayonet type. The barrel has 8 sides side breech and is round then to the mouth. Raise and very simple handlebar. The ebony stick has a metal cap.
Marks F StE (of the house of tests of St Etienne?) and HP spangled (of the controller?) are visible.
The former owner said to me that the pistol could also accept cartridges of 9mm Flobert, but the gauge is only max approximately 8,4 mm and the hammer is too short to strike the annular part.
C.H. Houllier-Blanchard was a harquebusier with St Etienne of 1845 in 1855 and Paris, Rue of Clery, 1855 to 1870.
Charles Robert is originating of Suze, the Sarthe, born in 1816 and it was active in Paris, Rue Cadet 4 until 1851.
Bert
