Spanish Miquelet Lock Gun, Early Percussion Musket, c1830, by Pedro Guisasola, Obsolete Calibre

*Spanish Miquelet Lock Gun, Early Percussion Musket, c1830, by Pedro Guisasola, Obsolete Calibre*

A SPANISH MIQUELET LOCK GUN. A Spanish sporting gun with an 89.5cm barrel marked on the barrel with gold inlays 'Pedro Cuisasola', with a decoratively engraved miquelet percussion cap side action striking with a single hammer. 123.5cm overall. Pedro Guisasola is recorded in Eibar as a barrel maker working in the 1830's - he is the son of barrel maker Antonio de Escopetero Guisasola 1790-1833, so this was manufactured in Eibar, Spain circa 1830's.

Miquelet lock is a modern term used by collectors and curators for a type of firing mechanism used in muskets and pistols. It is a distinctive form of snaplock, originally as a flint-against-steel ignition form, once prevalent in the Ottoman Empire, Italy, Spain, Portugal, North Africa, the Balkans and throughout Spain’s colonies from the late 16th to the mid 19th centuries. The term miquelet lock was not recorded until the 19th century, long after the appearance of the mechanism in the 16th century, and is of uncertain origin. One commonly held view is that it was coined by British troops in the Peninsular War to describe the style of musket used by the Miquelet (militia) that had been assigned to the Peninsular Army of the Duke of Wellington. This piece, has been converted to percussion, so it had a very long life. It comes with its ramrod.

*Condition*
The piece is in fair condition for its age with surface cracks and splinters below the lock plate and around the ramrod socket and it is missing a barrel lock. It also has some surface rust and pitting. Can cock and dryfire. A very nice, historical piece.

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