Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of one of the small revolvers made by Whitneyville Armory, located in Whitneyville Connecticut. This area, today near Hamden Connecticut, was so named due to its association with the famous Eli Whitney, the inventor of the Cotton Gin. Whitney also manufactured firearms, such as Springfield Muskets, and his son, also named Eli Whitney, followed in his footsteps. The factory was expanded, and the area became known as "Whitneyville", making firearms throughout the 19th century. Eventually, after several consolidations, the factory became "Whitneyville Armory."

This is a lovely 7 shot .22cal rimfire pistol, made for self protection, and would easily fit in a coat pocket. Whitneyville Armory termed this their No. 1 model, originally produced with a nickel plated brass frame and blued steel barrel and other parts. As with all that we have seen, the plating on the frame is almost completely removed, replaced by a lovely "mustard patina". The barrel and cylinder however still bear most of the original blued finish, with the expected wear on the corners, giving it a great broken-in look!

The revolver is marked with serial number 11860 on the bottom of the grip, with shortened number 860 on the bottom of the barrel, the rear of the cylinder, and the inside of BOTH grip scales. This makes this a very nice "ALL MATCHING" example, with no parts swapped out over the years, and it's a good one! It also is marked on the top barrel flat with and address information, which have been highlighted in white:-

This is one of many revolvers made in the late 19th Century patterned after Smith & Wesson Revolvers, firing rimfire cartridges and having spur triggers. These were so prolific that the major makers such as Smith & Wesson, Colt, and Remington virtually abandoned the small pistol market.

The revolver cycles beautifully, with correct indexing, a good cylinder lockup, and a crisp dry fire. It can sometimes under rotate a bit if the hammer is pulled back very slowly, but otherwise we did not notice any functional issues. We checked the bore, and it is in excellent condition, showing a bright finish with crisp lands and grooves. There is just a bit of past fouling in the grooves, indicating it saw very little use during its service life.

The revolver has lovely walnut grips, which show only light wear, still retaining almost all of their "piano varnish" finish on the exterior. They have a few dents and dings, but no cracks or chunks missing.

A lovely example of an early American rimfire pocket pistol, fully cleaned and ready to display!

Specifications:

Years of Manufacture: 1871-1878
Caliber: .22 Short
Ammunition Type: Rimfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 3 1/8 inches
Overall Length: 6 1/2 inches
Action: Single Action
Feed System: 7 Shot Revolver

NOTE: As this is chambered for .22" rimfire ammunition, this revolver is not considered "obsolete calibre" in the UK. International orders of antique firearms MUST be shipped using UPS WW Services (courier). USPS Priority Mail international will not accept these.