Unique Belgium Double Barrel Pistol Howdah .450 Adams

From the information I was told, several Liege gunmakers turned out these peculiar double barrel pistols in the second half of the 19th century.

The JLF mark is found on several of these unique contraptions and all I was told about J. L. Freres is that he was a gunmaker in Herstal and he had recieved a patent for the closing system of a rifle.

This is a fine example of the sliding opening system with its underlever that is lowered to both move the barrels forward and concurrently extract the spent cartridges. This pistol is marked with the known gunshop name Franchi in Montevideo, Uruguay, which sold several variations of these unique pistols.

Chambered in .450 Adams ,there were howdah-style pistols chambered for .450 Adams, but they’re uncommon compared to the usual howdah calibers.

• Yes, a small number of Victorian double-barrel pistols were made in .450 Adams (.450 Revolver)
• They were real, period pieces, not modern conversions
• They are far rarer than .577, .476, .455, or .450 Boxer howdahs

Carved grips with finish worn.

. Functions as it should.

Under the barrels: JLF, 1854 Black Powder Mark, Crown/R (1894 Rifle Bore Mark), star/P (1877 Inspector mark), Little Tower Inspector's markfrom 1853 on, post 1894 Liege Proof, 11.0 (11mm or .450), Black Powder

Mark repeated.

.. LTE

On several parts, an X. On the recoil plate, the X is double marked.

The Left side of the action: A Franchi & Cia. Franchi was a large Gunshop in Montevideo, Uruguay that sold firearms and knives.

On the top of the barrels is hard to read. The best I see is Tomas T.....& Cia.

An extremely hard to find antique.