The mid-1870s were a vibrant time for the firearms industry around the world as the recent introduction of reloadable centerfire metallic cartridges had revolutionized the industry and allowed for many new avenues to be explored regarding the improvement in and development of repeating firearms. When it came to the development of cartridge revolvers the expiration the patents that covered the concept of the bored through cylinder meant that cartridge revolver development could proceed at breakneck speed. These patents had been held by Eugene Lefaucheux’s in England, France and Belgium and the same concept that had been protected by Rollin White in the United States. Very quickly two basic forms of cartridge revolver design came to the forefront, the solid frame which was loaded and unloaded one cartridge at a time through a loading gate and the break top design with a two-piece frame that usually featured simultaneous extraction. In the United States, Colt was the leader in solid frame revolvers with Smith & Wesson blazing the way on top break designs. In England, the solid frame designs were typified by the revolvers of Adams and Tranter, with Philip Webley & Sons becoming the gold standard for top break designs. In Continental Europe, most designs plagiarized the work of American and English leaders in the field but constantly sought ways to avoid running afoul of design patents that had been secured in places like Belgium and France. In the United States the military tended towards solid frame designs, with the Colt Single Action Army being the primary handgun of the US services and in England the top break designs were most popular with the military, with Enfield and Webley designs reigning supreme.
In England and throughout Europe revolver designers continued to try to “build the better mousetrap” and as the Webley top break design was so popular, many of the attempts centered on improvements to the Webley latching system that also evaded Webley’s patents that could allow a revolver to produced that competed with Webley but often at a lower price than a Webley. Webley’s most successful initial foray into the top break revolver market had been the so-called Webley-Pryse, a revolver that built upon Webley’s earlier work but featured an improved anti-rotation lock system and a frame latching system that had been patented by Belgian designer M.P. Counet in May of 1871. Not to rest on their laurels or successes, in 1884 the firm introduced an improved version known as the Webley-Kaufmann which featured improvements to the lock work and a new frame latching system, both of which had been patented by Michael Kaufmann in 1880 and 1881, respectively. In 1885 the penultimate Webley revolver was introduced, the “WG” or “Webley-Green” utilizing the most recognizable of the Webley frame latching systems and the one that would typify the balance of the firm’s production, especially for their military models. Although Edwin Charles Green apparently never patented the latching system, his claim that he invented it was apparently sufficiently strong that Webley entered into a financial settlement with him to retain the design and avoid legal entanglements. It is worth noting that until the adoption of the Webley Mark I revolver by the British military the primary market for his large frame top break designs has been British military officers who were responsible to purchase their own sidearms, and the civilian market.
In Belgium, firearms designer DieuDonné LeVaux of Trembleur, Blegny, Belgium received at least seven patents for firearms designs between 1870 and 1877. It is worth noting that the last two of these patents were in association with P. Counet (Belgian #82404 and 83094) who held the design patent for the Webley-Pryse locking system. The fact that LeVaux does not appear in such major gunmaker’s references as Heer Der Neue Stockel make researching his work much more difficult, particularly as a maker. Thankfully the hard work on creating a resource and timeline for revolver designs complied by Othias McCarthy of CandRsenal.com has made LeVaux’s patents and designs readily accessible. The design of LeVaux that is typically thought of when his designs are discussed is a simplified latching system for top break revolvers. The system relied on two angled lugs that projected from the upper rear of the frame at the top of the recoil shield. These two luges engaged two angled holes in the topstrap of the gun and tipping down of the topstrap was prevented by a simple pivoting catch mounted at the rear of the recoil shield. The catch was tensioned by a spring mounted on the right rear of the frame behind the recoil shield. To open the action a large, checkered thumb piece at the top of the catch was depressed. When the spring tension was overcome, depressing this catch pushed the hammer back into a safety notch and when the catch cleared the top rear edge of the frame, it allowed the barrel to be tipped down which in turn operated the ratchet that which actuated the extractor system. LeVaux’s patent for the frame catch system was patented in Belgium on January 29, 1876, and was issued as Belgian Patent #38750.
LeVaux’s catch design was not widely accepted or utilized as extant examples are not particularly common. It is not clear if this was due to any inherent defect in the design or simply due to the power of the more successful Webley models that dominated the market. What LeVaux’s patent did offer to some of the smaller English and European gunmakers was the opportunity to produce a top break design to compete with Webley without having to pay royalties or secure the rights to use designs whose patents were controlled by Webley, a cost that was probably insurmountable for many of the smaller Birmingham gun makers of the period. It is also worth noting that during the mid-19th century it was not uncommon for many of the smaller Birmingham based makers to produce guns without their names on the, under the assumption that they would sell these guns in the wholesale trade and then the guns would be retailer marked by the sellers. Thus, the blank topstrap of an English revolver was often engraved with the name of a larger and more successful gunmaker and retailer who simply offered it as a less expensive option to the guns that he produced. This is also why so many English revolvers had American retailer marks on them, particularly in the decade leading up to the American Civil War.
Offered here is a VERY FINE condition example of a Birmingham (England) made example of a LeVaux patent revolver that was probably retailed by the Wilkinson Company, although the gun does not have a Wilkinson retailer mark on it. The gun is essentially unmarked, although it does have the expected post-1813 Birmingham commercial proof marks under the barrel, on the right side of the frame and between the cylinder chambers, along with the serial number 6134 on the left side of the barrel web, forward of the cylinder. The only other markings are the initials DJMon the left inner face of the barrel web and JM G LEVAUX on the left side of the frame under the left grip. This latter mark indicates that DD LeVaux’s brother Guillaume produced the gun but may not have “completed it” as it does not have any Belgian proof marks on it, other than a {CROWN}/S on the face of the cylinder that might be a Liege controller’s mark. As such, G LeVaux may have produced the parts that were subsequently assembled and finished by a Birmingham gunmaker with the initials DJM. The only other marking on the gun is the number 8540 stamped into the base of the left grip. This numbering is consistent with the registration numbers applied to the lower left side or bottom of wood grips of revolvers retailed by the Wilkinson Sword Company. As this number is between 8,000 and 9,000, the records would theoretically be contained in the Wilkinson archives date book #4, which covers the period from 1885 to 1893.
The gun is apparently chambered for the English .380 revolver cartridge of the period, similar to the .38 S&W cartridge in America. It has a 5” octagonal barrel with an overall length of 9 ½” and has a six-chambered unfluted cylinder. Like all examples of LeVaux patent revolvers it utilizes a double action lock work and the tip down design incorporates an automatic extraction system with an extractor ring rather than a cylinder. The fixed sights are very simple, with a low-profile narrow notch at the top rear of the thumb catch and a tall, pinched blade dovetailed into the top of the barrel ½” from the muzzle for a front sight. A rotating lanyard ring is mounted in the butt of the revolver. The revolver is finished with a deep rich blue and has two-piece checkered walnut grips with diamond shaped screw escutcheons.
As noted, the gun remains in VERY FINE condition overall. The revolver retains about 50%+ of its original blue averaged over the entire gun, with the largest amount of the remaining blue on the barrel and web, less on the cylinder and the least remaining blue on the frame. Most of the loss appears to be from flaking and wear. The metal remains mostly smooth throughout with some scattered small areas of surface oxidation with some freckled surface roughness and some lightly scattered minor dings and impact marks. The few markings remain clear and fully legible. The gun remains mechanically functional with a crisp and tight action that functions exactly as it should. The revolver times, indexes and locks up correctly in both single and double action modes. The locking mechanism works as it should and the barrel to frame lock up is tight and free of any wobble. The extraction mechanism works as it should as well. The bore remains in NEAR FINE condition and is mostly bright with some scattered oxidation and showing some small areas of minor pitting. The bore retains deep and crisp six-groove rifling with narrow grooves that are about half the width of the lands. The two-piece checkered walnut grips are in VERY GOOD+ condition and retain fairly crisp checkering. The grips do show moderate wear and numerous minor bumps, dings and mars from handling, carry and use.
Overall, this is a very nice example of one of the less common top break revolvers that was produced from the mid-1870s through the mid-1880s to compete with more popular and well-known guns like those of Philip Webley. Whether this revolver was acquired by a young British officer who could not quite afford a Webley or other more expensive handgun or by an English civilian for self-protection is hard to know. Considering the breadth of the British Empire during the fourth quarter of the 19th century, this revolver could have seen use in any number of exotic and far away locations, in a young officer’s holster or in the pocket of British diplomat or businessman. It would be a fine addition to any collection of early English cartridge revolvers, particularly one that includes Webleys, as an example of one of the competing designs.