Original British Victorian Prototype .442 Centerfire Double Action Revolver with Birmingham Proofs – circa 1870 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is a real mystery as its origin and maker are unknown, except that it bears proof marks from Birmingham, England. It is an early double action design centerfire cartridge revolver, which has disassembly required to load and reload the cylinder. The lever on the front under the barrel needs to be lowered to allow barrel to be removed for access to the cylinder. The only markings are a letter “F” on the front of the cylinder and the CROWN / CROSSED SCEPTERS proof of Birmingham, England, a major gunmaking city in the country, second only to London at the time. These proofs are seen on the side of every chamber on the cylinder, as well as twice on the underside of the barrel, which have the V “Viewed” and BPC Birmingham Gun Company abbreviations.

We removed the grips, and there were no markings there as well, so this appears to be some type of prototype or experimental revolver being developed, with the loading system of Colt percussion revolvers as an inspiration. There is no caliber marking that we could find on the revolver, but the bore measures about .440″ land to land at both the muzzle and the breech end, with the cylinder chambers measuring about .442″ at the muzzle and .485″ at the breech ends. The cylinder is only 1.12 inches long, which is too long for both .476 Enfield or .455 Webley, so we assume this is for .442 Webley, or possibly the later .45 Adams.

The revolver features nicely checkered walnut grips, which look to have shrunken a bit, and the frame looks to originally have been blued, now faded to a worn plum and gray patina. It functions well in both single and double action, indexing correctly with a stiff trigger action. However the design involves a cylinder lock on the very edge of the cylinder, which is missing, so it can rotate even when the revolver is at full cock. We checked the bore, and it is in very good condition considering the age, showing 5 groove rifling with a partly bright finish. There is some oxidation and wear, so the revolver definitely did see some level of use.

Estimated to date from the early 1870’s, this revolver is most unusual and clearly a design very quickly obsoleted hence the rarity. Ready to research and display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: circa 1870
Caliber: .442 or .45 Boxer
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Overall Length: 11 1/2 inches
Barrel Length: 6 1/4 inches
Action: External Hammer Double/Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver