This pistol was manufactured in the late 19th century or early 20th century when dueling with pistols using non-lethal bullets was briefly popular as a sport and even included in the Olympics in 1906 and 1908. The basic pattern is the design by Paul Giffard in 1889. Giffard reportedly managed to convince the brass over at Colt that his design was the future and got $1 million in return for granting them exclusive production rights in the U.S. The cupped guard was designed to protect the duelist's hand from the bullets fired by his challenger. These wax bullet pistols are more often purpose built breech loading cartridge pistols. It has blade and notch sights, scroll engraving, standard marker's and caliber marks, serial number on the bottom of the barrel and the bolt, "1042/2" on the guard, and "1042" on the bottom edge of the left grip.

Fine with mostly bright metal surfaces exhibiting some faint pitting and spotting, crisp markings and engraving, and minor marks and scratches. The grips are very good with crisp checkering and minor handling wear. Mechanically fine.