**RARE**MINT BORE**Cased, London Armoury Company / Alexander Henry Edinburgh Ker .36 Calibre Single Action Percussion Revolver With Side Mounted Hammer Serial Nu .36 Revolver

**RARE**MINT BORE**Cased, London Armoury Company / Alexander Henry Edinburgh Kerr’s Patent .36 Calibre Single Action Percussion Revolver With Side Mounted Hammer Serial Number 430 (Serial Number Range Of LAC’s American Civil War Confederate Contract) - 18758

James Kerr had been the foreman for the Deane, Adams and Deane gun factory. Robert Adams, one of the partners and inventor of the Adams revolver, was Kerr's cousin. Kerr developed an improvement to the Adams revolver, British Patent No. 1722 of July 28, 1855, and when Adams left the Deane brothers to found the London Armoury Company on February 9, 1856, Kerr went with him. The London Armoury Company manufactured military rifles and revolvers. Kerr's Patent Revolver was an unusual 5-shot revolver manufactured from 1859 to 1866 by the London Armoury Company. Most were made in 44 Calibre (54 Bore) and only a few in the smaller .36 Calibre. When the American Civil War began in 1860 and the governments of both the United States and the Confederacy began purchasing arms in Britain. In November 1861, 1,600 revolvers were purchased for the Union army, at $18.00 a piece. However Confederate arms buyers Maj. Caleb Huse and Cpt. James D. Bulloch contracted for all the rifles and revolvers the Armoury could produce (and the Confederate government could pay for). As a result, the London Armoury Company became a major arms supplier to the Confederacy, selling the most of the 11,000 Kerr revolvers produced to Huse. It is easily recognised by its side-mounted hammer. This is an excellent, original, cased Kerr single action revolver in the scarce .36 calibre. It has the correct captive loading lever and side mounted hammer. Beneath the hammer arm is a safety catch which functions as it should. The pistol has a 5 ½” octagonal barrel (11 ½” overall). The barrel has the famous Alexander Henry’s Scottish gumaker’s address ‘8 South Street Edinburgh’ and English proofs. The bore is near mint clean and bright with crisp rifling. One barrel flat is signed ‘LAC’ (London Armoury Company) and has Victorian English proofs. It has a brass post fore sight and ‘v’ frame rear sight. The metal in the white is clean. The action frame is signed ‘London Armoury’ and the action tang ‘Alexr Henry’. The action frame also has ‘Kerr’s Patent 430’. The number is repeated on the cylinder (the number is the serial number of the gun, and not the patent number). The serial number puts the weapon in the serial number range of those supplied to the confederate military but there are no Confederate marks on the pistol. The cylinder has Victorian proofs. Its chequered walnut grip is undamaged. The pistol's Kerr's Patent firing mechanism works as it should. The pistol is contained in its wood case. The felt lined case has compartments which snugly fit the weapon and its accessories. The accessory compartments contain an original brass and copper black powder flask, 2 tools, brass & steel double bullet & ball mould numbered 95, 2 moulded lead bullets & 3 spare nipples. The case has a brass lock (key absent). The inside of the lid has original trade label with kerr’s patent information, instructions for use and cleaning. The price for this rare cased pistol worthy of further research includes UK delivery. NB As an antique cap & ball percussion revolver no licence is required to own this item in the UK if retained as part of a collection or display. Sn 18758

£3,500.00