…named after the town of Pistoia, Italy… where it was invented.
The time… sometime during to the 16th century when guns were huge,
burdensome weapons requiring two hands to operate. One to hold the
gun… one to light the gunpowder… not an easy thing when you
belong to infantry hordes marching full speed… ready to pillage
and rampage.
Invented by some enterprising Italian chap named Camillo Vitelli who
had the vision to see the flaws of two-hand loading weapons that only
worked because the enemy had nothing to fight back with but sabers
and lancers while mounted on horses. The cavalries were usually
decimated in no time flat.
Ah… but once the pistol was invented… there was a quick turn-
around in the balance of power. The cavalry rose to the stature
befitting its self-image… and it became the turn of the infantry
to march forward with fear in their hearts. As an added bonus …
this little gun–easily hidden upon one’s person–also became the
perfect weapon for thieves, highway men, and assassins. It was this
latter bonus in the killing wars that prompted dear old Emperor
Maximillian of the Holy Roman Empire to outlaw the manufacture of
pistols in 1517. Yeah… but I think it wasn’t much different from
today. You couldn’t manufacture the pistols… but was there a law
stating you couldn’t buy one? Besides… as is common knowledge in
our most advanced and enlightened society… pistols don’t kill
people… people kill people. And if the methodology is facilitated
by the technology… hey ya can’t hold back progress, pal.
Did I mention that one of the earliest data as regards the use of
the pistol was part of an English ballad Entitled “Captain Car”?
It’s all about how our protagonist used his weapon to try to
reconvert Protestant England to Roman Catholicism. The whole story
to too long and complex to go into… suffice it to say that man–in
his most enterprising fashion–has modernized the old pistola thanks
to the help of such saintly notables as Colt and others do-gooders.
As of around 1978 statistics showed that 51% of all murders were
committed with handguns.
Which brings us to a most poignant and urgent question. Yo…
Benjamin… you think you can relate this to jewelry? Cuz if you
can… I wanna see how.
Yes… well… never fear dear hearts… the answer is at hand. I
have an image of a pair of pistols inlaid with gold and silver
embellished with metal-art work any jeweler would give his eye-teeth
to be able to duplicate.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that says
Tidbits Graphics… and then click on the link that says: Pistol…
in order to view a pair of handsomely decorated pistols dating back
to circa 1800.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark