Rare Palmetto Armory Pistol by William Glaze

Rare Palmetto Armory Pistol by William Glaze

American Civil War
.54 caliber. 8.5" round barrel. SN: NSN. Browned finish, polished color casehardened lock, brass furniture, walnut stock. Single shot percussion ignition muzzleloading smoothbore pistol with captive ramrod. Lock marked with correct Palmetto tree design in the center over the letters S.C. with the words PALMETTO ARMORY in an arc over the tree. The words have the correctly attached serifs in the right locations and the tree has the correct lower right frond touching the trunk which is correctly hatched in a single direction diagonally in the correct way. The tail of the lock is correctly marked COLUMBIA/S.C. 1852 in two vertical lines. No date is visible on the breech plug tang, but the left breech flat of the barrel is correctly marked Wm GLAZE & CO above the stock line. The breech has a set of weak inspection marks consisting of a P over V over {Palmetto Tree} which are partially obscured by pitting. There are the expected condemnation "C" marks on the interior of the lock plate and under the bolster on the barrel. The pistol retains its original brass front sight blade and original captive ramrod.

The guns were "manufactured" for the state of South Carolina by William Glaze. Glaze received a contract to deliver 1,000 pairs of pistols (2,000 total) in 1851 with deliveries to take place in 1852. He primarily relied upon condemned parts left over from the Ira Johnson contract for US Model 1842 pistols, as well as locks produced for him by Asa Waters to get the necessary components for the pistols, which at the most were assembled at his Columbia, SC manufactory. In the end only 1,000 of the guns were delivered in late 1853, well after the original 1852 contract requirement. These are scarce secondary Confederate martial pistols that clearly saw heavy use during the early part of the American Civil War, as authentic examples of these pistols are almost always encountered in well used condition. This is a solid and authentic example of a desirable South Carolina contract pistol.

This lot is located in Cincinnati.
Arms, Armor & Militaria Good. The smooth bore is dark and moderately oxidized with scattered pitting. The barrel has a mottled and heavily oxidized brown and gray patina with some scattered freckled traces of what appears to the original period brown finish. The lock has a mottled smoky gray patina with some moderate wear to the markings due to pitting. The barrel shows some scattered pitting as well, mostly in the breech area which has left the proof marks somewhat light. The lock remains mechanically functional, with some chipped loss to the skirt of the hammer nose. The original captive ramrod is present but the rear pin of the swivel is worn and the peen is no longer sufficient to keep it reliably attached to the swivel arms, allowing it to slip out from time to time. The brass furniture has a dull golden patina. The stock shows moderate wear and has been lightly sanded with some rounding to the sharp edges, and with a diagonal crack present on the counterpane. Otherwise the wood shows scattered bumps, dings and mars and some minor loss due to burn out behind the bolster.