T. Jones London Gun maker info?

Oddbawl

Oddbawl

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
150   0   0
Location
Beyond
I stumbled upon this lovely specimen in an antique shop, and I couldn't bring myself to leaving without it.
It's a 64 cal, appears to be in good shape.
It's marked T Jones on the lock plate, and London on the barrel.
The pictured proof marks are found on the bottom.
Does anybody have any info on this pistol or maker?
Pp3c6iC.jpg

AQDBPMd.jpg

bN4xCVJ.jpg

HP4xBvS.jpg

CRk4NyM.jpg

o2telnY.jpg
 
Unfortunately Jones is a fairly common name, and there have been several in London, Birmingham and elsewhere in the early 19th Century. Your barrel has Birmingham proof marks for the period 1813-1855. As the barrel does not have a street address, 'London' might be real, or just a marketing ploy by a provincial maker. There was a gunmaker named Thomas Jones, Church Lane, Whitechapel, London, for the period 1813-1824; a gunmaker Thomas Jones, Aston Road, Birmingham, for the period 1829-1839; and a gunmaker Thomas Jones in Leek, Staffordshire, for the period 1834-1842. As your pistol looks like it was built as percussion and not converted from flint, it could have been made any time from the 1820s onwards.

While it is difficult to be definitive when it comes to 19th Century gunmaking in Britain, the gothic script and style of engraving is consistent with pistols of an early, rather than a later, date. Others might have other information, but this is the best I can come up with.

A nice find!
 
I figured a T. Jones in England would be like asking for info on Chan in China...
That's still closer than I was!
It's only my second percussion pistol, so still learning.
Little tips like dating by script style is a very handy tip!
Thanks for the info.
 
The back-action lock would seem to put it later than the 1840's -more likely into the 50's. Cheaper to build and just as effective. Birmingham proofs suggest barrel made there and gun built by a smaller smith who bought the parts where he could and built the rest at a London location. My books show no T.Jones-London anywhere.
 
Thank you so much for looking in to it. I'm being bit by the bug. What are a some good reference books to start down this path with?
 
It is not England where you will find an over-abundance of Jones's, but Wales, where the name is taken by almost 6% of the population. By contrast, only 0.75% of the population of England is called Jones. Smith is the most common name in England, BTW. When I went to school in North Wales, there were five Jones in my class alone, and only two were related, being twins. They were Jones G [Gwalchmai], and Jones M [Meirion].
 
T Jones was quite likely a retailer, not a gunmaker. It may have been an ironmonger ( hardware store) or general merchant who retailed many products including an occasional gun branded with his name - similar to Costco branded products at Costco, they don't make them, they just sell them. The business may or may not have actually been in London. Very nice looking pistol, a great find in an antique store.
 
John Jones. Yet another. Weaman Street Birmingham England 1829-1835. From Directory of Lock Makers, couple hundred, in the Pennsylvania Kentucky Rifle book 1960 1st edition. He made for rifles and pistols.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom