File talk:Hamilton-Burr pistols.jpg

The “percussion cap” pistol depicted is technologically anachronistic

The pistol to the right is a flintlock consistent with era, however the pistol on the left is a typical percussion cap pistol and these did not exist before Forsyth invented the percussion cap system in 1807. It appears that Chase can show it was an 1860's modification:

http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1976/5/1976_5_102.shtml

A better picture is here:

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2004/09/10/arts/10HAMI3.ready.html

I note the stock is different as well, which might suggest that the guns were not twins, but different models from the same maker. If Chase indeed has the original parts it could help settle any ambiguity.

In any case, there are claims that are inconsistent with the authenticity of these weapons. In 1869, the NY Times describes a presumably different set of weapons as "flintlocks" branded "J. Twiggs London" that "resemble each other exactly."

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E0DE3D7103AEF34BC4A52DFB7668382679FDE

Criticality (talk) 22:19, 20 January 2008 (UTC)