A Superb, Original, Antique Colt Thuer Derringer, 41 Cal Rimfire. One Of The All Time Favourite Pistols of The Riverboat and Saloon Gamblers & Unaccompanied Ladies Of The 19th Century Frontier Entertainment Industry

The Colt No. 3 Derringer, in fabulous condition, chambered in .41 Rimfire. This classic single-shot pocket pistol remains in superb condition for its age and represents one of Colt’s most recognizable late 19th-century firearms. The action is very fine, tight and crisp. Serial number 8640 which dates the pistol from 1875 to early 1880's . 45,000 Colt Derringer No 3's were made in total, covering 37 years of production from 1875, but production serial number specific year dates were not recorded.

Officially designated the Colt 3rd Model Derringer, this pistol is commonly referred to by collectors as the Colt Thuer Derringer, named after its designer, Alexander Thuer. Manufactured from 1875 to 1912, the 3rd Model was the most successful of Colt’s derringer designs and was widely carried as a personal defense weapon during the era.

Colt Deringers were extremely popular gamblers pistols as they could be kept by a gentleman in a vest or waistcoat pocket very easily, or, by a lady in her garter, and they fired a large bore man-stopper bullet to great close action effect.

The heyday of gambling in the west lasted from 1850-1910. Gambling was the number one form of entertainment in the west, and nearly everyone living there engaged in it at one time or another. Cowboys, miners, lumberjacks, businessmen, and lawmen all played games of chance for pleasure and profit. Whenever a new settlement or camp started, one of the first buildings or tents erected would be a gambling hall. As the settlement grew, these halls would become larger and more elaborate in proportion. Gaming halls were typically the largest and most ornately decorated buildings in any town and often housed a bar, stage for entertainment, and hotel rooms for guests. These establishments were a driving force behind the local economy, and many towns measured their prosperity by the number of gambling halls and professional gamblers they had. Towns that were friendly to gaming were typically known to sports as “wide-awake” or “wide-open” for their acceptance of gambling.

Men were not the only ones who played at games of chance, women placed their bets, and the sight of petticoats at the table was regular. Many women played, dealt, or ran their own houses; this choice of profession offered them the opportunity to attain monetary independence and social stature. One of the most famous was Eleanore Dumont, known more crudely in her later years as “Madame Mustache.” Miss Dumont ran several different houses in Nevada, Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota. Another, Alice Ives, started gambling after the death of her husband. Known more popularly as Poker Alice, she was a readily recognized figure in the west for her nearly 40-year-long career. Kitty LeRoy made use of her sex appeal and flamboyant personality as well as excellent gambling ability to become a force of nature in Deadwood. She had multiple husbands and did not hesitate to get rid of men once she was tired of them. Perhaps they were lucky because Kitty also had a reputation for shooting men.

Cattle towns in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, became gambling centers. Thanks to the railroad and cattle industries, a great number of people worked in and around these towns and had plenty of money to wager. Abilene, Dodge City, Wichita, Omaha, and Kansas City all had an atmosphere that was convivial to gaming. Not surprisingly, such an atmosphere also invited trouble, and such towns also developed reputations as lawless and dangerous places.
Most western citizens considered gambling a respectable profession, and those who chose to make a living doing it were respected members of society. “Gambling was not only the principal and best-paying industry of the town at the time, but it was also reckoned among its most respectable,” wrote Bat Masterson in 1907.

With the lack of any form of police or marshal protection within the Wild West frontier, personal protection was not only a desire, but absolutely essential. This form of superb concealed pistol for protection, against the murderous folk out to steal and plunder their hard earned gold.
Gambling, and indeed living, in the American frontier towns in the nineteenth century was just as dangerous then as wearing a valuable gold watch is in London today. Where, expecting assistance from a non-existing police protection force, was as vain an expectation then, as it is today.

No licence required as it is an obsolete calibre antique collectable.

Code: 26297