William Uhlinger
Wm Uhlinger .32 RF Long Revolver
A 4 3/4" Octagon barrel single action spur trigger 6 shot .32 R.F. Revolver . A very interesting Civil War era item with a total production of about 10,000 pieces in all variations between 1861 and 1865, and thus it is one of the first American made revolvers designed for use of metallic cartridges. This one is marked on the left barrel in small letters "D.D. Cone Washington, D.C." and on the left frame "J.P. Lower" The grips are of rosewood with both panels punch numbered to the gun with #1036 which is found on the bottom frame and side of the cylinder.
The general shape is evidently inspired by the Whitney and Smith&Wesson n° 2. At first glance, one can see it is a mechanically very simple weapon, though solid and perfectly finished.
Uhlinger was guilty of infringing on the Rolin White patent owned by Smith & Wesson and produced very few guns marked with his own name and those so marked are considered rare. Uhlinder masked his products with other names such as D.D. Cone, Washington D.C., a patent attorney who, as far as is now known, did not market any of these arms, W.L. Grant is listed as a dry goods merchant in Camden ,N.J. and J.P. Lower who at time of manufacture was merely a clerk for a large Philadelphia arms dealer. After 1875, Lower became a well known arms dealer in Denver, Colorado.
Many thanks to "JOESALTER" for these nice pictures.
