Buy the book at cornellpubs.com: Suicide Specials, Donald B Webster

Donald B Webster was the Curator of History and Art at the Roberson Memorial Center in Binghamton, New York. He is the author of MILITARY BOLT ACTION RIFLES 1841-1918., American Socket Bayonets 1717-1873 as well as Suicide Specials and books on Canadian and American antique furniture. Suicide Specials is a term first written by Duncan McConnell in the American Rifleman in 1948 and applies to the cheapest-priced concealable revolver of the time starting in the decade after the Civil War. The term refers to a solid frame, single-action cartridge revolvers, spur triggers and cylinders which are rigid and freed by removing a center pin. While there are minor exceptions to this strict definition there were dozens of makers churning out virtually the same little revolver. Some were so cheaply made, like those by the Lee Manufacturing Company, the steel was so soft it was almost the consistency of copper. Suicide Specials is the story of those everyman guns.

Summary

This book is a treatise on the history and characteristics of American "Suicide Special" revolvers, which were inexpensive, concealable firearms popular in the late 19th century. The author, Donald B. Webster, Jr., describes the various makers, trade names, patents, and design variations of these revolvers, which were often sold through mail-order catalogs and used as prizes at carnivals and fairs. Webster's work provides a detailed catalog of Suicide Specials, accompanied by illustrations and patent drawings, as well as historical context for the arms and their place in American culture during the gun-toting era following the Civil War.