These extremely rare revolvers were manufactured in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1859 in .44, .36, and .25 caliber. The included research states that only two revolvers in the "Army" size, one "Navy," and one "Pocket" revolver were manufactured. However, at least a few more were manufactured given there are brass and iron framed examples of the pocket model pictured in Frank Sellers and Samuel Smith's book "American Percussion Revolvers" on pages 150 and 151. The authors note the revolvers were never put into commercial production. They estimate no more than a dozen were manufactured in all three sizes, and only half that number are known to collectors. This revolver is pictured at the top of page 151 in the above text and is also on the top of page 457 of "The Wm. M. Locke Collection" by Sellers. The design was patented by Jacob Rupertus on April 19, 1859. He was a Bavarian immigrant and worked for John Krider, a manufacturer and importer. Krider and John Siner backed development of Rupertus' design. Colt expressed interest in aspects of the design, but Rupertus was not interested in licensing or selling his patent. The backers knew it would cost a large sum to build and to manufacture the revolvers themselves and foresaw the end of the percussion system due to metallic cartridges. Siner kept the experimental models, and three were eventually sold by L. C. Siner to W. S. Kirk on March 18, 1904. The Rupertus revolver design is unusual in that it utilizes only one nipple for ignition instead of one for each chamber. The nipple is mounted on an arm in a recess in the breech. This is a "safety tube" in the patent. The arm retracts when the hammer is cocked to allow the cylinder to rotate as it is pushed by the pawl at the bottom of the hammer. When the hammer is near full cock the arm snaps forward locking the cylinder and creating a gas seal. The hammer is pill primed by a mechanism within the back strap. The rather complex mechanism would have been difficult and expensive to manufacture but is a capable design. The overall build of the revolver has some European flair and vaguely resembles Adams and Kerr revolvers. It is equipped with a dovetailed blade front sight and an integral rear notch sight is at the rear of the top strap which is marked with "PATENTED. APRIL 19. 1959." The loading lever rotates to the right rather than down and loads from the side rather than through the front. The barrel and frame are manufactured as one piece creating a very stable firearm. The cylinder is not fluted. The grips are finely checkered walnut, and there is a stud for a lanyard on the bottom.

Very fine. The frame and barrel retain 60% of the original blue finish and have patches of brown and gray patina. The cylinder retains 30% or more of the original blue finish and primarily had brown patina on the balance. The hammer has gray patina and faint traces of case colors. There are a few patches of minor pitting including on the bottom of the barrel and lower section of the hammer. The grips are very fine and have primarily crisp checkering and some minor dings and scratches. The action needs some work: the hammer does not lock up in half or full cock positions. The patent marking is distinct. This is an extremely rare opportunity to get your hands on one of the rarest and most distinctive American percussion revolvers!