Aguirrey Y Cia
It is indeed Spanish, even if it is a rather faithful copy of Smith & Wesson.
The large specialists in this manufacture were Sirs TROCAOLA y ARANZABAL, of Eibar. It seems here that ERMUA, other town of Basque manufacturers of weapons are mentioned. The problem is that I meet there only manufacturers of pistols (Domingo Acha, and so on).
ZULAICA y UNAMUNO also deposited patents in Belgium for “improved revolvers”, in general of the slightly modified Colt and Smith & Wesson… I will check.
The majority of these revolvers, and many other models were useful in the French Army into 14-18.
Herewith a cousin of the Spanish revolver, drawn from a catalogue of 1935.
The caliber from this revolver, .32 Winchester, is more known under the denomination 32-20. Thus it isn’t of the .32 long S&W.
Research continues…
Michel
It is of course one of the innumerable Spanish copies of Smith&Wesson 1907 “hand ejector”. The Spaniards even were until copying the rotation of the barrel in the contrary direction of that of the needles of a watch.
This absurd and useless provision, resulting from the spirit of an obscure American General eager to put forward himself, had been imposed as well on S&W as in Colt (on New Army and Navy, the first Colt with tilting cylinder) under penalty of suppression of the contract of purchase. The realization of the mechanisms “to back” of course cost a fortune and the system appeared bad on the two weapons, because it tended to push the barrel towards outside during the shooting. Some stormy meetings between the two manufacturers and the General finally had as a result that the system was abandoned for the following models until our days.
The Spaniards manufactured this revolver (and Colt copies it) caliber .38; but during the 1st World war (about 1915), they supplied the French Army of the same weapons gauges 8 mm Lebel of them, while they delivered to the English copies of Colt and S&W 3rd Model with crack caliber .455 Webley, this because neither the MAS in France nor Webley and Enfield in GB could follow the enormous demand for hand weapons.
Though less well finished than the American originals, these revolvers are of good quality and proved reliable with Verdun and in other memorable butcheries of the Large War.
Also let us note in the passing, the same time, one of copies of Nagant, but the majority without the system of advancing barrel.
The most known producers of Eibar of this model are the brothers Orbea, the firm Cordoba, Arizmendi… all localized with Eibar, but the specimen presented leaves another workshop, which is unknown for me (Ermua).
The specimen of the photograph is a civil version (or police), like the other certified copy of the S&W, but this time gauges .32 WCF, probably manufactured of them between the two wars.
I will add that the plates of stick of these revolvers are generally carried out in horn, and tend to exhaust myself and become deformed with time.
Marcel
