An English Pistol Sold by Moses Dickson of Louisville, Kentucky ©
Foreword: Moses Dickson was Louisville's premier gunsmith from 1822 until his death in 1863, and in the mid-1820s he made the first Louisville-style patchbox. Dickson was a good businessman and eventually expanded his gunsmithing activities into one of Louisville’s largest sporting goods stores. As sales increased, he began to import English firearms and related items to enlarge his product lines, in addition to selling his own guns which were always his premium products. He engraved or stamped his imported guns with “M. Dickson” and later “Dickson & Gilmore,” but always advertised them as imported firearms. The appearance of his name on an English gun served as a guarantee of the gun’s quality, rather than a maker’s mark. The small box-lock pistol shown in Figures No.1 and 2 below is marked “M. Dickson” on one side and “Louisville” on the other and provides an interesting example of an English export pistol sold by Moses Dickson in Louisville about 1830.
Figure No.1: Dickson's imported English pistol has a box lock with internal components and a screw-barrel where the threaded barrel screws off and on for loading, with the help of a small wrench now missing. Both barrel and breech block are cast brass to reduce costs. The breech block's front panel is engraved with "LOUISVILLE" in small capital letters, added by Dickson after the pistol's arrival. Author's collection, photos by Author.
Figure No.2: The pistol's back side highlights its engraving, done by the exporter in a simple style with an open diagonal space for the purchaser to add his name and/or location. The open space on this pistol is engraved with "M. Dickson," documenting both the seller and the gun's quality as sufficient to carry his name. Length 6-7/8 inches, barrel section 2-3/8 inches, bore .44 caliber and smooth. Author's collection, photos by Author. an
Moses Dickson: Dickson was born in 1799 in Mason County in northern Kentucky near the Ohio River. He began working as a gunsmith in 1820 and in 1822 sold his inheritance to purchase a gun shop in Louisville. His shop was on the west side of 3rd Street between Main and Market Streets, where he worked as a gunsmith until his death in 1863. Dickson’s early rifles were marked "M. Dickson Louisville Ky," but in 1834 or 1835 he took on gunsmith James Gilmore as his partner, and later guns were marked "M. Dickson & J. Gilmore," at times followed by "Louisville, Ky." Early in his career, Dickson imported gun parts from back east for his own use and for resale to local gunsmiths. As his business grew, he began to import English rifles, shotguns, and pistols. Importing allowed him to offer a larger inventory to his customers and expand his business, and with his partner’s help, the business grew into a major sporting goods store. In later years, Dickson devoted much of his time to running the business while partner James Gilmore became the primary gunsmith handling repair work and manufacturing of the firm’s premium “M. Dickson and J. Gilmore” rifles.
The “M. Dickson/Louisville” Pistol: The small flintlock pistol has a box- lock with its working parts enclosed in the gun’s brass frame. The pistol was made as a “screw-barrel” where the brass barrel was unscrewed to load the pistol, then remounted to fire it. Figure No.2 and Figure No.3 show the fine seam where the barrel meets the frame, with the barrel section being slightly lighter in color than the frame. A small, elongated “bump” on the bottom of the barrel, seen in Figure No.3, allowed a wrench to remove/replace of the barrel easily. This type of small export pistol was made in large quantities in Birmingham, England, and Birmingham proof marks are visible in Figure No.3. The proof marks indicate the pistol was made after 1813, which helps support a circa 1830 date. British export pistols often had no proof marks since proofing was not required for export goods, but Dickson probably ordered his pistols proofed to ensure their quality and protect his reputation.
Figure No.3: This image shows the bottom of the barrel at the joint where it meets the frame. The small, elongated "bump" allowed a wrench to turn the barrel, and three Birmingham proof marks are present.
Figure No.4: The pistol was engraved using simple, easily cut patterns before being shipped. The design on the short backstrap is the most attractive engraving on the gun and may be Dickson's work.
The pistol’s engraving needs an explanation. Birmingham tradesmen had all the skills necessary to make these moderately priced guns. The pistol’s frame was quickly engraved in an attractive but simple, low cost patten before shipment, with small open areas left for the importer to add his name and/or location. The backstrap’s engraving, perhaps the best on the gun, is shown in Figure No.4 and may have been added later by Dickson. If requested, these pistols may have had the importer’s name and location added be the Birmingham engravers for an additional fee, if the importer did not have engraving skills. Based on the engraving on several other pistols by the same maker, the designs varied at times with different shapes left open for importers’ names/locations. On this pistol, the side panels had diagonal openings for the importer’s name/location as seen in Figures No. 5 and 6. Dickson was a capable engraver and added his name and location on the pistol after receiving them; the small lettering style is identical to engraving on both earlier and later Dickson firearms, verifying it as his work. Note the fine line graver he used for his name/location compared to the wider and heavier engraving cuts on the rest of the pistol.
Figure No.5: The front side of Dickson's imported pistol has "Louisville" engraved across its face, done by Dickson after receiving the pistol and cut with a finer graver than the courser "factory" engraving.
Figure No.6: The back side of the pistol's frame has the same engraved border pattern as the front side, but the diagonal opening is engraved with "M. Dickson," indicating he warranted the gun's quality.
Manufacturing Date: The Birmingham proofs indicate the pistol was made after 1813, while single the name “Dickson” [without Gilmore] indicates it was made before James Gilmore became Dickson’s partner in 1834. Collectors of these imported pistols have suggested it dates to about 1830, during the peak period of exportation of these pistols to America. The pistol has a later reinforced, or military style, cock with thicker neck, supporting a circa 1830 date.
Summary: Moses Dickson was Louisville’s best known and most important early gunsmith, and perhaps the most driven to expand his business and become Louisville’s largest firearms dealer… which he did. Such expansion was not possible without help, so Dickson brought on a capable partner in gunsmith James Gilmore and added needed inventory by importing guns from England. Eventually Dickson spent more time managing his growing business, while Gilmore did more of the building and repairing of guns. The little box-lock pistol from Birmingham, England, is a good example of Dickson’s earlier imported guns before his partnership days. The gun shows his demand for quality in imported guns if they were going to bear his name, witnessed by the Birmingham proof marks under the barrel. If his name went on an imported firearm sold in his Louisville shop, it had to be of good quality, since his reputation and future business success depended on it.