Wogdon & Burton dueling pistol?

[annamariaslim]

Mother in law's family came to Savannah with Oglethorpe in 1730. Recently when over her house she opened her safe and handed me a very old mahogany box. Upon opening it I was surprised to see a very old pistol, the likes of which I had never seen before. She said it was from Alexander Hamiltons family. Upon examination it seems like it was made by Wogdon & Burton, also marked D Lang & Son London on the side plate. Very ornately engraved throughout. From my research I found that Wogdon & Burton were the premier makers of early dueling pistols to the elite. Can anyone shed some light on this early pistol?

 

[smoothshooter]

Mother in law's family came to Savannah with Oglethorpe in 1730. Recently when over her house she opened her safe and handed me a very old mahogany box. Upon opening it I was surprised to see a very old pistol, the likes of which I had never seen before. She said it was from Alexander Hamiltons family. Upon examination it seems like it was made by Wogdon & Burton, also marked D Lang & Son London on the side plate. Very ornately engraved throughout. From my research I found that Wogdon & Burton were the premier makers of early dueling pistols to the elite. Can anyone shed some light on this early pistol?

If I were you I would be working overtime to be her favorite son in law, unless yo7 already are.

 

[annamariaslim]

I am her only son in law, but she definitely likes me! Have any ideas about the pistol?

 

[DuncNZ]

Lang would have made the lock , Wogdon and Barton 1760-82 ( note r not o) were famous for making fine dueling pistols , Wogdon was Irish from Dublin Barton from London .
They made a fine gold engraved set of pistols for the Duke of Gloucester , the son of King George III .
Check to see if it has a single set trigger , What caliber is it .
They also made the pistols used in the Hamilton Burr duel , they would have been a matched set .
You should lightly clean/oil the metal work and rub down the wood with a soft cloth , Do not polish the flask . It is an early caplock , see the vented platinum plug on the breach , this was to let out pressure , a holdover from Flintlock times .
This caplock gun would have been made after 1839 or so ,
Google Wogdon and Barton , there is a ton of information there .
The pistol would have been made long after Hamilton died , but there is no reason a family member could not have owned it

 

[denster]

Wogdon, prior to being associated with Barton, made the set of duelers that were owned by the Church family and used in the infamous Hamilton/Burr duel. That set is now owned by the Chase Manhatten bank. What you have, while not associated with Hamilton/Burr, is none the less a fine example of master English gunmaking. It is not a dueling pistol but a saw handled target pistol.

 

[annamariaslim]

Family history says this pistol was owned by James Hamilton, and his initials are engraved on the powder flask. Family is looking through our files for the letter that authenticated the sale. Our Georgia family records go back to 1733 , so that'll be quite the chore!

 

[annamariaslim]

Lang would have made the lock , Wogdon and Barton 1760-82 ( note r not o) were famous for making fine dueling pistols , Wogdon was Irish from Dublin Barton from London .
They made a fine gold engraved set of pistols for the Duke of Gloucester , the son of King George III .
Check to see if it has a single set trigger , What caliber is it .
They also made the pistols used in the Hamilton Burr duel , they would have been a matched set .
You should lightly clean/oil the metal work and rub down the wood with a soft cloth , Do not polish the flask . It is an early caplock , see the vented platinum plug on the breach , this was to let out pressure , a holdover from Flintlock times .
This caplock gun would have been made after 1839 or so ,
Google Wogdon and Barton , there is a ton of information there .
The pistol would have been made long after Hamilton died , but there is no reason a family member could not have owned it

I've looked over all references to W&B, and seen their many pistols, but nothing looks remotely like this one with the extended "horn".

 

[smoothshooter]

Family history says this pistol was owned by James Hamilton, and his initials are engraved on the powder flask. Family is looking through our files for the letter that authenticated the sale. Our Georgia family records go back to 1733 , so that'll be quite the chore!

I’ll bet they are fascinating to look through for all kinds of subjects.

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
What I believe you have is a percussion pistol by Lang that used an older barrel by Wogdon and Barton. Wogdon's barrels were esteemed for accuracy and the owner wanted Lang to use a Wogdon barrel. I believe everything else on this pistol was made by Lang years after Wogdon died. The only thing by Wogdon is the barrel without the breech.

dave

 

[DuncNZ]

I've looked over all references to W&B, and seen their many pistols, but nothing looks remotely like this one with the extended "horn".

Is what you call the "Horn" the extension of the stock above the pistol grip ? This a fairly common feature on dueling and target pistols of the age , it is known as a "Saw handle" grip.

 

[DuncNZ]

Provenance is always difficult unless there letters or references in wills, or paintings .

 

[Loja man]

I have nothing to add as far as information. But I will say that is a very awesome pistol! If you can turn up more than just family oral history that would be supper!! Even so it’s still a great job piece!!

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Robert Wogdon retired in 1803 and died in 1813. So your barrel was made before 1803. I don't have any references for D. Lang and Son but the percussion lock is perhaps 1830s at the earliest and I suspect it is later by the style of engraving. The powder flask is 1830s-1860s vintage.

 

[smoothshooter]

I am her only son in law, but she definitely likes me! Have any ideas about the pistol?

Only to say I have seen others very much like the one in the pictures with the saw-handled grip. Was believed by some to steady the shooter’s aim. About what caliber is it?

 

[annamariaslim]

Thanks all for your replies! Where would one have the gun appraised, with the thought of possibly selling it?

 

[annamariaslim]

Not sure of the caliber, how would I determine that? Family came to Savannah with Oglethorpe in 1733 as part of the original settlers of Georgia. Might be how it crossed the pond from England.

 

[cynthialee]

Thanks all for your replies! Where would one have the gun appraised, with the thought of possibly selling it?

Starting here would be as good as a place as any.

Posting this gun in the Firearms Identification section might help get the right eyes on it.

If you can find documentation on the guns history linking it to James Hamilton the value jumps up. With out such document it still has a decided value especially with the boxed set of doodads.

Now that is a gun I could never sell unless a ridiculous amount of money was put on the table.

It is old, it might have been owned by Hamilton's son and the barrel came from a well respected smith of his time. Yeah that is a keeper.