Original U.S. Merwin Hulbert & Co. M1874 1st Model .44cal. Frontier Army Revolver Serial 2138 - circa 1876

Original Item: Only One Available. To some this is one of the most beautiful revolver designs ever made. Wonderful design, great workmanship and so easy on the eye, the firearms produced by Merwin, Hulbert, & Co. of New York were beautiful, and also over-engineered almost to a fault. Sometimes referred to as "Merwin & Hulbert", the firm was an American firearms designer and marketer based in New York City which produced revolvers and rifles from 1874 through 1916. The firearms were manufactured by a subsidiary company, Hopkins & Allen of Norwich, Connecticut. Their famous line of revolvers began with the "Frontier Model" Open Frame cartridge revolver, which took the proprietary .44 Merwin & Hulbert cartridge. This was known as the "1st Model", and was followed in 1878 by the "2nd Model", which made some improvements, but more importantly introduced a version that took the very popular Winchester .44-40 centerfire cartridge, which quickly became the most popular caliber. This example however is definitely a First model, chambered for the .44 Merwin & Hulbert, with many features that were later changed or removed. It has the two screws on the left lower side of the frame for trigger removal, and the small ball bearing detent on the barrel release catch. These were all removed by the end of the run of the 1st model, making this a very hard to find revolver. The only "improved" part of this revolver is the hammer, which is the more standard 2nd type, not the "humped back" first type. This revolver was originally nickel plated, as were almost all Merwin & Hulbert Revolvers. They had a process for plating that was actually CHEAPER than bluing. It looks like over time the plating wore away, now preserved only on the front of the recoil shield and loading gate. After that the revolver was cleaned repeatedly to remove subsequent oxidation and dirt. Unfortunately this obliterated all of the markings on the barrel top and sides. It now displays a lovely patina of age, with areas of past peppering and pitting, and it is fitted with lovely black "gutta percha" hard rubber grips. The revolver is marked on the bottom of the grip with serial number 2138 by the lanyard, while the frame under the grips, the back of the cylinder, the back of the barrel, and the left front of the arbor pin are all marked with assembly number 179, which makes this a very nice "ALL MATCHING" example, with no major parts swapped out over the years! Made in single action only, the Frontier Army was hoped to be accepted by the U.S. Government, however by this date Colt had most all of the Government Contracts in its pocket. There was stiff competition from Remington, Smith & Wesson and Forehand & Wadsworth, however Mervin and Hulbert did succeed in getting some Police Contracts. As this is a First 1st Model, it is in .44 Merwin & Hulbert, so there is no need to look for markings on the frame indicating it is for a Winchester .44-40. Built with a lot of advanced features, this unfortunately also means there was that much more that could malfunction. One example of the complex internal workings include a "safety" that prevents the revolver from being broken open unless the hammer is in the loading position, and if the latch on the bottom of the frame is not in the fully forward position, these revolvers can have trouble cycling. It also was made with tight enough tolerances that the barrel and cylinder arbor pin being moved out creates suction, which with inertia ejects the spent cartridges. The cylinder and barrel on excellent examples will also "bounce back" when broken open for reloading. The revolver functions well, though as with any revolver of this age it can be finicky at at times due to wear on the internal components. The barrel rotates and pulls away correctly for spent cartridge removal, and can then be removed entirely. However, the interrupter that prevents it from being opened when the hammer is fully forward is not functioning, so it can be opened at any time. It cycles well, with relatively good indexing, however the cylinder lock is worn and/or weak, so it overshoots often, and can be rotated even at the fully cocked position with a little effort. The bore is in good condition, showing a partly bright finish with clear lands and grooves, and also areas of pit rust oxidation. There is wear to the lands as well, which is fairly typical for a black powder revolver of this age that saw the amount of service this one did. The exterior condition is very nice, with a lovely "Frontier Worn" look, showing past peppering and light pitting on the frame. The hard rubber grips are lovely, showing wear and the brown color that comes as they age. With an ingenious reloading system it became a favorite with many individuals and even more so with Collectors of today. Merwin died in 1888 whereupon the Company became Hulbert Bros Co., but was liquidated in 1896. A lovely and rare large Single Action U.S. Revolver, very early with loads of patina! Specifications:- Years of Manufacture: circa 1876 Caliber: .44 Merwin & Hulbert (.44-30) Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge Barrel Length: 6 7/8 inches Overall Length: 12 inches Action: Single Action Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver