Fine US Model 1855 Pistol Carbine with Matching Numbered Stock

American Civil War

.58 caliber. 12" barrel secured by a single flat brass, spring retained band. NSN. Bright finish, brass furniture, walnut stock. Single shot percussion muzzleloading pistol carbine with Maynard's patent automated priming lock, multi-leaf rear sight, Barleycorn front sight, captive swivel ramrod, sling swivel on barrel band and sling ring in butt. Lock marked U.S./SPRINGFIELD at the front and dated 1856 at the rear, with a {Spread-Winged American Eagle} on the primer magazine door. Breech with small V/P/{Eagle Head} inspection marks and dated 1855 on the tang. Mismatched dates are common on these guns as most of the barrels were made prior to the lock being produced. A clear script JS cartouche is present on the counterpane, the mark of Springfield Armory inspector James Stillman. The rear of the butt cap has the batch mating number 13 on it. The pistol carving retains its original folding 3-leaf rear sight, which retains most of its blued finish. The pistol carbine is accompanied an original detachable stock complete with the attachment yoke and swivel in the toe. These stocks are less often encountered than the pistol carbines themselves. The top of the buttplate tang is marked US and the yoke has the matching batch mating number 13. Matching pistol and stock examples are rarely encountered. The US Model 1855 Pistol Carbine was a European inspired idea that mated an overly long and ungainly handgun with a detachable stock, creating a poorly handling pistol or an overly short carbine with a wobbly stock. As such, the design was not particularly popular with the men they were issued to. Only 4,021 of these awkward and relatively unpopular pistol carbines were produced at Springfield between 1855 and 1857 and today they are relatively scarce, particularly in such nice condition. {ANTIQUE}

From the Lifetime Collection of Robert G. Paulsen

This lot is located in Cincinnati.