CIVIL WAR Era Antique WHITNEY ARMS CO. .31 Percussion POCKET Model Revolver With Great Cylinder Scene!

Product Description

CIVIL WAR Era Antique WHITNEY ARMS CO. .31 Percussion POCKET Model Revolver

With Great Cylinder Scene!

Here we present an antique Whitney Pocket Model Revolver, made circa the late 1850s to the early 1860s in New Haven, Connecticut. The Whitney Pocket Model classification includes a variety of small caliber revolvers. The earliest one came on the scene around 1850, followed by a series of improved revolvers. As indicated by the name, these “Pocket” revolvers were designed to be easily carried by civilians, likely in a concealed manner. They were primarily .31 caliber revolvers, with a few models chambered in .28 caliber.

Eli Whitney Sr. established his Whitneyville Armory in 1798 and produced firearms (among other things) by contract for the young U.S. government. Just prior to this, in 1793, Whitney invented the mechanical cotton gin, which dramatically changed the economic landscape in the U.S., namely in the South. While his invention was a labor-saving device, making the processing of harvested cotton extremely efficient and requiring fewer laborers, his machine caused the market for cotton to explode and more laborers were needed to plant, grow and harvest the crop. This resulted in a corresponding boom in the Southern slave trade. Great fortunes were created, and the population of the South became such that one in three Southerners were slaves. All this provided the fuel that would become the raze that was the American Civil War.

Eli Whitney died in 1825, and his son, Eli Whitney Jr., began running the family business in 1841. Whitney Jr. seized the opportunity in 1847 to manufacture 1,000 of Samuel Colt’s latest revolver the Colt Walker revolver. Production of this revolver helped both parties immensely as it kept Colt in business, and it allowed Whitney Jr. to tool up and gain experience making revolvers. With the expiration of Colt’s patents in 1857, Whitney began production of percussion revolvers based on Colt’s patents, some of them very closely copied.

Designated the Whitney Pocket Model Revolver, this .31 caliber handgun had a total production of 32,500 which were produced at the Whitneyville Armory manufacturing center in the Whitneyville section of New Haven, Connecticut from 1859 through the early 1860s.

Though not a primary military arm during the American Civil War, these handguns were commonly privately purchased by soldiers for use on the battlefield. Whether legend or fact, it is interesting to note something commonly read about pocket revolvers of the day, that while they could be used for self-defense against the enemy, many soldiers kept them on their person to defend themselves against an unwanted amputation in the primitive field hospitals that were notorious, even in their day.

The overall condition is fine. Original finish and patina. Much of the cylinder scene is visible, which is scarce in these. The action is excellent. The bore is in very good condition with sharp rifling. Solid grips. Numbers match.

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

Barrel is 4 inches.

Caliber: .31 Percussion

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.

www.ancestryguns.com

$1900
#240102