Guns International #: 103048950
Seller's Inventory #: 244273

Category - Antique Pistols - Cartridge - Civil War Pistols

Category
Antique Pistols - Cartridge
Civil War Pistols

RARE Antique VOLCANIC No. 1 Pistol New Haven Arms Co. FACTORY ENGRAVED 6” 1 of 225 Manufactured with SCARCE SIX INCH BARREL

Description:
RARE Antique VOLCANIC No. 1 Pistol New Haven Arms Co. FACTORY ENGRAVED 6” 

1 of 225 Manufactured with SCARCE SIX INCH BARREL

Here we present a Rare Antique New Haven Arms Company Volcanic No. 1 Lever Action Pocket Pistol, made circa 1857-60 in New Haven, Connecticut. This example is one of about 225 manufactured with a 6-inch barrel. This pistol was factory engraved. The butt is inscribed with “S. Gunn Jr” in Gothic script. While we were not able to positively identify this person, there are several possibilities amongst the rolls of Civil War soldiers.

This pistol was designed to use so-called “rocket ball” ammunition first developed by Walter Hunt in the late 1840s. It is equipped with a tubular magazine under the barrel, which is loaded from the front by simply compressing the spring and follower, then swiveling the muzzle to the side. The lever cycles both lifts a new round to the chamber and cocks the hammer. The frame is decorated with the factory open scroll engraving that was standard on these pistols. The barrel is marked “NEW HAVEN CONN/PATENT FEB. 14. 1854”. This pistol was manufactured after Oliver Winchester assumed control of the Volcanic Repeating Arms Co. and reorganized it as the New Haven Arms Co. in April 1857.

Even with its advanced design, including the now self-primed “Volcanic” rounds, the Smith & Wesson lever action pistols didn’t find much traction and this early iteration of the Smith & Wesson Company which began in 1853 lasted only 17 months. Hoping to recoup some of their financial losses, it was reorganized into the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company in 1855 and brought in a shirtmaker named Oliver Winchester, who would become the company’s Vice President. Hampered by underpowered ammunition and facing stiff competition from revolver manufactures like Colt, the Volcanic pistol and carbine saw sluggish sales and the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company nearly went under in early 1857. Oliver Winchester effectively dissolved the company later that year, but the savvy businessman still saw potential in the lever action concept. Winchester purchased all of the Volcanic patents and assets for $40,242.51, renamed and relocated the company to New Haven, Connecticut and continued to produce the Volcanic repeater design with New Haven Arms Company until 1860.

This pistol has the octagon barrel with a crowned muzzle and an integral six-shot magazine, along with a brass frame, and the distinctive cocking lever with a finger hole and spur. The lever action and integral magazine introduced on this pre-Volcanic pistol represents the first iteration of the lever action/integral magazine subsequently incorporated in the successful Henry and Winchester rifles, and the unique “rocket ball” cartridge introduced with the S&W lever action repeating pistols was one of the first self-contained cartridges. It made the names Smith & Wesson, Henry, Winchester, and New Haven Arms indelible in firearms history.

The overall condition is good. Some silver plating remains on the brass frame. The action is functional though the main spring is a bit weak. There is also a repair to the bottom of the grip frame at the toe. The front sight which also secures the end of the magazine tube to the barrel is absent. The bore is dim with good rifling. The grips show use and some chipping along the back and the bottom, otherwise solid to the gun.

Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.

Barrel is 6 inches.

Caliber: .31 Volcanic Rocket Ball

Overall condition as seen in photos.

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Guaranteed AUTHENTIC & Includes CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY.

ancestryguns

$11,000

#244273
 

Antique: Yes

Price: $11,000.00
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