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LOT 3095
Very Scarce Belgian LeMat Patent Single Action
Centerfire “Grapeshot” Revolver - Serial no. 193,
44/20 cal., 4 3/4 inch octagon and round bbl., bright finish,
walnut grips. LeMat revolvers are most famously associated with the
Confederacy during the Civil War as percussion revolvers, but they
remained in production well-after the war ended. Centerfire LeMat revolvers
were manufactured from the late 1860s until the early 1880s. Dr. Jean Alexander
Francois LeMat received patents in the U.S. and Belgium in 1869 that covered a centerfire version of his famous double barrel handgun that combined a revolver with a central shotgun barrel that also served
as the cylinder pin. He also received patents in France and led an American volunteer legion during Franco-Prussian War, was a negotiator during the French Insurrection in 1871, and developed early airships. Production totals for the LeMat firearms are not known. However, given that production of the more well-known and more often seen percussion revolvers numbered only in the low thousands, the centerfire revolvers from the late 1860s to the 1880s production totals were likely very low, possibly only a few hundred. There are very few surviving examples. The 1869 patented LeMats have separate loading gates for the shot chambers and the revolver cylinders and utilize pivoting arms on the hammers in order to allow the hammer to strike the firing pins at the rear of the shot chambers. The upper barrel is stamped
“COLONEL LE MAT. PATENT” on top and has a “crown/L” marking on the lower right flat and on the front of the cylinder. The nine-shot cylinder has Liege proofs. Serial number “193” located on the right of the frame. Matching assembly number “14” visible on the various components and handwritten on the underside
of both walnut grip panels, with “GG” stamped on the underside of the right grip panel. Lanyard ring in bottom front of frame. Circular collection tag stamped “0452” attached.
CONDITION: Fine overall with smooth bright polished surfaces, a few patches of minor pitting, legible markings and defined edges. The grips are also fine with some slight fading, scattered light scratches and nicks, and defined edges. Mechanically fine. This is a unique opportunity to acquire a distinctive and very scarce centerfire LeMat “Grapeshot” revolver.
Estimate: 8,500 - 13,000