Flintlock Repeating Pistol with Lorenzoni Action

Harvey Walklate Mortimer

ca. 1783–1800 · Steel, wood (walnut), silver · Arms and Armor

Harvey Walklate Mortimer, gunmaker to George III (1738–1820), took special interest in the repeating mechanism thought to have been invented by gunmaker Michele Lorenzoni (d. 1733) in Florence over one hundred years earlier. Complex internally, the Lorenzoni system allowed for up to ten successive shots, feeding from a magazine concealed inside the grip. A half-turn of the lever forward and back reloaded, primed, and cocked the pistol. Mortimer’s Lorenzoni-type firearms, meticulously constructed, reflect his desire to update and refine a successful design he admired from the past.

Artist

Harvey Walklate Mortimer

Date

ca. 1783–1800

Medium

Steel, wood (walnut), silver

Culture

British, London

Department

Arms and Armor

Credit line

Gift of Charles M. Schott Jr., 1917