An elegant Philadelphia Deringer in very good condition with 3-5/8” barrel, rifled and in .50 caliber, and with good mechanics. The breech and lockplate are both marked, “HENRY DERINGER / PHILADEL’A” and the left breech bears a large “P.” Small front sight and V-notch rear sight are in place, as is a wood ramrod. The barrel shows a thin brown, smooth metal, but with vise marks at right muzzle and on left in two spots near the breach. The breach shows thin blue and is decorated is simple, notched line borders, and with the “P” stamped between two wavy lines of rather cursorily stamped V, W, or arrowhead marks. The breechplug tang screw and the lock screw on the left both have simple, slash/sunburst engraved lines.

The breechplug tang is engraved with a loose foliate scroll that mirrors the engraving on the lockplate and hammer. The lockplate has an incised border line and very nicely engraved foliate scroll on either side of the Deringer marking, with the scrolls repeated on the flat side of the hammer. The nose of the hammer has simple check marks. The lock plate, hammer and bolster show gray with some thin blue tones reflecting the breach.

The mounts are German silver: nose cap, wedge escutcheon, plate below the bolster, shield thumbpiece, teardrop buttcap and triggerguard, the latter engraved with a foliate scroll mirroring the lock and breech, with some simple lines accenting the classical pineapple shaped forward triggerguard finial.

The wood shows some handling marks and short, stable hairline from the lockscrew to the breach on the left, but very pleasing color, tone and grain. The checkering of the slightly rounded birdshead grip is deeply and very finely done, with no chips or missing elements.

Henry Deringer, born in 1786, concentrated first on longarms, but moved into pistols in the 1830s and 1840s, and then most notably by 1852 into very small, but large caliber, pocket pistols that might be carried inconspicuously in a coat or vest pocket. There are scores of imitators and knock-offs, unmarked or with spurious markings. We don’t pass judgment on this one- as a group they are a collecting field of their own with strong connections to US westward expansion as well urbanization where everyone one from a general traveler to riverboat gambler to gentleman out for a night on the town might feel more comfortable with a small, but powerful pistol at hand. The combination of colors of the metal and finely checkered wood make this one a very attractive example.  [sr][ph:m]