MONLONG, Pierre

Peter/ Pierre Monlong (1664-1702)

Peter / Pierre Monlong was one of the leading Paris gunmakers and was appointed Arquebusier de la Maison Roi and Gentleman Armourer in Ordinary to William III

Monlong left Paris and emigrated to London in 1684 and settled in Soho, outside the control of the Worshipful Company of Gunmakers. He made a pair of finely wrought and highly decorated flintlock pistols inlaid with silver filigree, considered to be some of the best guns ever made in England, now owned by H.M Armouries at the Tower of London. One of his flintlocks is also held in the V & A Museum.

Pierre Monlong pistol
Pierre Monlong Pistol

His pistols were some of the mose elaborately decorated ever made  inlaid with scrolls, birds, animals and figures, including Diana and her hounds, Apollo driving the chariot of the sun on the trigger guard. The decorative motifs are derived from pattern books published in Paris in 1685 and 1693, which shows that he kept abreast of the latest developments in French taste even after moving to London.

Sources:

Quiet Conquest, the Huguenots 1685 – 1985. Museum of London

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O97426/flintlock-pistol-monlong-pierre/

https://collections.royalarmouries.org/object/rac-object-985.html

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