Welcome to immediately’s Photograph of the Day! Right here we’ve got a Whitney Beal’s Patent “Strolling Beam” pocket percussion revolver manufactured between 1854 and the late 1860s. This options Fordyce Beals’ uncommon strolling beam lever system for rotating the cylinder and cocking the hammer. Fordyce Beals was a prolific inventor who labored with Whitney, Remington, and different producers. His strolling beam design used an exterior lever that “walked” backwards and forwards to rotate the cylinder and cock the hammer earlier than the set off could possibly be pulled. It was mechanically sound however unconventional.
Whitney Arms Firm manufactured these below Beals’ patent as pocket revolvers in 31 caliber. The three-inch octagon barrel and compact body made them sensible for hid carry. The engraved cylinder scene was customary ornament for better-grade pocket revolvers throughout this era. The strolling beam mechanism added complexity that almost all shooters didn’t want or need. Typical percussion revolvers with easier mechanisms price much less to fabricate and had been simpler to keep up. Manufacturing numbers stayed comparatively low all through the manufacturing interval. These revolvers are unusual immediately as a result of restricted manufacturing. They’re mechanically attention-grabbing however by no means achieved business success akin to Colt or Remington designs.
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Uncommon Whitney Beal’s Patent “Strolling Beam” Pocket Percussion Revolver | Rock Island Public sale, www.rockislandauction.com/element/1049/1365/whitney-beals-patent-walking-beam-pocket-percussion-revolver. Accessed 21 Dec. 2025.
