Some of the most beautiful work of this craftsman, and many others, are in this book “Liège Gunmakers through their Work. 1800 - 1950”.
For more detail see: LIEGE GUNMAKERS
Gosuin Jean
Jean Gossuin
Jean Gosuin (1745 -1808) was a very active entrepreneur. He was an arms manufacturer with several exclusive government contracts. He was a leader of the Liège arms industry until Boutet became the supervisor on behalf of the French Empire in 1804. He was among a group with J-N Bassenge that started the Liège Revolution by storming the townhall in august 1789; was a mayor of Liège and of Herstal; owned the Hauster estate at Chaudfontaine. Also he has been Director of Charleville Arsenal; owner of the Fabrique nationale d'armes de Herstal and founder of the “Manufacture de Liège des armes de Guerre”, etc.
He was the father of Jean Jacques Gosuin who worked with him and succeeded him in 1808.
I found a picture of Gosuin on the internet (thanks to Eddy de Beaumont, www.eddydebeaumont.nl, he had received this picture from Benoit Gosuin).
The guns weigh 1,3 kg each, length of the barrelcluster is 14 cm, length of gun 32 cm, calibre is ca. 13 mm.
Both guns are signed Gossuin on the left sides of the brass frames and “á Liege” on the rights sides. There are no proofmarks or others punches visible.
The barrels are numbered 1 to 8 and don’t pivot; there is a tap to choose between firing the upper or lower two barrels.
The pair was sold from the Liège Arms Museum in 1959 to an American collector and it came back to Europe in 2009 thanks to Ives Devos (wildwesttreasures.org).
The museum indicated that the wooden handles are probably replacements from around the year 1860. They are simple but well fitted.
Bert
CONSTABULARY PISTOL MODEL 1770.
It acts here of a gun of French constabulary model 1770 manufactured by Jean GOSUIN in LIEGE (1745 - 1808) which was one of the principal merchants of weapons of the Revolution and became under the directing Empire of the Munitions factory of war of LIEGE.
It seems that GOSUIN took this weapon for model at the end of the 18th century to answer an order of the revolutionists of Liège. The weapon itself is of gauge 15,2 mm and the barrel measures 128 mm. It is maintained with two bands with a passage for the rod of iron head of nail. The plate with flint, entirely out of iron with flat hammer with “espalet”, carries the marking of GOSUIN to LIEGE in cursive letters. The trimmings are out of iron and the cap is fixed by a wood screw without ring.
Grip is in walnut of quality.
GG
Gosuin Jean
The weapon
It acts in my opinion of a rifle of infantry model 1777.
The manufacturer
It is Jean GOSUIN (already evoked on the site) and who has in his time be the director of the Imperial Manufacture of Liege.
He died in MOHA (HUY) in 1808.
GG
Many thanks to the "ROYAL ARMY MUSEUM" Bruxelles and especially the section "ARMES PORTATIVE".
(N° identification : F114/173sup Collection of "Comte de Ribaucourt")
Overal 120 cm, barrel 81.5cm, calibre 15mm.
Photos Littlegun
