Lefaucheux Mle1874 Single Action \"Navy\" Revolver, 12mm Pin Fire With Reloading Kit
This is the finest of the Mle1874's I have had yet. The blue on the barrel and cylinder is almost 100%, with a slight fading of the blue apparent on the barrel. The case colors on the frame and trigger guard have faded but are still visible. The markings are crisp and complete. The rosewood grip is excellent, with very minor handling marks and all of the varnish intact. The action is strong and accurate, and the cylinder indexes and locks properly. The bore of the 6 1/4 inch barrel is impeccable and bright, with sharp rifling. The gun includes a H&C 12mm pinfire reloading kit and 25 extra bullets. SN 5519, rated excellent overall.
History & Background
Eugene Lefaucheux was to French gun manufacturers what Sam Colt was to the Americans. Lefaucheux had inherited his father's business which was still largely fashioned after the traditional artisanal manufacture of the 17th and 18th centuries: a master working with a few hands and apprentices in relatively small shops, turning out individual pieces, all hand-fitted and finished. Eugene was a man of the \"Industrial Revolution\", and his aim was (like Colt's) to mass-produce guns on a scale previously unknown. This required highly accurate machinery and a source of power (steam) which could run many machines all at once. Lefaucheux, like Colt, opted to employ a few highly trained experts to supervise the process, while low-paid, limited-skilled workers ran the machinery and assemblies. The accuracy of the manufacture was key: parts had to be interchangeable, and require little hand fitting and finishing. Eugene would bring his father's business of a few hundred guns per year to thousands each month in the span of some 30 years. Lefaucheux revolvers were used by more armies and government forces around the world than any other cartridge gun in the 1850's and 60's. It was not until the invention of the center fire primer by Berdan and Boxer in 1866 that the pin fire system began to fade into obscurity, and by the early 1900's it had all but disapperared, save for some tenacious pin fire shotgun enthusiasts. While Lefaucheux produced dozens of models at his Paris and Liege factories, his Model of 1854 is perhaps the most famous, and most successful. At the time, it was the most modern firearm in the world. The two variants, known by collectors as the \"Cavalry\" model, and the \"Navy\" model - the \"Cavalry\" having a finger spur, while the \"Navy\" does not, were manufactured simultaneously, and there is no indication to suggest that one was made specifically for army use or the other for the navy.
$2,995
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