For my semiannual Burton refresher course, I'm rereading Edward Rice's biography--and as usual, something new piqued my interest: We've seen his swords discussed, but not (to my knowledge) his handguns, even though he mentions them frequently. I've only noticed him mention Colt by name, which is not surprising since they were pretty much the hallmark for revolvers in the '50s and '60s--I'm thinking we're probably talking about the Army and Navy types, but those are big guns, but he seems (to me, at least) to have hinted at carrying something a bit more concealable when he was incognito. Any ideas? More tantalizingly, Rice says that when RFB returned from South America, he had "brought back drawings for a new kind of pistol that he had thought of......It was patented but never went into production. (pg 396)" I suppose the patent was in Britain--does anyone know what his idea was or how to go about researching it? This would have been about 1869-70, and the cartridge had already pretty well replaced the cap-and-ball--I'm curious as to what innovation he came up with was unique enough to justify a patent, even if it was never used.
--Alan Q

Yes! A very interesting question and one I too am interested in, especially the patent.

I am also inclined to think they were Colts, but Burton was rarely conventional.

Does anyone know anything about this?

George Moresby
moresby@themoresbyreport.com

I asked this of gun collectors who knew what the typical Colt pistol would be used by East India company military types. From the descriptions they assume it would be a 1854 navy Colt revolver. A fairly common item that sells for $1000-2000 depending on the amount of blueing still on the pistol.

Also, a dealer on abebooks is selling a copy of Burton's patent prospectus for his own gun--for about $4200, down from his original asking price of $7500 which has been unable to sell for the last 2 years.

I suggest you contact the Orleans House Gallery at Twickenham, Surrey, England (you could probably look it up through Google). The galery has Burton's patent pistol and the patent, referred to above, as part of their extensive Burton collection.

Several styles of concealed carry handguns were widely purchased and used in the US prior to 1860. First was the pepperbox. These were pocket sized pistols capable of firing multiple rounds. Second were derringers, usually single shot, also small enough to conceal in a pocket. Both the pepperbox and the derringer were manufactured by dozens of companies in many different calibers.
The most popular small Colt was the Pocket Model of 1848 and its succeeding variations. These were five shot .31 caliber revolvers. This model was sold in large numbers and it seems very likely Burton would have chosen these. With a three inch barrel the total length of the pistol is 8 inches. At a little over 1 pound it would be worn inside a belt or carried in a man's coat pocket.

In the August 2004 of Shooting Times one of the writers claims that Burton carried a pair of Colt .36 Navy Revolvers. He was writing about that particular model and may or may not have had actual knowledge about Burton's guns. It is feasible though as Colt's London Armory made a large number of Navy's between 1852-57 and they were very popular. The Pocket Model .31s were a great deal less powerful than the 36/100" Navy.

Burton mentioned Colt Revolvers in concert with his preparations for the Nile expedition but merely referred to a disturbance involving "Colts". He made no mention of any such guns belonging to him.

The above incident has Burton armed with a Sabre while his companions were using their "Colts to good effect". One companion had an Adams Revolver which "refused to revolve." The Adams was a double action design and the reason for malfuncton was probably a burst cap hung up in the action.

The Somali- Harar expedition took place in 1855. At that time Colt had a factory in London with the primary output being the Belt Model Revolver of Navy (.36) Caliber. The factory also produced a much larger revolver in .44 and a small 'Pocket Model" in .31".

While Burton seems prone to refer to his handguns as "Revolvers" without specifying type, in the Harar chronicle he refers to his "Six-shooter." Since most of the pocket models held five shots in the cylinder, and the .44s were very large, it is most likely that his revolver of choice would be the colt Navy. -article/pictures:
http://www.sixgunner.com/miles/mcump/mc18.htm