An Intriguing, Beautiful, Rare & Very Collectable 'Gadget Pistol' by James Rodgers of Sheffield. A Remarkable, Original 19th Century Knife-Pistol, Early Percussion Model 1838

A very popular personal defence weapon in the early Victorian, Pre-Civil War era in America, and was once a superb, and most useful, utility functional, and defensive piece, with such as the gold prospectors, of both the American California and Klondike Gold-rush miners. So much so, that they have even been known in their time as, 'Gold Prospector's Knife-Pistols'
Of course they would have been as equally beneficial in their day to gamblers and adventurers in the old, original, American 'Wild West'

With the lack of any form of police or marshal protection within the open wild terrain of the American and Canadian gold prospecting country, personal protection was not only a desire, but absolutely essential. This form of gadget weapon was not only useful as a day to day cutting tool, but a superb concealed pistol for protection against the murderous folk out to steal and plunder their hard earned gold. Mining gold in the nineteenth century was just as dangerous then as wearing a gold watch is in London today. Where expecting assistance from a non-existing police protection force was as vain an expectation then as it is currently.

Sheffield made knives and axes were the most popular source for all the frontiersmen and miners in all of American Wild West history, but also during the American Civil War by combatants of both sides, especially the rarest of all, such as this superb piece, the combination gadget weapon, a James Rogers knife pistol.

They were also just as popular with travellers in and around England, and for officer's on campaign around the Empire

The unique early Victorian Sheffield pocket pistol knife called the 'self protector'. Nickel barrel with a single bead sight, marked with a pair of Birmingham proofs on the upper left flat, and fitted with a central nipple and straight spur hammer. Polished horn grip plates. Equipped with a pair of folding blades, 3.25" and 1" in length, with "JAMES/ RODGERS/ SHEFFIELD" on both ricasso, mounted on either side of the folding trigger. Horn grips, with a storage compartment in the butt, flanked by a bullet scissor mould and tweezers held in the grips. One long blade, and shortened paring blade. Overall it is in great condition for age, and the have the guns original tools still fitted in their concealed compartments is remarkable.

This is truly the ultimate conversation piece as well as an incredible collectible curiosity of the very early Victorian period.

A rare and most collectable gadget gun. The rarest early muzzle loading version, by James Rodgers, that was latterly made by the later partnership of Unwin and Rodgers, after Philip Unwin joined James Rodgers. They gained the patent for their later gun in 1861. This is the earliest and rarest type made, with muzzle loading and a percussion action, they later created a breech loading version, in .32 cal rimfire, but two decades or so later.

Cutlery means ‘that which cuts’, and can technically be anything from pocket knives, to scissors, ice skates and scythes. The first reference to cutlery made in Sheffield was in 1297, when the hearth tax records include Robertus le Coteler Robert the Cutler. In 1340 King Edward IIIs possessions in the Tower of London included a Sheffield knife, and Geoffrey Chaucer wrote A Sheffeld thwitle whittle baar he in his hose about the Miller in The Reeves Tale. In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries Sheffield and the surrounding area of Hallamshire were in competition with cutlery-making in Thaxted (Essex), Ashbourne (Derbyshire) and Woodstock (Oxfordshire). The largest manufacturing centre, however, was in London where trade was controlled by the Worshipful Company of Cutlers.

Pictures 9 and 10 in the gallery show examples of the company’s trade advertising labels for the knife pistol from the time not included with pistol, but download copies are easily available.

The trigger action main spring is now disconnected and non functioning for safety. As with all our antique guns no license is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables

Code: 21307