A French LeFaucheaux Patent 54-Bore Pin-Fire Double-Action Six-Shot Revolver Given By Lord Roberts To The Portrait Painter W.W. Ouless In 1882
By E. Lefaucheux Inventr. A Paris, No. 2722, Circa 1855
With sighted barrel rifled with four grooves and etched with maker's details in gothic script within a border of scrollwork along the top and with fruiting vines around the muzzle and in front of the breech, part octagonal breech, cylinder stamped '19E', frame (cartridge-extracting rod missing) stamped with maker's mark on the right (Neue Støckel 7770), hinged loading-gate with spring-catch, hammer, spur trigger-guard and faceted butt-cap all decorated en suite, figured rounded butt, and suspension swivel: in its original blackened leather holster (some loss of finish) (2)
16 cm. barrel
Footnotes:
Provenance
Walter William Ouless RA (1848-1933) and thence by descent

An old handwritten label attached to the revolver reads: 'Lord Roberts' Revolver given by him to W.W. Ouless. It appears in the portrait painted by him'


Frederick Sleigh Robers, 1st Earl Roberts, UC, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, UD, PC, FRSGS (1832-1914) was arguably the most famous and successful British Military Commander of his time. Born in India to an Anglo-Irish family he was educated at Eton and Sandhurst before joining the East India Company. As a young officer he served in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 where he was slightly wounded during the siege and capture of Delhi. He was present at the relief of Lucknow where he served as Deputy Assistant Quarter-Master General attached to the staff of Sir Colin Campbell. In 1858 he was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions at Khudogani. He was transferred to the British Army and fought in the Expedition to Abyssinia and the Second Anglo-Afghan War, in which his exploits earned him widespread fame. He went on to serve as Commander-in-Chief, India before leading British Forces for a year during the Second Boer War. He was the last Commander-in-Chief of the Forces before the post was abolished in 1904. Following his return from the Boer War, Roberts was instrumental in promoting the mass training of civilians in rifle shooting skills through membership of shooting clubs, and to this day a facsimile of his signature appears on all official targets of the National Smallbore Rifle Association. The Lord Roberts Centre, headquarters of the National Rifle Association at Bisley, is named in his honour