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When a firearm cannot be clearly proven to have been made in America, we should

consider whether it may have been made in Europe. This was the suggestion of an article by Stuart Mowbray "Signed by the Maker" in a 2002 issue of Man at Arms magazine.

American dealers often put their own names on imported items being sold in their shops, or on components used in assembling their otherwise American products. In the early 18th century there was very little weapons-grade steel being made in the United States and, in addition, European made weapons were considered superior in many ways. So an American name on a gun is not proof it was American made. Early in the 19th century the importation of finished goods rather than raw materials made good financial sense.

So when you look at an American signed pistol from the 18th or 19th century with European proof marks on its barrel, how do you know for sure if the gun was made entirely in Europe or if it was made in America using some European parts? Advanced collectors even struggle at times with this question.

The popular screw-barrel flintlock and percussion pocket pistols, carried for self-defense, are examples of weapons imported during the late 18th and early 19th centuries that were made entirely in Europe. Even in London established gun makers often purchased these pistols wholesale from less-famous Birmingham factories "in the White," or with the sides of the gun blank so retailers could place their name there. The conclusion of the well written Man at Arms article is that when European proof marks appear on a screw-barrel, box lock pocket pistol, that entire piece was made in Europe, despite any American names or addresses added later for marketing purposes. The design of these pocket pistols required them to be made as a whole unit, as necessitated by their box lock design, so they could not have been assembled from a mix of imported and domestic parts. These interesting little pistols were sold and used in America, but were made entirely in Europe.