Product Details
AN INTERESTING CASED PAIR OF .550 CONSTABULARY STYLE PERCUSSION PISTOLS SIGNED M. SMITH, BIRMINGHAM,
circa 1840, with octagonal laminated 5in. barrels marked on both PUBLIC OFFICE BIRM'M No2', blued fore-sights, engraved and colour-hardened breech-blocks inlet with a single platinum line, fully engraved colour hardened top-tangs with diminutive rear-sights, border and scroll engraved colour hardened locks of flint form signed in script 'M. SMITH', sliding safes behind the colour hardened scroll engraved dolphin headed hammers, walnut full-stocks with clipped corned rectangular white metal escutcheons to wrists and finely chequered bag-shaped grips with blued and engraved butt-caps, blued square-backed trigger-guards and brass tipped mahogany ramrods, much colour and finish remaining and in a large size mahogany case of English style with twelve-screw lid, rectangular flush-fitting brass handle within a bow-tie escutcheon engraved ''PRESENTED BY THE INHABITANTS OF BIRMINGHAM TO MR WILLIAM CORBETT FOR HIS SERVICES AS CONSTABLE FROM OCT'R 1839 TO OCT'R 1840', the interior lined and compartmented in dark green velvet and retaining a similar period mould, loading rod and bag shaped James Dixon flask
Provenance: The Public Office was a municipal building on Moor Street in Birmingham, England, built between 1805 and 1807. It was the first important administrative building in Birmingham, and remained the principal local government centre until the 1880s, when the much larger Council House was constructed. The building was demolished in 1911 to make way for a railway goods station.
Michael Smith, gun and pistol maker, traded from various addresses in and around Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham between 1807-1837, then with his business partner Charles James Smith (believed son) until 1842.
Sadly, it has not been possible to trace the history of Mr Corbett, but the dates listed on the escutcheon tie in with an interesting period of Birmingham policing.
Following the rather brutal suppression of the Bull Ring Riots in July 1839 by London Police sent to aid the existing 80 assorted Parish Constables, Street Watchers and Watchmen responsible for policing a population in excess of 180,000 residents, at the behest of the manager of the Birmingham branch of the Bank of England and the Mayor, it was decided that a proper Police Force be set up.
On the 1st September 1839, by a special act of Parliament (The Birmingham Police Act), Waterloo veteran and Barrister Francis Burgess was made Birmingham's first police Commissioner and tasked with the job of setting up the new force. In October 1839 the first batch of recruits were sworn in. It would be a reasonable supposition that Constable Corbett was involved in some way with the setting up or training of the new force
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Estimate £2,000-3,000