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. Provenance: The Colonel Lindsey P. Henderson Collection; The Richard Ferry Collection; Property of a Gentleman

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.