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.

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.