Nicolas Noël Boutet | Double-Barreled Flintlock Shotgun with Exchangeable Percussion Locks and Barrels | French, Versailles and Paris

Title: Double-Barreled Flintlock Shotgun with Exchangeable Percussion Locks and Barrels

Gunsmith: Nicolas Noël Boutet (French, Versailles and Paris, 1761–1833)

Barrelsmith: Exchangeable percussion barrels by Léopold Bernard (French, Paris, active 1832–70)

Lock maker: Exchangeable percussion locks by B. Montagnon (French, active ca. 1850)

Retailer: Exchangeable percussion locks and barrels originally sold by G. Zaoué (French, active 1857–61)

Date: ca. 1818–20; exchangeable percussion locks and barrels, dated 1860

Geography: Versailles and Paris

Culture: French, Versailles and Paris

Medium: Steel, gold, wood (walnut), silver, horn

Dimensions: L. of gun 47 3/8 in. (120.3 cm); L. of double barrel 31 7/8 in. (81.0 cm); L. of percussion locks 5 in. (12.7 cm); L. of bullet pouch 7 1/4 in. (18.4 cm); L. of priming flask 6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm); L. of bullet mold 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm); L. of ramrod extension 10 3/8 in. (26.4 cm); L. of hammer extractor 2 3/16 in. (5.6 cm); L. of brush for cleaning barrel 2 13/16 in. (7.1 cm); L. of bullet extractor 1 5/16 in. (3.3 cm); L. of screwdriver 6 in. (15.2 cm); L. of bullet extractor 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm); L. of touch hole cleaner 3 3/16 in. (8.1 cm); Cal. .61 in. (15.5 mm); Wt. of gun 6 lbs. 15 oz. (3150 g); Wt. of double barrel 3 lbs. 8 oz. (1600 g); Wt. of percussion locks 5 oz. (150 g); Wt. of bullet pouch 2.5 oz. (71 g); Wt. of priming flask 4.6 oz. (131 g); Wt. of bullet mold 7 oz. (198 g)

Classification: Firearms

Credit Line: Gift of Stephen V. Grancsay, 1942

Object Number: 42.50.7a–n

Inscription: a. (on gun)
1. (between barrels) Manufacture de Versailles
2. (on both locks) Boutet à Versailles (see Refs. Stockel, p. 47)
3. (on plaque) B M in script monogram in oval
4. (underneath barrel) twice: F R palm frond below in oval
5. (on gold plaque) 160
6. (on all gold plaques) sphinx (?) in octagonal reserve; amsk in oval
b. (on double barrel)
1. twice in oval: (see cards for ill.) (see Refs. Stockel, p. 371, mark 1233)
2. LEOPOLD BERNARD
3. CANONNIER à PARIS
4. twice: (see card for ill.) (see Refs. Stockel, p. 371, mark 1234)
5. twice: C in oval
6. C in serrated oval
7. 11ieme - 7 - 1800
c. (on lock)
1. Saoué (G Zaoué) (see Refs. Stockel, p. 324)
2. P D
3. B Montagnon, in oval (see Refs. Stockel, p. 213)
d. (on lock) Saoué (G Zaoué)
f. (on priming flask) Manufacture à Versailles [sic]
g. (on bullet mold) no. 99

(on box) Zoué/Fabt d'armes Bté/S.G.D.G./Entrepot Marseille

Hallmarks (used from 16 August 1819 to 9 May 1838)

(1) an octagon containing a sphinx with number 3 to the left (Paris mark for third standard gold)

(2) an oval containing a profile mask flanked by the number 72 (Paris excise mark)

(3) a lozenge containing letters LB separated by cross and pellet (goldsmith's mark, unidentified; same mark occurs on silver mounts of MMA pistols 04.3.190,191, which have Paris hallmarks for 1809-1819)

Clarence H. Mackay, Roslyn, NY (until d. 1938; his estate, sold through Seligmann & Co. to Grancsay); Stephen V. Grancsay, New York (by January 14, 1941–42; his gift to MMA).

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Loan Exhibition of European Arms and Armor," August 3–September 27, 1931, no. 391.

Espasa (publisher) J. Enciclopedia Universal Ilustrada, Europeo Americana. Vol. 40. Barcelona: J. Espasa (publisher), 1919. p. 930 (for brief biography of Osten-Sachen).

Grancsay, Stephen V. Loan Exhibition of European Arms and Armor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, August 3 to September 27, 1931. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1931. p. 95, cat. no. 391.

Stockel, Johann F., and Tøjhusmuseet. Haandskydevaabens Bedømmelse. Vol. 1. Copenhagen: Nordlundes Bogtrykkeri, 1938. pp. 47, 371, 324, 213.

Grancsay, Stephen V. "Napoleon's Gunmaker." The American Rifleman (July 1948), pp. 35–38, cover, ill.

Thomas, Bruno, Ortwin Gamber, and Hans Schedelmann. Die schönsten Waffen und Rüstungen aus europäischen und amerikanischen Sammlungen. Heidelberg; Munich: Keysersche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1963. no. 97, ill.

Lindsay, Merrill, Bruce Pendleton, Verne Noll, and Peter Parnall. One Hundred Great Guns: An Illustrated History of Firearms. New York: Walker and Company, 1967. p. 187.

Hoff, Arne. "Hvorfra Stammer Haneformen Med Spore / Where Did the Spurred Cock Originate." Vaabenhistoriske aarbøger (1972), pp. 95–110.

Hoving, Thomas, and Carmen Gómez-Moreno. "Gold." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Winter, 1972–73), p. 114, ill.

Pyhrr, Stuart W. "Hidden Marks on Boutet Firearms." The Arms and Armor Annual (1973), pp. 266–274, figs. 11–15, 17, ill.

Tarassuk, Leonid, and Robert Lawrence Wilson. "Aristocratic Arms Collectors: A History of Famous European Aficionados, Part II." Man at Arms for the Gun and Sword Collector 5 p. 31, ill.

Byck, John. "Firearms in The Metropolitan Museum of Art." Arsenals of History: Firearms and Museums in the 21st Century (2018), pp. 47–48, fig. 10 (42.50.7a).