George Washington’s Pistols from Saarbrücken
George Washington’s Pistols from Saarbrücken
What do the first President of the United States, George Washington (1732–1799), and the Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834) have to do with Saarbrücken? The bond between the two men, and the ways they expressed their mutual respect during the American War of Independence, produced a curious historical side note that much later led to an auction record – and a Saarbrücken resident was anything but uninvolved.
During the relationship between George Washington, commander of the revolutionary troops, and the Marquis de Lafayette – a relationship often described as that of father and son – Lafayette presented Washington with a pair of saddle pistols as a token of friendship. [1] These flintlock pistols were crafted by gunsmith Jacob Walster in Saarbrücken in 1775–1776, as revealed by the inscription on their plaques. Made of walnut wood and decorated “Damascus” steel, they were fine examples of European craftsmanship. [2] (Unfortunately, I do not have an image of the pistols here; the screenshot shows the website of Christie’s auction house, where a picture of them can be found.)
Later, in 1824, the pistols came into the possession of Andrew Jackson, who five years later would become the seventh President of the United States. [3] According to Rheinische Post Online and other sources cited in [3], the pistols were auctioned shortly before that, on January 20, 2002, at Christie’s, where they set a world record price of the time – the equivalent of €2.2 million. They were the last of five pairs of pistols once owned by Washington that remained in private hands. An anonymous buyer acquired them; nothing more was known at the time.
In 2015, the pistols resurfaced in a book by Donald Miller on the Marquis de Lafayette. In a footnote, Miller reports on the Saarbrücken pistols and their whereabouts. They had been purchased by the Richard King Mellon Foundation of Pittsburgh, which in 2005 donated them to the museum at Fort Ligonier, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. [4] Their location is confirmed on the Fort Ligonier website. [5]
Christie’s still maintains the auction entry from 2002, dated January 18–19 of that year, stating the exact purchase price: US$1,986,000. [2]
Unfortunately, I have not been able to uncover much more about Jacob Walster, the Saarbrücken gunsmith. Should anyone reading this modest report be able to share additional information, I would be very grateful. The only further clue I found suggests that other noble clients also valued his weapons: a hunting rifle made by Jacob Walster in 1765 is preserved in the Royal Collection of Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle. [6]
Sources and Notes
[1] See, for example, Americanrifleman.org. URL: https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2016/2/15/the-guns-of-us-presidents (accessed 28.10.2016).
[2] Christies.com: The Lafayette-Washington Pair of Steel-Mounted “Saddle” Pistols, URL: http://www.christies.com/lotFinder/lot_details.aspx?intObjectID=3860222 (accessed 28.10.2016).
[3] George Washingtons Pistolen für 2,2 Millionen Euro versteigert, in: Rheinische Post Online, 20.01.2002. URL: http://www.rp-online.de/panorama/george-washingtons-pistolen-fuer-22-millionen-euro-versteigert-aid-1.2048366 (accessed 28.10.2016).
[4] Miller, Donald: Lafayette: His Extraordinary Life and Legacy, iUniverse, Bloomington 2015, footnote 12, chapter 7. Refers to: Christie’s catalogue, Important American Furniture, Silver and Folk Art, pp. 289–301.
[5] Fortligonier.org: The Washington Collection. URL: http://fortligonier.org/museum/the-washington-collection(accessed 28.10.2016).
[6] Royal Collection Trust: Hunting rifle. URL: https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/61100/pirschbuchse(accessed 28.10.2016).
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