In 1865, as the American Civil War was coming to an end, the firm of E. Remington & Sons began to look at the reality of an immediate future without large US military manufacturing contracts as their primary market. This meant that for the foreseeable future civilian sales would likely be the bulk of Remington’s business, unless they could secure peacetime contracts with the US government or military contracts with foreign governments. One of the primary indications of the firm’s change in business strategy was the introduction of the Remington New Model Pocket Revolver. This diminutive handgun was clearly intended for sale to the general public and was not a military pattern firearm.

The New Model Pocket Revolver was intended to compete with the venerable Colt Model 1849 “Pocket” revolver and was essentially a scaled-down pocket version of the large frame Remington percussion revolvers that had been sold to the US military by the thousands during the Civil War. The gun was a five-shot, single action, .31 caliber percussion revolver. The octagonal barrel was available in four standard factory lengths from 3” to 4.5” in half-inch increments. The silhouette of the gun was almost identical to the larger Remington percussion revolvers of the period with the classic triangular web shaped loading lever under the barrel. Only the use of a spur trigger without a triggerguard represented a significant change in the profile of the gun from its larger brethren. The revolvers were produced with blued barrels and color casehardened hammers, with the frames available in blue, nickel and silver plated. Entirely nickel-plated revolvers were produced as well. Grips were two-piece varnished walnut, with exotic grip options available at an additional charge. Between 1865 and 1873 some 25,000 of these diminutive revolvers were produced by Remington. However, the handgun was essentially obsolete when it was introduced as the era of the self-contained metallic cartridge had arrived. As a result, many of the later production revolvers were produced as .32 rimfire cartridge revolvers, rather than percussion guns as originally intended. Even more were altered from percussion to metallic cartridge at the factory with most being “new old stock” that had been produced in percussion but never sold by the factory. Others were percussion guns returned to the factory by their owners to be converted to cartridge. In an attempt to capitalize on the potential for versatility, some were offered with both factory percussion and cartridge cylinders, allowing use with either type of ammunition. Due to the period when these revolvers were produced, when metallic cartridges were becoming the standard for firearms, original, unaltered percussion examples are significantly less common than the cartridge variant.

Offered here is a VERY FINE condition example of a very late production cartridge configuration Remington New Model Pocket Revolver. The gun has the full nickel-plated finish with a fire blued hammer and trigger. The octagonal barrel is 3.5” in length and the overall length of the revolver is about 8”. The top flat of the barrel is marked in three lines

PATENTED SEPT. 14. 1858. MARCH 17. 1863

REMINGTON & SONS. ILION. NEW YORK U.S.A.

NEW MODEL

The markings are relatively deep and crisp with only the line that reads “New Model” a little weak and end of the patent date marking weak because of how the die struck the barrel. The revolver is serial number 23,848, which makes it a very late production gun, almost at the very end of the 25,000-revolver manufacturing run. The matching serial number is found on the frame, under the left grip, under the barrel (concealed by the loading lever) and lightly inside the grips in pencil. The rear face of the cylinder and the removable cylinder back plate are both numbered 4687. The revolver retains about 85%+ of the original bright nickel finish overall, with some evenly distributed flaked loss and freckled oxidized discoloration scattered over the gun. The right side of the revolvers shows slightly more flaked loss than the left side. The hammer retains about 60%+ of its vivid fire blue, with the right side retaining nearly all of the color and the right side showing more wear and loss. The revolver is in FINE condition mechanically and times, indexes and locks up as crisply and tightly as the day it was produced. The cylinder chambers show moderate oxidation in their interiors, as does the face of the backplate for the cylinder. The loading lever remains fully functional and operates exactly as  it should, although it is an unnecessary item on a cartridge revolver. The original German silver front sight is in place on the top of the barrel, near the muzzle. The bore remains in about GOOD condition. It is moderately oxidized and evenly pitted with strong rifling. The original varnished wood grips remain in FINE condition as well and they retain much of their original finish. The grips are solid and free of any breaks, cracks or repairs. They do show some light wear along with scattered minor bumps, dings and handling marks, as well as a very tiny chip missing from the lower leading edge of the right grip.

Overall, this is a very crisp and fine condition example of a Remington New Model Pocket Cartridge Revolver. The revolver is 100% complete, correct and original and would a wonderful addition to any collection of early Remington cartridge handguns or pocket revolvers of the Old West era.

SOLD