This is an extremely rare example of the North-Savage 1st Model 2^nd Variation Figure 8 Percussion Revolver. This gun was one of the predecessors to the well-known Civil War era Savage “Navy” revolver and was the first of the North-Savage revolver model to be purchased by the US Ordnance Department. 

The North-Savage Company traced its lineage to the famous Simeon North, who established his arms making company in Berlin, CT during the late 1790s. The company moved to Middletown, CT in 1811 and North continued to produce rifles, muskets and pistols on contract for the Ordnance Department for many years. The same year that North moved his factory, he partnered with his brother-in-law Josiah Savage, in order to obtain additional capital. Upon Josiah Savage’s death his son Edward took over the family interest in the business. North’s son James took over his father’s interest in the business in 1831 and remained the principle in charge of the company until his death in 1856. At that time, Edward Savage became the sole owner of the company, as James North’s son Henry had never been made a partner in the company. Henry worked for Savage and was instrumental in the development of what would become the Savage Navy revolver. Henry North was issued US Patent #15,144 on June 17, 1856, for an improvement on his earlier 1852 patent for a revolving gas seal pistol, that reduced gas leakage between the cylinder and barrel by forcing the cylinder forward to engage the forcing cone of the barrel and creating an almost completely gas tight seal. 

Savage delivered a prototype “Figure 8” revolver to the Washington Arsenal for evaluation in June of 1856. The test revolver was fired twenty-four times with eighteen grains of powder and another thirty-two times with a twenty-grain powder charge. The reporting officer, Major Bell of the Ordnance Department noted in his report that “I think it will probably be found on further trials (when these arms are manufactured and thereby more perfected in their construction) that they are the best of the revolvers.” This was certainly high praise as some 1,000 Colt “Navy” revolvers had already been ordered the previous year and the Ordnance Department had been acquiring Colt revolvers in somewhat limited quantities since about 1841 when the first purchased some Paterson model revolvers. Considering the successful use of Colt Walker and Dragoon revolvers during the preceding decade, there was clearly something in the North-Savage design that piqued Major Bell’s interest. As a result of successful report after the testing of the North-Savage revolver design, the Ordnance Department to place an order for 100 of the unique “Figure-8” revolvers for actual field trials. The order was placed June 17, 1856, and the 100 revolvers were delivered on June 20, 1857. All but one of these revolvers was in the field for trial use by US cavalry units within a year. It is not clear if these guns were marked or inspected in any way, as typically that was only done for larger contracts, where the guns were inspected by viewers sent to the factory itself to do the inspecting. McAulay makes no note of these first 100 revolvers being inspected. Interestingly the initial performance of the design during testing must have had some serious merit, as before the first 100 revolvers were delivered, another order for 100 revolvers was placed on May 23, 1857. However, none of those guns were delivered. Testing between June 29 and July 2 of 1857, of two of the guns delivered on June 20 had very different results. One revolver only fired thirty-six times before being rendered “unserviceable”, while the second gun fire four hundred and seventy-nine times without incident. The report written the day after the conclusion of that testing noted that “Ther pistol has sufficient merit to warrant a trial in actual service, the only true and effective test whether or not an arm is adoptable to the military service.” Following this positive finding, an order was placed for 500 of the revolvers on July 10, 1857. However none of those guns would be delivered until May 8, 1861, and they would not be the 1^st Model North-Savage “Figure 8” revolvers as had been tested but would rather be the standard production Savage Navy revolvers familiar to all students of Civil War era handguns.

The North-Savage Figure 8 revolvers utilized a unique self-cocking action that rotated the cylinder and cocked the hammer by pulling back the lower ring trigger of a “Figure-8” trigger system. The upper trigger then fired the pistol in a conventional fashion. These test revolvers were chambered in .36 caliber, the same as the Colt Model 1851 “Navy” revolvers then in service with the US military. North & Savage produced approximately 450 of these “Figure-8” revolvers between 1856 and 1859. The revolvers were produced in three distinct model variations, with some authors dividing them into four variations. 

The 1^st Model revolvers were produced with a brass frame with a round cross section, and a conventional swinging link toggling loading lever. This first model is subdivided into “1^st” and “2^nd” variations, with the first variant had protruding chamber mouths that engaged the forcing cone of the barrel to create the gas seal. It is believed that only about ten of these earliest guns were produced. The balance of the 1^st model production had chamfered chamber mounts into which the tapered forcing cone entered to create the gas seal. This concept would be used through the entire production run of the Savage “gas seal” revolvers. The second model was produced with a round iron frame and new ratchet action loading lever. The third model was produced with the same ratcheting loading lever, and a flat-sided frame, taking on an appearance much akin to the more often encountered Civil War era Savage Navy revolver. These guns are encountered with both the brass and iron frame, and with the iron framed guns sometimes designated as fourth model guns. It is estimated that about 250 of the first type revolvers were produced, with 100 of these being the Ordnance Department test revolvers. About 100 of the second model were produced, and another 100-200 of the third and/or fourth models were produced. In reality the guns appear to have been produced in both brass and iron for the majority of their production life, with modifications and improvements being added as the gun design evolved. 

The serial numbering system is noted as “confusing” by most arms historians, but the system seems to be simply a serial number range for brass framed guns and one for iron-framed guns. These numbers probably remained separate and consistent for the entire production run of both brass and iron framed guns, with the improvements being added as they were adopted during the manufacturing process. Throughout production the basic finish of the guns was blued barrels and cylinders with color casehardened triggerguards, operating levers, hammers and loading levers. The iron framed guns had blued frames, and the brass framed guns appear to have been left with the brass unfinished. All of the revolver variations had smooth, two-piece walnut grips. 

This 1^st Model, 2^nd Variation North & Savage Figure 8 Percussion Revolver is in NEAR VERY GOOD condition. The gun is 100% complete and correct in every way. The gun is mechanically excellent and functions exactly as it should. The lower ring of the “figure-8” rotates and indexes the cylinder as it should and cocks the hammer. Pushing the cocking ring back forward completes the indexing, locks the action and pushes the cylinder chamber over the forcing cone of the barrel. The conventional upper trigger can then be pulled to release the hammer to fire the pistol. As with all North-Savage pistols, the gun is a six-chambered, .36 caliber revolver with a nominally 7 1/8” octagonal barrel that measures 7 3/16” in actual length. Minor variations of  plus or minus ¼” to ½” an inch are not uncommon on these earlier production handguns. The bore is rifled with 3 grooves with a 1 in 48 rate of twist. The pistol is marked on the top strap in two lines:

E. SAVAGE, MIDDELTOWN, CT.

H.S. NORTH PATENTED JUNE 17^th, 1856

The barrel marking is mostly visible and legible, with some wear and loss making the beginning of both lines hard to read, with the lower portion of the bottom line weak as well, possibly due to a bad die strike. The revolver bears no other markings, except for the serial number 35 and the assembly number 3. The serial number is found stamped on the lower left side of the frame under the grip, on the side of the loading lever web, on the reverse of the hammer, on the bottom of the barrel, on both portions of the “figure-8” trigger housing and in pencil inside both grips. The assembly number 3 is found on the bottom of the barrel, on the top flat of the loading lever and stamped into each grip. Due to the notoriously delicate and finicky action of these revolvers, it was not disassembled to look for additional serial and mating numbers, but likely the cylinder and rotational plate at the rear of the cylinder are numbered with one or both of those numbers as well.

Assuming the guns were serial numbered sequentially, with about ten of the earliest version of this model being produced, this would be the twenty-fifth of the 2^nd Variation, 1^st Model revolvers to be produced. 

The revolver none of its original blued finish, and the iron components have a mottled, moderately oxidized pewter gray and brown patina. The metal appears to have been lightly cleaned at some point which has left some areas of the barrel marking somewhat weak. The revolver was clearly carried in a holster a lot, as the front left edge of the tapered octagonal barrel shows rounded and worn metal loss at the muzzle. The metal is partly smooth, with some scattered patches of pinpricking and light pitting, with most areas being fingerprint sized patches. The brass frame and side plate have a rich, untouched butterscotch patina and shows some scattered tiny areas of surface casting flaws in the brass. The hammer has a medium steel patina with some pinpricking and scattered oxidation, and the triggerguard and operating lever show some minor, faded traces of the case-colored mottling, again showing scattered oxidation and discoloration, along with some pinpricking. All of the original cones (nipples) are in place in the cylinder and are in about fair to good condition, with all of them showing at least some battering and peening and a couple showing cracks as well. The loading lever functions as it should and locks securely into position when not in use. All of the screw heads are about good and show moderate amounts of slot wear. The bore of the revolver is in about GOOD+ condition and retains strong rifling, with scattered light to moderate pitting along its entire length and moderate amounts of oxidation and discoloration. The two-piece walnut grips are in about GOOD+ condition as well. Like the Civil War era descendent of these revolvers, the grips are relatively thin and prone to damage. The left panel has a small crack at the lower leading edge. Both grips show minor chipping at the lower sharp leading and trailing edges. Both grips show moderate wear, scattered bumps, dings and mars, as well as surface scratches and scuffs.

Overall, this is a really solid and complete example of an early US percussion revolver that is very rarely encountered for sale. With only 250 of these revolvers estimated to have been manufactured, it could well be years before another example is available on the market. For a collector of unique, secondary US martial arms, this is a great opportunity to own an extremely scarce revolver in very good and un-messed with condition. The rarity of the pistol will allow it to figure as a centerpiece in your advance US revolver collection.

SOLD