Percussion dueling pistols were popular in the mid to late 19th century in Continental Europe, particularly in France, and were often made as exhibition and presentation pieces. As duels became ever more rare, these pistols were primarily used for target shooting, sometimes using special dueling targets. This beautiful cased pair of mid-nineteenth century dueling pistols comes from the shop of well-known Parisian gunmaker Francois Prelat who displayed at the Exposition Universelle of 1855 in Paris. They feature gold damascened scrollwork and borders on the barrels, locks, and mounts and ebony half-stocks with fluted wrists and relief carved scrollwork. The barrels have "PRELAT ARQ A PARIS" in raised gilt letters, dovetailed bead front sights, and their bores relined to .38 caliber (likely originally .44-.50 caliber). Notch rear sights are fitted to the standing breeches. The pistols are numbered "1" and "2" in gold on the top barrel flats and standing breeches. The pistols are in a French-fitted ebonized case with green baize lining. The case lid is inlaid with three silver bands around the edges and a nickel-silver escutcheon in the center inscribed with an elaborate monogram (appears to be "AG"). The inside of the lid is retailer marked in gold with "LAGREZE Bte/10. RUE RAMBUTEAU/PARIS". The case contains a variety of loading and maintenance equipment.

Excellent with 98% of the original black finish and nearly all of the gold. Handling wear is limited to some thinning on the inside of the grip strap and on the trigger guard finger spur. The ebony stock is also excellent with only very minor handling wear. Mechanically excellent. The case exterior is good with cracks and pieces of border absent from the lid and mild dings and scratches. The case interior is very fine with minor age and storage related wear. The accessories are generally fine with minor wear, including some light oxidation/pitting on the mold.

As described in "A."

Excellent with 90% of the original black finish and nearly all of the gold. Handling wear is limited to some thinning on the inside of the grip straps and on the trigger guard finger spur. The gold on the grip strap shows some slight wear. The ebony stock is excellent with only very minor handling wear. This is a magnificent cased pair of highest quality 19th century French percussion dueling pistols.