Description
Tipping & Lawden Sharps Patent Derringer
Tipping & Lawden Sharps Patent Derringer. A superb example of a cased Tipping & Lawden four barrelled .30 cal rim-fire Sharps patent derringer. Circa 1865. The 3 inch barrels retaining 98% of their original blue finish. Tipping & Lawden Sharps patent marked on one side of the frame. British proof marks to the barrels. In excellent condition. Action in good working order. Overall length 6 inches. A good example of a scarce Tipping & Lawden Derringer. Cased in a lovely box with some accessories. Hard to find a better example.
These 4 barrelled derringer pistols were made by the American Sharps Company beginning with their 1859 Patent. Their Patents were used by other manufacturers both in America and Britain to make high quality derringers. Tipping & Lawden were one of the 20 members of the Birmingham Small Arms Trading Company Limited and were taken over by Webley & Scott in 1887.
Slightly larger than a gentleman’s pocket watch, Sharps’s palm-sized Derringer was a favourite with gamblers and others who felt they needed protection and wished to keep their ace in the hole secreted out of sight. Below is a picture showing two gentlemen engaging in a game of cards with a Sharps derringer prominently displayed in the centre of the table, no doubt to remind them that this should be an honest game.
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