135 - *A rare and very beautiful pair of pistols, with a fulminate-pellet mechanism, made by Lelion in Versailles, based on the Le Page design of 1810:

*A rare and very beautiful pair of pistols, with a fulminate-pellet mechanism, made by Lelion in Versailles, based on the Le Page design of 1810: Slightly fluted octagonal barrels in ribbon-pattern Damascus steel, one grayish, the other with a slight tobacco-brown hue, notched along the upper flat surface, extending from the breech to the midpoint, fully gilded on the hammer guards, featuring rosettes followed by gilded foliage; the muzzle ends are gilded and engraved with acanthus leaves and fitted with an adjustable front sight; attached breeches, engraved with a fleur-de-lis, the two slanted sides stamped within a rectangle: “LELION” on a gold background, equipped with a screw on the side facing the lock plate to allow for cleaning the interior; Length 24.4 cm, 12-gauge, with extremely fine hairline rifling, known as “merveilleuses”; finely engraved breech tails, numbered: “1” and “2,” also notched in sequence, fitted with a fixed rear sight near the breeches. Round-bodied plates, engraved on the back with hunting hounds, signed: “Lelion à Versailles,” hammers engraved with foliage; the fulminate cylinders rest on a pan, and the percussion chambers are mounted using the same system as flintlock mechanisms and held in place by firing springs; adjustable trigger tails. Beautiful gray-finished iron fittings, finely chiseled and engraved; spur-mounted hammers adorned with landscapes and the head of a deity; the front sections of the hammers cut out and engraved with a winged woman, arms crossed, with a double mermaid’s tail, crowned with a vase of flowers; two counterplates engraved with foliage; the centers of the oval caps, raised by a diamond engraved with a vase, cut out along the perimeter; all screws engraved with foliage. Crosses with short shafts, without a rod, made of veined walnut; checkered handles forming a checkerboard pattern; lower sections carved with three superimposed rosettes; the tops of the caps chiseled with laurel leaves; the backs of the handles are adorned with a frieze of laurel leaves; in the center is a gold thumb piece, engraved and marked: “Victor Davy.” (One of the thumb pieces has been removed). Total length 38 cm. Included is a rare brass fulminate pellet dispenser with an octagonal mahogany handle; length 13.5 cm including the ring. Early Empire period, circa 1812. Very good condition. Note that on this pair of pistols, there are differences in the patina on the metal parts; they were likely separated during a 19th-century inheritance, and one was cleaned differently. They were reunited 12 years ago by a collector. LELION, Jacques Philippe, arquebus maker and inventor in Versailles (1812–1817), 57 Rue de l’Orangerie, then in Paris at 67 and later 71 Rue de Richelieu; born in 1795. On November 10, 1826, he obtained a patent for a four-shot carbine or rifle, although this weapon had only a single barrel. Bronze medal at the 1827 exhibition for his invention of a single-barreled rifle with a revolving cylinder; also awarded a prize in 1834 in Paris. Victor DAVY: This may refer to a member of the DAVY family of La Pailleterie, known as “DUMAS” (1762–1806), Thomas Alexandre, a general and father of the novelist Alexandre DUMAS.