More Weird Revolvers

Dropping the ball... I checked the blog out yesterday and saw that my last post was Thurs. which caused me to think "It wasn't that recently." Over a week! Shamefull! Sorry for the exclamation points. That's shamefull as well.
Now to the business at hand: Since my initial foray into bizarre and oddball handguns, more have come under my gaze, and so, we shall begin:
First business first. Back in the day I showed the two strange-looking French handguns and betrayed my ignorance with the "...starts with an 'L'" copout. To the left, another one which was purchased by the U. S. Government during the War of Northern Aggression. The name is, as you can see, Lefaucheux.
Next, just to give a frame of reference, is a modern copy (Uberti) of the largest handgun ever made. At 4 1/2# loaded and fifteen inches long, the 1847 Walker Colt was a monster. While the 1873 Army Springfield Trapdoor rifle loaded a 45/70 round - 45 caliber shoved along by 70 grains of black powder - the Walker effectively shot a 44/60. It had muzzle energy to rival that of a 357 magnum and, up till the time that caliber was developed in the thirties, the Walker was the most powerful handgun in existence. One point I'll get to later: Notice the loading lever - the lever under the barrel that pushes the ball, powder and wad into the chambers.
That being said, the next offering is an Allen and Wheellock pocket pistol.
Apparently this gun's claim to fame was a simplified cylinder release. Simplified from a production standpoint, not a tactical one. Consequently it was mostly produced in these small civilian versions. However, what strikes me as a nice piece of engineering is that the loading lever does double-duty as the trigger guard.
Now one with a normal loading lever setup but outlandish looks otherwise. I really don't know much about this one. It does seem to point to a gradual feeling the way, among designers, regarding what a pistol should look like. The Pettingil Army.
















In conclusion, a teaser for next time, and I have no idea why the text is underlined. It's no secret that the metalic cartridge was invented by Smith and Wesson. This is the pistol that was intended to shoot it. Pay attention to the cocking lever, just forward of the trigger, and the tubular magazine under the barrel. Where have you seen that before? The final image, a Volcanic Pocket pistol, may give a hint as to what it finally developed into.