Product Description
VERY RARE Antique JAMES WARNER .28 FIRST MODEL Percussion Pocket Revolver
CIVIL WAR ERA 1st Model Pocket; 1 of < 500 Made
Here we present an antique James Warner Patent First Model Percussion Pocket Revolver, one of less than 500 made circa 1857 to the early 1860s, in Springfield, Massachusetts. James Warner was a prolific inventor and gun maker who was at one time or another engaged with the following gun makers: Springfield Arms Co., Massachusetts Arms Company, Edwin Wesson, Wesson Stevens & Miller, and Warner & Wesson. Production of this cartridge revolver was halted due to violation of the Rollin White patent. Earlier Warner percussion revolvers were also removed from production due to patent infringement suits. Because of these suits, Warner managed to distinguish himself from many other gun makers by being sued for patent infringement and losing twice, to Colt and to Smith & Wesson, respectively—once with his percussion design and once for this cartridge design. As would be expected, he had to stop production in each instance. The first occasion was with Warner’s preemptive manufacture of a revolving percussion rifle, since Colt’s patent was about to expire, when, in fact, Colt received a patent extension. He was forced to cease production and label his guns for S&W on the second occasion.
Colt’s revolver patent would haunt Warner until its expiration in 1857, limiting the features that could be included in the revolving firearms that he produced both with Springfield Arms Company and on his own. As a result, most of Warner’s production, both handguns and rifles, had to have manually rotated cylinders to comply with the court order to cease producing revolving arms that violated the Colt patent. In 1857, with the expiration of the patent, Warner received a new patent and started to produce a small frame, 6-shot percussion revolver that would be his most successful firearm. The initial variant or “1st Model”, as is this example, was a .28 caliber single action handgun. Somewhere less than 500 of the “1st Model” revolvers were produced before the introduction of Warner’s “2nd Model” Pocket revolver.
The overall condition is good. Strong action, but the cylinder does not lock up. Good bore. Both grips have an expected amount of handling and remain seated firmly. Lightly engraved frame. Legible markings.
Own the original! This is a legitimate antique and not a reproduction.
Barrel is 2-1/2 inches.
Caliber: .28 Percussion
Overall condition as seen in photos.
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$1800
#233588