SCARCE U.S. MODEL 1842 PISTOL GAUGE DISPLAY.

To quote an 1819 Ordnance Department report, "On the subject uniformity of arms... it will be necessary to have a set of original patterns and gauges of each and every part... sealed and kept in the Ordnance Department at Washington, and to cause those [gauges] of the superintendent of each factory to be sent occasionally to that office, to be compared with them and fitted anew, if required". Offered here is a very scarce opportunity to own approximately half of a set of gauges for the US M1842 percussion martial pistol. Martial pistol gauges were nearly always decommissioned and disposed of each time the US military adopted a new pistol, with very few ever surfacing. Accompanying this lot is a Winter 2018 article from the Museum of Connecticut History detailing a very similar example in their collection. CONDITION: Excellent for their age, with age-related freckling throughout. The gauges are nicely framed in an oak frame with areas of filled knots and small repairs.