Adolphus Joseph Plate was a furniture maker and gold prospector before entering the firearms trade, in which he was active from 1850 to 1880. Plate sold arms from both Henry Deringer and the Schlotterbeck Brothers, which brought him under legal scrutiny when Deringer sued the Schlotterbecks for infringing on his designs and trade marks. Silver finished brass blade front and notch rear sights on the barrel and tang, with "P" flanked by zigzag lines on the upper left flat of the breech, "DERINGER / PHILADELA'' on the top, and "MADE FOR / A.J. Plate / SAN FRANCISCO" on the barrel, which shows the signature Deringer "bronzed" finish. An additional ''DERINGER/ PHILADELA'' is marked on the lock plate, surrounded with scroll engraving. Coin silver fittings, with a burst accent present on the fenced bolster, floral blossoms on the escutcheons, pineapple on the trigger guard finial, and a zigzag border on the teardrop shaped buttplate, with scrollwork matching the lock on the hammer, trigger guard, accent plate, and reverse plate. In addition, a fish scale pattern is present on top of the hammer, wavy scrolls on the inscription plate and a smooth triangular escutcheon inlayed into the tip of the checkered bird's head stock. Matching serial number is present on the wedge, trigger guard, hammer, tang screw, breech and barrel.

Very fine. The barrel shows over 80% of the bronzed stripe brown finish, with strongly defined wavy lines and a rich plum brown, fading to gray at the muzzle and showing a few light handling marks. A smooth dark gray patina is showing on the casehardened parts, with traces of original color in the protected areas, particularly on the tang. Stock is fine, with minor handling marks and some varnish loss. Mechanically excellent.