Les plus belles réalisations de cet artisan, et bien d’autres encore, se trouvent dans le livre "Les armuriers Liégeois à travers leurs réalisation.
1800 - 1950".
Pour tous les détails voir : LES ARMURIERS LIEGEOIS
PIRE J. & Cie
Here we have a "classic" model 1866 rifle, known as the
"Chassepot," which was the first standard breech-loading rifle in the French
army.
Markings:
S 1867: year of manufacture. The S stands for the
Saint-Etienne factory.
F 36255: serial number.
A.F
350, 4 on the sight.
B and D in a circle: inspectors' control markings.
1, buttplate.
ANNUAL PRODUCTION: (Production ceased in July 1875)
According to the MAS archives:
1867 (95,000 copies) F1 – F95000, planned for 95,000
copies, in fact 69,864 copies.
The weapon is marked J. Pire et Cie, Antwerp. These
establishments are clearly identified on the website.
This company sold, in addition to contemporary "modern"
weapons, "decommissioned" military weapons from stocks in various countries.
Some were demilitarized—that is, the military-related components (e.g., bayonet
attachments) were removed—and converted for hunting. Others were sold as
standard weapons for collectors and others. This Chassepot Mle 1866 rifle is an
example (appendix page of the 1905 Pire catalog - No. 92) below:
For more information:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chassepot_mod%C3%A8le_1866
Chris, HPH
