Guns International #: 103365285
Seller's Inventory #: 259433

Category - Civil War Revolvers - Antique Revolvers - Cartridge

Category
Civil War Revolvers
Antique Revolvers - Cartridge

Rare CIVIL WAR Era First Issue ALLEN & WHEELOCK .22 RF SIDEHAMMER Revolver With Nice 5-Panel Cylinder Scene & Walnut Grips!

Description:
Rare CIVIL WAR Era First Issue ALLEN & WHEELOCK .22 RF SIDEHAMMER Revolver

With Nice 5-Panel Cylinder Scene & Walnut Grips!

Here Ancestry Guns presents an antique Allen & Wheelock Sidehammer First Issue Spur Trigger Revolver, made circa 1858 in Worcester, Massachusetts. In 1856 Charles Thurber, of Allen & Thurber fame, retired, and the company known as Allen & Wheelock came into existence. In 1865, after Wheelock’s death the previous year, the company was renamed for the last time E. Allen & Company. The new company included more of Allen’s extended family, his son’s-in-law Sullivan Forehand and Henry Wadsworth. After Allen’s death in 1871, the 34-year-old company would change names again, this time to Forehand & Wadsworth, and the Allen name would be left to history. 

The firm of Allen & Wheelock was a true powerhouse of American arms manufacturing during the middle 1800s. Unlike other American arms producers of the era like Colt and Remington, Allen & Wheelock concentrated upon manufacturing arms for civilian sale rather than focusing on trying to obtain government military contracts. Unfortunately, Allen’s production of his Lip Fire and Rim Fire series of revolvers was brought to a screeching halt due to litigation from Smith & Wesson, who were defending the bored through cylinder patent of Rollin White, which they had purchased exclusive access to. He managed to produce these sidehammer rimfire revolvers for about 3 years, from 1859 to 1862, before the patent infringement suit shut down production. 

There we 8 different variants of this revolver made between 1858 and 1865, and only 1,500 are thought to have been made total, making this a very scarce little revolver. The most immediately eye-catching feature on this revolver is the side-mounted hammer on the right side of the gun. The next is the 5-panel cylinder scene featuring a version of the Massachusetts State seal with a Native American and a star, a collection of cannon and other small arms, a horseman charging with a spear raised overhead, crossed rifles and handguns, and ship with a fort in the background. The features that make this distinctly a first issue are the rear cylinder axis pin and the lack of the later 1860 patent date.

The left side of the barrel is marked “ALLEN & WHEELOCK. WORCESTER. MASS./ALLEN’S PAT’S. SEPT. 7. NOV. 9. 1858.”

The overall condition is good. Original gray patina. Excellent action. Bright bore with crisp rifling. Solid grips with light wear. Markings are sharp. The cylinder scene is intact. Numbers match. Here is a nice example of an exceedingly scarce Allen & Wheelock Sidehammer Revolver!

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

Barrel is 3 inches.

Caliber: .22 Rimfire

Overall condition as seen in photos.

Very Fast. Very Safe. FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE. Delivered directly to your door by express mail!

Guaranteed AUTHENTIC & Includes CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY.

$1800

#259433
 

Antique: Yes

Price: $1,800.00
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