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LOT 465
Rare Serial Number 25
Mannlicher Patent Neuhausen
Model 1894 Semi-Automatic
Pistol - Serial no. 25, 6.55 mm
cal., 6 3/4 inch round bbl., blue finish,
hardwood grips. Introduced in 1894 and
patented in the United States in 1897, the Neuhausen Model
1894 is the first known pistol made by noted arms designer
Ferdinand, Ritter von Mannlicher. While a contemporary to
the Mauser Broomhandle and Loewe Borchardt pistols, the
Mannlicher design took a very different mechanical path, being
one of the few manufactured weapons to use a blow-forward
mechanism. In contrast to the now-long standing orthodoxy
in pistol design (which Mannlicher himself would embrace in
his later pistol designs), instead of using a slide or bolt to move
the breech, the Mannlicher uses a fixed, standing breechblock,
with the force of discharge imparted by the bullet engaging
the rifling giving forward momentum to the spring loaded
barrel. After discharge, a catch connected to the trigger holds
the barrel in the open position, both to permit loading of the
internal magazine and to provide an extra margin of safety
to ensure that the barrel doesn’t return to battery before the
rebounding double action hammer has reset, eliminating the
risk of an undesirable slam fire. The Mannlicher was one of many
pistols evaluated by the United States Army in 1900; like most of
the handguns evaluated prior to the adoption of the 1911, the
Mannlicher design was passed over. Blade
front and notch rear sights, the former
integrated into the spring housing for the barrel
and the latter integrated into the hinged catch that retains the
loaded cartridge in position to enter the chamber. The left side of
the frame is marked “FAB.D’ARMS/NEUHAUSEN”, with “25” on the
frame, barrel, barrel shroud and locking block, a set of checkered
grips and “EH” in an oval on the butt.
CONDITION: Excellent, with 95% of the original blue finish,
showing the start of a brown patina on some components, a
small void on the right side of the frame (possibly a factory
machining error), and light handling marks. The grips are
also excellent, with a few minor dings, a chip absent
on the bottom left interior panel, and crisp checkering.
Mechanically excellent.
Estimate: 25,000 - 40,000
Serial
Number 25