Developed in 1878, the Zig-Zag revolver was the first handgun designed and developed by Paul Mauser and his firm. A competitor to be the first centerfire cartridge-fed handgun adopted by the German military, the 1878 scored high marks in overall performance, though concerns about the complexity of the design led them to choose the 1879 Reichs revolver instead. At the heart of the mechanism is the combination of an angular track (the titular "Zig-Zag") machined into the side of the cylinder and a toothed reciprocating bar linked to the hammer, which serves to both advance and lock the cylinder, in contrast to the more commonly seen pawl/sprocket and stop arrangement. Additionally, the spring responsible for resetting the cocking bar also powers the hammer, replacing the grip frame mounted leaf spring commonly seen in that era. For loading, the barrel assembly is hinged at the rear of the top strap, automatically pushing the hammer back to the safety notch when opened, with the closure latch doubling as the lever for a star-pattern extractor assembly. Sights are fixed, with "GEBR. MAUSER & Cie OBERNDORF a/N WURTTEMBERG.1878.PATENT" on top of the barrel rib, "crown/crown/U" on the left side of the barrel shroud and on the cylinder, and "38" or "738" on multiple components. With a pair of fine gutta percha grip panels with raised dragon and ho-oh bird themed decoration.

Fine, with 70% of the original blue finish on the frame and barrel, showing shallow pitting on the barrel, scattered mild spotting, edge wear, and handling marks. The cylinder retains 40% nitre blue with spots of pitting. 50% dark original case colors remain on the hammer and takedown lever. The grips are very fine, with an extremely small chip absent from the left panel near the top of the back strap, a few minor dings, and excellent decoration. Mechanically excellent.