Developed in the 1890s, Bittner's pistol is an excellent example of the "manual repeater" class of handgun. The rival to the single and double action revolvers of the early cartridge era, manual repeaters were brought to an end by the rise of semi-automatic pistols; anyone good enough to design and build a manual repeater could make a semi-auto. Bittner's design uses a rotary locking bolt operated by a ring lever and a fixed bar level, and fed via an internal magazine loaded with en bloc clips (clips not included). Blade front and elevation adjustable notch rear sights, with the Bittner trademark and "PATENT/BITTNER" on the right side of the frame. The frame construction is elegantly machined and casehardened steel, with a set of checkered hardwood panels covering the magazine spring and a pair of checkered fine contour grip panels. Provenance: The Clive Cussler Collection

Extremely fine overall. The barrel shows 70% of the original blue finish, with bright edge wear, areas of brown patina, and mild handling marks. The frame and other components retain 95% of the vivid original casehardened finish, showing bright colors and strong patterns with some mild wear. The wood is very fine, with some mild dents and scratches, and the replacement grip panels numbered "219". Mechanically excellent.