Make: Henry Deringer for Wolf and Durringer, we could not identify J.H. Carlton as a Deringer agent, but could have put their own retail marking on a genuine Henry Deringer pistol.
Model: Medium Pocket Pistol
Year of Manufacture: 1850-1868
Caliber: .41, .52 Caliber
Action Type: Back-Action Single Shot Percussion
Barrel Length: 3 1/4", 4"
Sights / Optics: The 3 1/4" barrel has a blade fixed to the front, the 4" barrel has a blade dovetailed to the front. Each pistol has a "V"-notch rear sight integral to the breech-plug.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are one checkered walnut.
3 1/4"- The stock has iron fixtures with a ramrod tube, no ramrod, and thumbplate. The grip cap is missing, originally it had a trapdoor over a patch compartment. The nosecap is missing. The stock has cracks and losses with scattered light wear. The checkering is generally well defined. Overall, the grip is in about Good condition as Antique.
4"- The stock has german silver fixtures with an iron grip cap featuring trapdoor over a patch compartment. There is provision for mounting a ramrod, none present. The grip cap is cracked across in front of the hinge for the door, the wood is cracked across the cap's tang in the back. The wood has scattered nicks, scuffs and scratches. The checkering is generally well defined. Overall, the grip is in about Very Good condition as Antique.
Type of Finish: Case Color, Browned Faux-Damascus, German Silver Bands on Breech-Plug
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: Both bores are gray with well defined rifling. There is moderate-heavy erosion scattered through both bores. In this writer's opinion, the bores rate 4+/10.
Overall Condition:
3 1/4"- This pistol retains about 2% of its metal finish, all in the bands on the breech-plug. Surfaces have gone to a uniform patina. The head of the mounting screw for the hammer has sheared off. Remaining screw heads range from sharp to tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this pistol is is in about Good condition as Antique.
4"- This pistol retains about 10% of its metal finish, all in the bands and german silver fixtures. Surfaces have gone to a fairly uniform patina. There are scattered nicks and scuffs with some erosion at the muzzle. The screw heads range from sharp to tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this pistol is is in Good-plus condition as Antique.
Mechanics: The actions functions correctly, however the hammer on the 3 1/4" barrel pistol will fall off. We did not fire these pistols. As with all used items, a thorough cleaning may be required to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None. Please note, no ramrods included.
Our Assessment: Henry Deringer has a somewhat unique place in firearms history. While many guns have been copied, not many names have come to represent a whole genre of firearms, with derringer now referring to nearly any small, short-barreled percussion or cartridge pistol. Deringer's own production was fairly limited, relative to the demand, though he also felt no need to patent his guns. Soon, there were dozens of imitators. Some used their own brand name, some came up with creative misspellings of Deringer's name, and some even brazenly placed his name on their own products. The pistols proved quite popular for personal defense, but also gained some notoriety after the use of one by John Booth in his assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
This is an interesting brace of pistols of the larger type referred to as a "Medium Pocket". The larger of the two is .52 caliber and bears the marking of a genuine Deringer sales agent, Wolf and Durringer of Louisville, KY. This is ironic as the "Durringer" name is more typical of the copies. The other pistol is slightly smaller, .41 caliber, and bears the mark of J.H. Carlton. We were not able to find reference to Carlton, but it was also not uncommon for retailers to place their own markings on genuine Deringer pistols they sold. Of the two, the Carlton is more likely to have been a copy, but we cannot say for sure. As a larger version of the most famous pocket percussion pistols, these would make a neat addition to any collection. Please see our photos and good luck!
