Bouillet Jean
Here is a
rifle that is certainly very rare, made by Jean Bouillet (1707 / 1776), a
renowned arquebusier in Saint-Etienne for his luxury weapons.
Louis XV
had ordered a three-barreled rifle from him, which he was to offer to the Dey of
Algiers in 1752.
As such,
he was named the King's Arquebusier that same year.
Louis XV
found this rifle magnificent, so he kept it for himself and had a second one
made!
(See some
screenshots found on the Internet).
The
weapon:
- a
single barrel, fixed on a circular "plate"; a single flintlock for firing.
- 4
chambers 18 cm long that turn by hand and each carry their own basin and battery
(locked by an internal spring-loaded stud).
- 24
caliber smoothbore.
- total
length: 1.48 m.
-
whalebone ramrod with horn tip.
Note that
its great length is purely decorative, because it comes into contact with the
"plate" carrying the barrel, and therefore cannot reach the chambers. It could
just as well have been shorter given the loading method because in fact, the
"plate" has a hole facing a recess in the wood: each chamber is therefore loaded
successively by aligning it with this hole.
The
markings:
- J.
Bouillet on the plate.
- on the
barrel: "4", "St Etienne" and "1747".
The "4"
intrigues me, could it be a serial number that would mean that he made others?
In any case, it has the same graphics as the date, so I don't think it was added
later.
The
photos speak for themselves, specifying that given its length, it was impossible
for me to take one of the whole thing.
Kind regards
Gilles
µ
