Original U.S. Civil War Era Bacon & Co. .34cal Underhammer Rifled Percussion Boot Pistol Circa 1855 - Matching Serial 39

Original Item: Only One Available. Here is a very cute .34 caliber percussion "Boot Pistol", made by the Bacon Manufacturing Company. Thomas K. Bacon had been a gunsmith working with the Manhattan Firearms Manufacturing, and then left to found his own company Company and established the Bacon Manufacturing Company in Norwich, Connecticut. They quickly began manufacturing percussion revolvers, as well as some small single shot pistols, including "boot pistols". These seem to have been available in both standard and underhammer designs, and this is a very nice example of the latter.

This patinated boot pistol features a 4 inch half round / half octagonal barrel, and is 8 inches in overall length, perfect for a boot or pocket. It is in .34 caliber, and the barrel has 6 groove rifling with a very slow rate of twist, looking almost straight, though the bore is definitely quite corroded. It is faintly marked on two of the barrel facets with the maker information:

BACON & CO. NORWICH C T.

CAST STEEL

The revolver bears matching serial number 39 on the underside of the barrel, the mainspring, the trigger spring, the grip frame, and even on the inside of BOTH grip scales. The makes this a very desirable "ALL MATCHING" example, and it's definitely very nice matured example. We have only ever had a few Bacon Boot pistols before, and the last one was years ago!

The pistol originally had some lovely engraving on both sides of the action, however it now shows a good amount of wear, so only about 50% is still discernable. The pistol overall looks to have seen a good amount of use and cleaning, which removed the original finish, and it now displays a peppery polished steel patina. The grips do show some wear, in line with the condition of the rest of the revolver.

The pistol is an "underhammer" design with two "triggers": the forward to cock the hammer, and the rear to fire the pistol. With no hammer on the top of the action there was much less to catch on the inside of a boot or pocket. The tumbler does not have any provision for the half cock position, and the lock functions well. We checked the bore, and it is in fair condition, still showing rifling but also overall fouling and oxidation. It does not look to have been cleaned properly after use, allowing oxidation to set in.

A very nice civil war era boot revolver, perfect for your percussion arms collection.

Specifications: 

Year of Manufacture: circa 1855
Caliber: .34cal
Ammunition Type: Cap and Ball
Barrel Length: 4 inches
Overall Length: 8 inches
Action: Single Only
Feed System: Muzzle Loaded

More on Thomas K. Bacon:

Thomas K. Bacon was a very ingenious gunmaker in the mid 19th century, though sadly he never never achieved the level of success that his designs warranted before his death in 1873. He associated with several different New England gunmaking firms, including Ethan Allen, Allen and Thurber, and three other companies which bore his name. He originally had been a "jobber" for Ethan Allen, also of Norwich, but when that company moved to Worcester, Bacon opened "Bacon & Company", which was a manufacturer of single-shot, underhammer, and pepperbox pistols. Unfortunately this venture did not turn out successfully, and after a failed attempt to raise capital, closed in 1857.

Bacon then worked with Manhattan firearms, also located in Norwich at that point, but decided to start another firm under his own name in 1858, Bacon Manufacturing Company. This company started out by manufacturing Colt-style pocket percussion revolvers, and then turned to the production of small cartridge revolvers in .22, .25, .32 and .38 rimfire. Unfortunately at the time Smith & Wesson still held rights to the Rollin White patent for a bored through cylinder, which resulted in lawsuits and subsequent royalties being paid. Bacon was forced to put the Rollin White and Smith & Wesson patent information on all of the revolvers produced after this point.

In 1863, the chief shareholder of the Bacon Manufacturing Company became displeased with Thomas Bacon’s performance with the company, and forced him out. With Bacon gone, the company continued in business through 1868 but with lackluster sales and minimal success. The firm was subsequently reorganized in 1868 and was reestablished as the Hopkins & Allen company, remaining in business through the second decade of the 1900s.

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