!!!!!SOLD!!!!! William A. “Billy” Johnson 1/3 Scale Nicholas Noel Boutet Gold & Silver Mounted Flintlock Pistol, Featured On The Cover Of Merrill Lindsay’s Book “Miniature Arms”! !!!!!SOLD!!!!!

!!!!!SOLD!!!!!  In my opinion, this may be the most iconic miniature firearm ever made!  This piece is just incredible in every way!!!  A 1/3 scale flintlock pistol originally commissioned from jeweler William A. “Billy” Johnson of Birmingham, Alabama by Charles H. Moses & sold to Russell Barnett Aitken in 1967.  It is an exact copy of the original Nicholas Noel Boutet gold & silver mounted flintlock pistol made in the early 1800’s originally owned by Mr. Moses & also sold to Mr. Aitken in 1967.  Wow, there’s a lot going on with this beautiful miniature, so I may have to do the description in stages!  5 5/8″ long overall with a 3 9/16″ octagon finely rifled barrel of .183 caliber.  The muzzle & breech layered in engraved 18 karat gold, the top barrel flat with decorative 18 karat gold inlays & the balance of the matt blued barrel inlaid with 113 18 karat gold inlaid five point stars.  The buttcap with a high relief bust portrait of a helmeted warrior with lions, elephants, & other decorative devices around the base.  The triggerguard bow with a high relief engraved likeness of a sword wielding warrior, the triggerguard forward finial high relief carved with the likeness of an eagle atop a column.  The rear ramrod thimble high relief engraved with the profile portrait bust of bearded man.  The bottom of the pan is gold plated.  Magnificent engraved silver inlays adorn the stock on both sides, the bottom, & the grip.  Gold bead front sight with a blued steel “V” notch rear sight.  The hammer has full cock only and must be cocked slowly & carefully to catch on the full cock notch, & it has a hair trigger!  The lockplate engraved “BOUTET” just forward of the hammer with a winged dragon behind the hammer.  The engraved silver stock inlays depict flags, horns, spears, swords, snakes, arrows, winged eagles, & floral motifs.  The rear of the left side barrel flat engraved with the number “299”, which I believe to not be original but rather a stock number from either Mr. Moses or Mr. Aitken, as the full size pistol was also numbered “299”.  Tomorrow I’ll add the description, which is much more detailed than mine, of the full size Boutet pistol that this miniature is a copy of, which also perfectly describes this miniature.  This miniature also featured in “A La Vielle Russie, The Art of the Goldsmith and the Jeweler, 6-23-November 1969, no. 186 (illustrated”, “Merrill Lindsay, Miniature Arms”, New York, 1970, cover & page 63,  “The Gun Report” November 1960, p. 35, “Guns” June 1962, pp. 34 – 35, (illustrated), “Guns” April 1969, P. 37,  (illustrated), & “American rifleman” May 1961, cover & p. 2.   I sold this piece at my exact cost to a very good friend who collects full size Boutet firearms.  He has helped me a number of times by financing me when buying collections, & his smile when I take it to him will be all the profit I need!