Pistol, pocket pistol

This percussion pocket pistol was manufactured by the West End gunmaker Joseph Reilly. He began his career as a jeweller in Holborn subsequently becoming a fashionable gunmaker. His trade card for his Oxford Street business declared his guns 'always ready for India and emigrants to all parts of the universe.' West End gunmakers often catered for army officers serving in India.

Pocket pistols like this one were typically carried for personal protection because they could be concealed in clothing and drawn easily. Percussion technology began to replace the flintlock in the 1820s. The pistol's hammer struck an explosive copper cap on a nipple which was connected to the barrel. The spark would ignite the powder charge inside firing the bullet.