Francisco Targarona of Madrid: a fine and rare cased pair of Spanish 22 bore convertible 'Madrid'

Francisco Targarona of Madrid: a fine and rare cased pair of Spanish 22 bore convertible 'Madrid' lock pistols from the personal collection of Prince Augustus Frederick 1st Duke of Sussex (1773-1843), each with a 13 inch two-stage octagonal-to-round barrel, the breech stages named to the Prince in gold inlay 'DE. S.A.R.P. AUGUSTO', and with the maker's gilded seal marks (punzón) all amid geometric and floral accents in gold, divided from the round upper stages by bands of foliate moulding, gold sighting beads at the muzzles, gold lined touch holes; the locks with internal mainsprings and sears projecting through the lock plates, serpentine cocks with ring-head jaw screws, the breasts with projecting spurs to engage the half-cock sears, flying scrolls rising to meet the undersides of the jaws, all with fine foliate engraving and the plates inscribed 'FRAN-CO. TARGARONA' and with a monogram for MADRID; walnut full-stocks with finely engraved steel furniture including trigger guards with ornate finials recessed into moulded borders in the stocks, scrolling side plates engraved with bell husks, and heavy butt caps with long spurs, moulded details to the ram rod channels, steel mounted ram rods; one of the pair with a separate fluted shoulder stock interchanging with its pistol butt by means of a bayonet fitting and having a threaded muzzle under a screw off cover to receive the removable barrel of the other pistol, all resulting in the conversion of the first pistol into a carbine or fowling piece; in a close fitted velvet lined mahogany case with an oval silver plate to the lid engraved 'PURCHASED AT THE SALE OF His Royal Highness The Duke Of Sussex, 1845', the base with three flush drawers, one drawer fitted to accommodate a very fine velvet shot bag by Carlos Montargis, the steel head with fluted and engraved spout and a sprung shutter with shell thumbpiece, the arm of the shutter engraved 'Montargis'; 1790s.
Notes: Prince Augustus Frederick (1773-1843), was the 6th son of King George III and became Duke of Sussex (in the first creation of the title) on the 24th of November 1801. He was notable in his day as an enlightened thinker and abolitionist. He was a supporter of his niece, the popular but unhappy Princess Charlotte, in her struggles with her father the Prince Regent, and he enjoyed the honour of giving away his great niece Queen Victoria on her wedding day.
The Duke died in 1843 and the sale of his chattels was conducted by Messrs Christie and Manson over thirteen days at their King’s Street, St James’s premises. Saturday, 1st of July was devoted to ‘Arms and canes’ and the pistols offered here appeared as lot 655 among a total of 110 weapons of various kinds. It is probable that this fine suite, with its gold inlaid dedications 'DE. S.A.R.P. AUGUSTO' (De Sui Alteza Real Príncipe Augusto / Of His Royal Highness Prince Augustus) was presented to him as a diplomatic gift at some point prior to the outbreak of hostilities between Britain and Spain in 1796. The Prince spent much of his early life on the continent, and his correspondence shows that in 1790 he was the guest of María Luisa of Spain, Queen Consort of Hungary, daughter to King Charles III and brother to King Charles IV of Spain, who became Holy Roman Empress later that year. Augustus appears to have enjoyed María's friendship, and this cordial connection to the royal court of Spain may lie behind the gift of these pistols.

Francisco Targarona was prominent among the elite gun makers of Madrid, where he was active from c. 1778. In 1792 he was appointed gun maker to King Charles IV of Spain (Arcabucero de su Magestad) in succession to Francisco Antonio García with whom he had trained under Francisco López. He joined Diego Alvarez, Juan de Soto and Isidro Soler in the Royal Household. These men were part of a lineage of outstanding craftsmen with its origins in 1530, in which year the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who ruled Spain as King Charles I between 1516 and 1556, brought the brothers Simon and Peter Marquarte from the important gun making centre of Augsburg, to Madrid, where they established one of the finest fiream manufacturing traditions in the world. The terminal date of Targarona’s floruit is uncertain, but he did not survive the violence and upheaval of the first decade of the 19th century.
The characteristic lock constructed by the Spanish makers is the type known to collectors as the Miquelet lock, distinguished by an external mainspring and sears that act laterally through the lock plate. The Madrid lock – a term of convenience employed by the late W. Keith Neal – is a scarce variant form of the Miquelet in which the lateral sears are retained but the mainspring is internal. The cock has the appearance of a conventional (French) flintlock, differing in having discrete projections to engage with the sears. Refined locks of this type were particular to the best Madrid makers between about 1700 and 1800, and are found on arms of the highest quality. The fluted shoulder stock is also typical of Madrid. The system for converting the two pistols into a single short gun is ingenious: the donor pistol has, instead of a true octagonal breech section, a sleeve of the same form, out of which its continuously round barrel is drawn after the key fastener is removed. The breech plug is shallow and slotted at the rear and may easily be removed to expose the female threads. The receiving pistol has a threaded muzzle, concealed in normal use, onto which the donated barrel screws to form a perfect fit. The ram rods are combined in a similar manner, and the butt of the pistol grip is replaced by the shoulder stock. This exhibits a truly remarkable standard of workmanship.