Some of the most beautiful work of this craftsman, and many others, are in this book “Liège Gunmakers through their Work. 1800 - 1950”.
For more detail see: LIEGE GUNMAKERS
Leclercq J.
It is a 6 mm Flobert firearm, marked
J. Leclercq
Patent. The gun is eight-sided and tilts
with the lever placed in front of the trigger guard. The trigger tail is
straight in a trigger guard with finger-resting. The grips is sculpted
Renaissance style (Napoleon III) with palmettes and metal balustrade cap.
The
markings
ELG in a
star-shaped oval: hallmark of acceptance 1846/1893.
M
crowned: unknown (but already met often....)
There is
also another marking but it is illegible and in any case unidentified.
The gunmaker
Joseph
Leclercq, at the time based in Trembleur,
filed a patent in February 1876 (No. 2426) which perfectly matched the gun.
GP and GG (†)
Leclercq J.
It
is a 9 mm pinfire pistol with a smooth barrel, whose very erased marking is
probably
J. Leclercq Patent.
The barrel is eight-proned and tilts with the lever placed in front of the
trigger guard. The trigger tail is straight in a finger-resting trigger guard.
The grips is sculpted Renaissance style (Napoleon III) with palmettes and metal
balustrade cap.
There are no markings except
the one indicated above.
The
gunmaker
Joseph Leclercq,
at the time based in Trembleur, filed a patent in February 1876 (No. 2426) which
perfectly matched the gun.
However, it is a little
disturbing to find a gun patented in 1876 applied to a pinfire cartridge
invented more than 20 years ago.
But that is a very personal
remark. Sometimes, gunmen/shooters are very conservative...
GP and GG (†)
Leclercq J.
Pistol of shooting or stand with crack.
The calibre is 6 mm Flobert to annular percussion (rim fire)
The barrel with 8 sides would be smooth.
It carries small bodies of aiming (front sight - bead)
The trigger is under trigger guard with rest-finger.
The lever placed in front of the trigger guard is used for rocking of the gun for the loading/unloading.
The stick banana out of wooden of drowning squared.
It is maintained by two wood screws fixed in the supports higher and lower.
Punches
The weapon carries the punches of the proofhouse of Liege, namely:
ELG on star in an oval: final acceptance, of use of 1846 to 1893.
X under star: countermark of the controller post 1877.
The weapon was thus manufactured between 1877 and 1893.
Marks
J. LECLERCQ BREVETE (PATENTS): this mark is that of inventor LECLERCQ Joseph, arms manufacturer with Saint-Rémy (province of Liege). He deposited two Belgian patents of 1859 to 1886, relating to a system of barrel with rocker taking care by the breech with cartouche Lefaucheux and a closing adapted under the barrel of the weapons to fire. With share the ammunition with pin, but the evolution is very possible, that corresponds well to the description of your weapon.
AS crowned or spangled???: Marking of the manufacturer who could is to correspond to Albert SIMONIS (BE 1873/1900) street Trappé, 18-20 in Liege or SPIRLET Albert quay of Boverie, 31 in Liege (1860/1876)
9569: could be a job number.
GG
