The Big Book of Gun Trivia by Gordon L. Rottman

Author:Gordon L. Rottman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: The Big Book of Gun Trivia
ISBN: 9781782006206
Publisher: Osprey Publishing

What was a DERRINGER?

This category of handguns is described as the smallest practical pistol of a given caliber. They were single-shot, short-barreled pocket pistols intended to be carried in a gentleman’s coat pocket or a lady’s purse as a self-defense handgun. They were also popular among army officers as a back-up pistol. Since they were single-shot and none too accurate beyond 30ft (9.1m), they were often sold in matched pairs. The name is derived from the original maker of such handguns, Henry Deringer, Jr. (1786–1868) – note the single “r.” He began producing fine quality pocket pistols in Philadelphia in 1852. The original pistols were marked “DERINGER/PHILADELA” and bore no model or serial numbers. The original Deringers were .38, .41, .43, .44, and .48-caliber, muzzle-loaded, rifled, cap-and-ball pistols. Numerous firms turned out similar designs and they were often marked “Derringer” with a double “r.” The term “derringer” eventually became generic for this type of pocket pistol.

It is often thought that “Derringer” with the double “r” was a weak dodge to circumvent the Deringer name and mislead customers as to the pistol’s origins. The reality was that “Deringer” never held a patent on the design or a copyright on the trademark. Anyone could copy the design and use the name and many companies did, including Colt, Ballard, Marlin, Smith & Wesson, and Remington. His name was even misspelled with double “r” in catalogs and newspapers.

Deringer did not originate the concept of the small pocket pistol, they were being produced earlier, but he became known for improving their quality and large scale production. Break-open, breech-loading derringers were eventually made using .40, .41, and .44-caliber rimfire cartridges. There were also over-and-under double-barrel designs. In the early 1900s to the present, center-fire cartridge designs were made to include .32 ACP, 9mm Parabellum, and .38 Special plus .22 Long Rifle.

FACT:

The Lincoln assassination Deringer and related artifacts are on display in the Ford’s Theatre National Historical Site, Washington, DC. There is a myth that John Wilkes Booth’s Deringer used in the Lincoln assassination was substituted with a replica by burglars in the late 1960s. The FBI conducted a comprehensive investigation in 1997. The Deringer on display was exhaustively compared to close-up photographs taken in the 1930s, 1950s, and early 1960s along with precise measurements taken in those timeframes. The sharply defined photographs were of such detail that tool marks and the minutest details could be compared. It was determined that the Deringer presently on display is the same as that on display in the 1930s.

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