The Philadelphia Deringer was designed by Henry Deringer and produced from 1852 through 1868. A popular concealed carry handgun of the era, this pocket pistol design was widely copied by competitors, sometimes down to the markings. Initially popular with military officers, the Deringer became widely popular among civilians who wished to own a small and easily concealable pistol for self-defense. The name "Deringer" became so synonymous with small concealable pistols that vest-pocket pistols, sleeve guns, and boot pistols have all been collectively referred simply as "Deringers" at various points throughout history.
In total, only 15,000 pistols were manufactured by Deringer. The guns came in a variety of barrel lengths and sizes, but all were single-barrel pistols with back action percussion locks, and featured walnut stocks. Furniture was generally made from "German silver".
Because of their small size and easy availability, Deringers sometimes had the dubious reputation of being a favored tool of assassins. The most famous Deringer used for this purpose was fired by John Wilkes Booth who assassinated Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865.
This particular Deringer is a perfect copy of the the famous pistol used by Booth at Ford's Theater. It was made by an Italian company during the 1960's as part of a very limited run to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of Lincoln's assassination. It is an an absolute PERFECT copy of the original Booth Derringer and original promotional literature for the gun even claimed that Ford's Theater allowed the company to examine the original Booth Derringer when they were creating this replica. After seeing the gun, I would be inclined to believe them as this pistol is hands down the best Derringer replica I've ever encountered.
It features a 2.5" barrel with a .41 caliber bore, as well as a walnut stock that features hand cut checkering and a nicely varnished finish. Measuring it at under 6" in overall length, this pistol's most outstanding feature is its size. Every other replica Derringer is HUGE by comparison, with the closest copy, Pedersoli's "Philadelphia Derringer", sporting a 3.5" barrel and an overall length of nearly 7".
In addition to its historically accurate dimensions, this Derringer also features all period correct markings. The lock and furniture are hand engraved (that's right hand engraved, not cast-in engraving like the Pedersoli offering). The furniture is made from correct German silver.
All the correct maker's stamps are present and accounted for as well. The lock is clearly marked "DERINGER/PHILADELA". A similar marking is found on the top of the barrel; as well as a single "P" proofmark; another feature found on the original guns.
In addition to the Derringer markings on the barrel, this gun originally had a whole book's worth of manufacture information stamped all over the barrel, including "BLACK POWDER ONLY", ".41 CALIBER", and "MADE IN ITALY". Naturally, these markings were not found on the original guns are were quite distracting, so we had the shop's owner and head gunsmith "Defarb" the barrel by carefully removing all of these distracting and inaccurate markings before applying a historically accurate rust brown finish to the barrel.
The result is a perfect copy of Booth's famous pistol for a price tag that similar to that of a Pedersoli. Don't wait on this one!
