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LOT 233
Fine Civil War Era
Second Model LeMat Two-Barrel “Grape Shot”
Percussion Revolver - Serial no. 2083, 42 cal/ 16 ga cal., 6 3/4 inch octagon and round bbl., blue finish, walnut grips. The
LeMat revolver was a unusual pistol that combined a percussion
revolver with a central smoothbore “grapeshot” barrel. The smoothbore barrel served as the center axis
for the cylinder. The design was patented in 1856 by Dr. Jean Alexandre Francois LeMat of New Orleans, Louisiana. During the Civil War, the Confederate government awarded contracts for 900 LeMat revolvers for the Army and 600 revolvers for the Navy. Many senior
Confederate officers, most notably cavalry commander General J.E.B. Stuart, carried LeMat revolvers. General Stuart carried a LeMat revolver when
he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, Virginia, in 1864. The Parisian Second Model LeMat revolvers had full octagon upper barrels with
loading levers mounted on their left side, rounded trigger guards with no spurs, pull-out assembly latches, butts with lanyard ring holes, and hammers with center mounted pivoting strikers. After approximately serial number 2000, the French made Second Models were proofed in London as seen on the barrels and
cylinder of this example. The top of the barrel is engraved “Systeme Le Mat Bte. s. g. d. g. Paris” in Old English style script. The right barrel flat is stamped with the serial number followed by a star above the letters “LM”. The serial number is also stamped on the right side of the frame below the cylinder and on the cylinder. The cylinder measures .42 caliber, and the smoothbore barrel measures .65 caliber.
CONDITION: Fine with 30% untouched original blue finish mixed with smooth dark brown patina,
general mild overall wear, modified/repaired selector, and some minor oxidation/pitting. The grips
are also fine with crisp checkering and have mild wear. Mechanically excellent. A solid and attractive
representative example of the highly desirable Civil War era LeMat revolver.
Estimate: 10,000 - 18,000
LOT 234
Civil War Era London Armoury Co. Kerr’s Patent Percussion Revolver - Serial no. 766,
44 cal., 5 1/2 inch octagon bbl., blue finish, walnut grips. This fascinating revolver was manufactured
c. 1859-1861 and is a fairly early example of the Kerr patent revolver. This early revolver features a brass cone front sight, a dished top strap with fixed notch rear sight at the rear, “LONDON/ARMOURY” on the
left side of the frame, “KERR’S PATENT 766” on the right side of the frame, “766” and London proofs on the cylinder, “LONDON ARMOURY/ BERMONDSEY” inscribed on the lock, light engraving mainly in the form of borders, a checkered grip, a blank silver grip escutcheon, and a blued pommel cap with a lanyard ring.
Only around 11,500 were manufactured c. 1859-1866 before the London Armoury Co. closed after the Civil War. The design was patented by
James Kerr, cousin of fellow gunmaker and revolver patentee Robert Adams. This revolver may have shipped before the Civil War or early in the conflict from stock on-hand. Union
agents purchased a small number of the revolvers in 1861, but soon the Confederacy was purchasing everything the London Armoury Co. could produce, including both rifle-
muskets and Kerr revolvers. Per noted Kerr collector Valmor J. Forgett in the article “Why Kerrs?” for the American Society of Arms Collectors, “Confederate records show that only Kerr revolvers
and LeMat revolvers were purchased overseas for the Confederacy, making them the two most important handguns of the Confederacy. The contract Huse executed with the London Armory
Company also called for 100% of the production to go to the Confederacy, meaning that all Kerr revolvers produced from April of 1861 to the end of the Civil War were to be shipped to the
Confederate States. In fact, London Armory was known as the Official Armory of the Confederate States, leaving no doubt that it was running at 100% capacity for delivery to the Confederacy.”
He later notes, that around 9,000 are believed to have been made before the end of the Civil War and that despite the Union blockade, “it can be assumed that approximately 7,500 Kerr revolvers
did make it to Confederate shores, making it by far the most widely used revolver of the Confederacy, with far more issued than its famous French counterpart, the LeMat.”This early revolver features a brass cone front sight, a dished top strap with fixed notch rear sight at the rear, “LONDON/ARMOURY” on the left side of the frame, “KERR’S PATENT 766” on the right side of the frame, “766” and London proofs on the cylinder, “LONDON ARMOURY/BERMONDSEY” inscribed on the lock, light engraving mainly in the form of borders, a checkered grip, a blank silver grip escutcheon, and a blued pommel cap with a lanyard ring.
CONDITION: Very good plus with 30% original high polish blue finish remaining, the finish strongest on the left side, brown patina on the balance, some mild oxidation, aged patina on the silver escutcheon, and general mild wear. The grip is also fine and has crisp checkering and mild wear. Mechanically fine. Overall, a very attractive example of an early Kerr revolver.
Provenance: The Colonel Lindsey P. Henderson Collection; The Richard Ferry Collection; Property of a Gentleman.
244 Estimate: 3,000 - 4,500