Historic Firearms, Antique Guns, & Curiosities

The making and firing of a home made matchlock musket.  These folks did a really good job.

The Remington Model 1858,

A creation of Eliphalet Remington and Sons (a precursor to Remington Arms Company), the Remington Model 1858 was created as a competitor to Colt’s line of popular army and navy revolvers.  Chambered for both army (.44) and navy (.36) the Remington has several advantages over the famous colt.  Its one piece solid frame made it more durable than Colt’s open top models.  The Remington had a special safety slot so that the hammer could be placed in between two chambers.  This prevented accidental discharges since a firing pin was not sitting on a loaded chamber.  Colt revolvers did not have this feature, so often the user had to carry his Colt with one chamber empty. The Remington’s most important feature was an easy to remove cylinder.  Whereas the Colt had to be loaded with loose powder and bullet one chamber at a time, with the Remington the user could swap out cylinders within seconds.  As a result soldiers and officers armed with a Remington would often carry multiple pre-loaded cylinders.  The easy to remove cylinder also permitted the use of paper cartridges would could be inserted into the chambers.  The only disadvantage the Remington had compared to the Colt was that the Colt was significantly cheaper.  

Despite the extra cost, the US Army purchased many of these revolvers during the American Civil War.  Soldiers and officers too would often shell out the extra money for a Remington.  The result was that the Remington became the 2nd most popular revolver during the war.  Remington especially hit paydirt when the Colt factory experienced a fire in 1864.  As a result the US Army issued Remington’s as a substitute until Colt could go back into production.  Most models were cap and ball, but later many would be converted to use metallic cartridges.  Production ended in 1875 when Remington introduced a new model that was a heavily improved version of the Remington M1858.  Around 132,000 were produced.  Today reproductions of these revolvers are very common, made by Italian companies such as Uberti, Pietta, and Pedersoli.

(Source: Wikipedia)

The Frankenau Purse pistol,

One of the great oddities of the 1800’s were the many ways gunsmiths and gunmakers found to hide firearms in everyday objects.  One such creation was the purse pistol, a highly concealable weapon popular among Victorian Era ladies.  Often the weapon was a flintlock or percussion lock pistol that was built inside of the purse.  Later the purse would be made with five shot pinfire or rimfire revolvers.

The example above is of a five shot 5mm pinfire revolver made by Frankenau and sold both in Europe and the United States.  As you can see the revolver is built into the frame of the purse itself.  A long trigger mechanism folds out from the bottom of the purse, so that the pistol can be fired with the purse closed.  When not in use the trigger folds back up into the purse.  The series of holes in the lid serve to allow for the escape of gasses when fired.  Today these pistols are very rare and seldom in good condition, as they were pieces that were constantly carried, used, and worn.  The example above is estimated to be worth around $5,000 - $8,000.

(Source: rockislandauction.com)

German matchlock musket circa 1575.

Sold at Auction: $12,075

(Source: cowanauctions.com)

The Philadelphia Derringer,

In 1806 a gunsmith named Henry Deringer settled in Philadelphia where he made a living producing military muskets for the US Army.  In 1825 he invented a small large caliber pistol (around .45 - .50 caliber) that was small enough to be carried in a pocket.  The Philadelphia Derringer (somehow another “R” was added to the name) became a big hit for its size and concealability.  It was especially a popular weapon for gamblers, who could produce the small pistol at a moments notice in case of a poker game gone bad.  Early versions were flintlock but most were made with the more reliable percussionlock system.  

Eventually the Philadelphia Derringer became so popular that hundreds of small gunsmiths, workshops, and factories all over the United States produced copies.  In the US they became the most popular pocket pistol.  In Europe they were less popular as boxlock and muff pistols dominated the European market.  Eventually the word “derringer” became a colloquialism for any small pocket pistol.  I often hear people today use the term to describe modern subcompact automatic pistols.  While the Philadelphia Derringer’s legacy is of scoundrels, riverboat gamblers, and thieves, it also has the stigma of being the pistol of assassins.  On April 14th 1865 the notorious Confederate John Wilkes Booth mortally wounded President Abraham Lincoln with a point blank shot to the head.  Booth’s weapon of choice was a Philadelphia Derringer.  Booth’s derringer (pictured above) is currently on display at the Ford’s Theater Museum.

(Source: fbi.gov)

Indian Katar with dual flintlock pistols.

(Source: rockislandauction.com)

Pair of engraved and gold decorated French double barrel flintlock pistols, 19th Century.

(Source: cowanauctions.com)

Deluxe Factory Panel Scene Engraved Winchester Model 1887 Lever-Action Shotgun, one of only five produced.

Estimated Value: $35,000 - $55,000

(Source: rockislandauction.com)