MY 1 & ONLY MATCHLOCK PISTOL

[baldi1942]

SEARCHED FOR SWORDS FOR YEARS AND DID COME UP WITH 3 MATCHLOCK RIFLES BUT NEVER A PISTOL UNTIL SEPT 2018.  WENT TO A AUCTION IN MISSOURI WHERE ABOUT 50 GUNS WERE BEING SOLD AND ALL HAD BEEN ON A "BAR" WALL FOR 60 OR MORE YEARS.  THEY WERE BLACK FROM SMOKE.  I COULD SEE A LITTLE INLAY ON THE BARREL SO TOOK A SEAT AND 3 HRS LATER BOUGHT IT ALONG WITH A TURK FLINTLOCK PISTOL AND A NOT SO GREAT EUROPEAN WHEEL-LOCK PISTOL.  DID WIPE SOME VINEGAR ON THIS BARREL AND OPENED UP A LOT OF INLAY.  RAMROD MISSING AND MOUTH OF ROD INSERT BROKE AWAY AND LOOKS LIKE IT'S BEEN THAT WAY FOR 100 YRS OR SO. 

 HAS THE TEXTURED BUMPY BRASS WHICH I'VE NOT NOTICED ON MATCHLOCKS BUT ADDS A LITTLE TASTE TO THE DESIGN. 

 BELIEVE INLAY IS THE MYTHOLOGICAL "DAIICHI NYORAI"  HOOKING ANOTHER OCTOPUS AS HE HAS 3 ABOVE HIM.  ALSO HAS THE AOI -MON VARIATION AND A KANJI 치  ?      BARREL SIGNED;  常長作  TSUNENAGA SAKU 

TOUGH TO FIGURE THIS KANJI - BUT THINK IT IS CORRECT ??

[Bugyotsuji]

Congratulations on a very nice discovery! This is a typically characteristic Inoue Ryu pistol that was decorated probably at a later stage after its original life was finished.

 

Strangely enough I have just bought a very similar but undecorated one, missing the little ring underneath like yours; even the front of the stock was torn away in a somewhat similar fashion. Same trigger, same panlid, etc. Sawada Taira in his book Nihon no Furuju has a colour photograph of an even more similar one to yours, with two Udenuki-no-kan oval holes in the stock.

 

NB There is a 60-Monme gun on display in the Yushukan in Tokyo signed by a 常長 Tsunenaga, dated Genroku 15

[baldi1942]

thank you Heijoshin for the compliment and info.  Actually, I was not going to go to that auction as looking at the matchlock on the online auction site/photo it just looked like a plain jane and usually guns sell for exorbitant prices so I figured driving 2 1/2 hrs one way would not be worth it and I "need" to sell stuff as opposed to buying more !!   My now deceased buddy talked me into going and I went and it turned out for the better.  He ended up with the other 2 guns I bought that day.  

 And another great note:  I asked the auctioneer before the auction start how he would deal with me being from Illinois if I bought a modern or antique firearm.  His answer:  You buy it you own it ! Pay for it and take it home ! 

 Needless to say, this was a answer I never expected but was very happy to hear.  Had this been sold in Illinois I would have had to pay $15 or more to register the gun,  depending on the FFL dealer and then wait 3 days to return to pick up the firearm.  

 So this matchlock may have been made in the late 17th C or into the early 18th C you think Heijoshin ?  I am not at all versed in matchlocks but do remember back in the 70-80's seeing some of those wall cannons and a fellow Dick Dodge out of California always had various long , short, skinny, fat matchlocks.  Dick passed some years back but was a very likable fellow and I believe his specialty was matchlocks as he never had much in the way of blades. 

  And are matchlock signatures pretty much legit or are there "gimei" as in the sword signatures ? 

  Even though I like this pc I am selling it and asking $2900.  At 77 , I have no one and I mean NO ONE in my little world who has the slightest interest in my collection nor any idea as to value either.   They would not know a gunto from a kokuho !  I might not either !! 

 Have been to the Yasukuni Shrine/museum but was a few years back and never took notice of the matchlock/s but scheduled to go to Japan in a couple months.  So, if the trip is not canceled I will go to the Yushukan and ck out the items once again. 

 thanks again fellow, for your info.