The pistol was made by John Blisset, a master gunner’s craftsman from the 1800s who counted among his clients the Duke of Sussex, Prince Augustus Frederick, the sixth son of King George III.

Blisset only started manufac-turing “hand cannons” from his premises in Holburn, London, in 1840.

 Word about the high standard of his craftsmanship spread quickly though, and by the time Prince Frederick passed away in 1943,
Blisset had firmly established himself as a preferred gun-maker for
His Royal Highness as well as
other select clients.

 Blisset continued to make personalised powder pistols and other weapons, many of which are much sought-after today, until 1877.

 David Unterslak, Consolidated’s director in Durban, has this to say about the gun: “It’s a fascinating find, contains ornate detail, and is estimated to have been made in
 the early 19th century.”

 Therefore it could very well be that the pistol was made during the first period of Blisset's profession, before the untimely passing of Prince Frederick.

The auction on  July 22 will
also feature several works of art – from  a signed and limited edition hand-coloured print by Salvador Dali titled “Blue Unicorn”, based on his original artwork, “Happy
Unicorn”, to large-scale pastoral canvasses by Gabriel de Jong, Errol Boyle, and Michael Albertyn.

 An oil painting by De Jong’s grandson, Casey van der Leek,
 will also be auctioned, as well as a canvas by Pascal Chandler,
 one of Durban's most exciting artists.

 Unterslak added that of particular interest are the wide range of Swiss watches.

“We have a historical Elgin WW 1 Trench watch with a classic brown leather strap. It’s very elegant and can be used as a pocket watch and you can see the fantastic detail of the inner workings of the watch.

 There’s a 1962 18ct gold Omega constellation Pie-Pan Dial vintage watch and a 1960 Zenith mechanical 14ct gold filled watch up for auction, a stainless steel Cortebert sport watch and a gold plated Swiss Emperor watch.”

 The auction on  July 22 starts at 2pm and will be held at 90 Intersite Avenue in Umgeni Business Park, Durban. For further information phone Melissa de Burin at 031-263- 0104 or 079-517-9998.