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Smith and Wesson Model One, First Issue Revolver --THE WORLD'S FIRST CARTRIDGE GUN--
Guns International #: 100900378 Seller's Inventory #:
Category: Antique Revolvers - Cartridge - Smith & Wesson Revolvers - Antique
Seller's Information
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Seller: Brent Wilburn
Company: Antique Arms, Inc.
Member Since: 11/19/15
First Name: Brent
Last Name: Wilburn
State: Georgia
Zip: 30052
Country: United States
Phone: (678) 471-1432
Phone2: (678) 471-1432
Premium Seller
Number of Active Listings: 36
Total Number of Listings: 580
Seller: Private Seller
Return Policy: 3 day inspection and return policy on used guns.
Payment Types Accepted: Money Order, Certified Check
Description:
This is a good solid example of a Smith & Wesson Model One, First Issue Revolver. Standard single action spur trigger with seven-shot cylinder and 3 3/16" Octagon Barrel. This landmark gun was the world's first successful cartridge gun, making it the great-grandfather to ALL cartridge weapons. It was introduced in 1857 and produced until 1860. While it was small and fired a small .22 caliber self contained cartridge (Mark Twain once compared it to a "homeopathic pill"), its technological impact spelled the beginning of the end for 500 years of muzzleloading. Really amazing when you think that in less than a fifty year time span, the world went from hand-made flintlocks to cartridge guns with interchangeable parts. When this revolver came out in the late 1850s, it made powder, cap, and ball weapons extinct in less than twenty years. As it was produced in the early years of the industrial revolution, Smith and Wesson made only about 11,000 of these revolvers. As this was new technology, Horace Smith and Dan Wesson learned as they went making improvements all along the way. During the three years of production of the Model One, there were 6 noteworthy improvements with untold advances in the manufacture of its ammunition. Today, collectors note these variations as Type 1 through Type 6 with Type 1 thru 2 being the scarcest and most valuable. This particular example is a Type 6, which is the most common. It is the final and most improved version of the First Model. The serial number is in the 5800 range which dates its production to April-May 1859. Most, if not all early Smith and Wessons built in the late 1850's were shipped to their distributor, J.P. Storr in New York. From there, Storr shipped them to various dealers. One of their biggest customers were soldiers who purchased them as their personal carry weapons. Given that they used cartridges that were water-proof, these revolvers functioned in rainy conditions...unlike most muzzleloading weapons of their day. Being Pre-Civil War, some even made it to the South and there is ample proof from a number of ambrotype photographs of both Confederates and Union soldiers posing with them.
Features: Being a Model One, it has rounded frame, the small round sideplate to access the mechanics, and the two-piece hammer design with pivoting spur to unlock the cylinder bolt from the top of the frame. Being a Type 6, its main improvement is the ratchet which was made integral to the cylinder...as compared to the two piece design on earlier Types. Condition grades to NRA Antique Good Condition with no original finish, good edges, knurlings, and markings. The Smith and Wesson barrel address is perfect and the tiny April 3, 1855 Rollin White Patent and June 1858 Patent on the cylinder are worn but still legible. See Photo. The original rosewood grips are solid and numbered to the gun. Assembly numbers on the barrel, cylinder, and frame are also matching. Cylinder still cocks, indexes, and locks while the barrel latches tight to the frame with a good solid hinge with no cracks or repairs. For such a complex piece of machinery, it's in very respectable shape for 158 years old.
These historic weapons are still a fantastic absolute bargain and no collection of antique firearms is complete without one.
SOLD
Antique: Yes
Manufacturer: S&W
Model: Model 1, 1st Issue
Caliber Info: 22