Very Well Made European Self Defense Pistol circa 1860, Manufacturer DEPREZ (JOASSART) Jean Mathieu of Herstal, serial number 7292

This Pepperbox Pinfire Caliber: 7mm Revolver, made circa 1860 in Belgium. This small revolver was designed to be used for concealable self-defense in the last half of the 19th Century.

The pinfire cartridge was one of the very first successful metallic, self-contained cartridges in history. It was invented in Paris by Frenchman Casimir Lefaucheux, and he was granted a patent in the mid-1830s. This predates the invention of rimfire by about 10 years. Aside from being first, the pinfire cartridge was not primed on the back of the cartridge, but had a pin (basically a firing pin) projecting out of the side of the cartridge. Thus, the revolvers made for this early cartridge had flat hammers that struck the cylinder and cartridge from the top, as the pin would project out of a small hole in the cylinder. The first revolver to shoot these ingenious cartridges was Casimir’s son Eugene Gabriel Lefaucheux in 1854.

This revolver is beautifully, fully engraved. This is a double action revolver with a loading gate on the left side. The trigger folds up and out of the way for streamlined stowing in a pocket.

The overall condition is near fine. The engraving and other markings are clear. The wooden grips are in fine condition. The bores are smooth and clean. The pistol is an obsolete calibre which still has a Fully working action is excellent condition.