M1854 Revolving Carbine

Firearms | Armes à feu
1

Hello and Bonjour! I had the good fortune to find an M1854 Revolving Carbine. It looks like the one on pages 211-212 of the book. This one is No. 2443. The top of the barrel is marked E. Lefaucheux Bte’ a’ Paris. It needs a good cleaning and a front sight but it’s otherwise in good condition. The cylinder seems a little longer than the standard handgun cylinder. Do you suppose Mr. Lefaucheux was considering a longer cartridge for his revolving carbines?

Thank you in advance for your comments.

Lefaucheux carbine 1
Lefaucheux carbine 11080×813 222 KB

Lefaucheux carbine 2
Lefaucheux carbine 21080×813 130 KB

1 Like
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Hello
yes its the same model.
The only difference is that yours is engraved and later in the manufacturing date.
The cylinder of a Carbine - revolver is about 7 mm longer than a cylinder of an 1854 revolver. (33/40).
I’m no cartridge expert, and I’m guessing there’s a reason…
There are different sizes for 12mm cartridges, and I’m guessing the rifle had a longer, more powerful cartridge to allow for longer firing ranges.
the 2443 is the highest LF number in the carbine-revolvers…(for the moment)

3

Thank you for your response, Lefaucheux. Do you have an estimate as to the date of production?

To continue with the description, after taking off the barrel and cylinder I found various assembly numbers. The cylinder was marked “4” on the front and “1 B” on the back. “1 B” and “4” were present on the part of the frame, under the cylinder, connected to the barrel. These markings were also visible on the inside of the trigger guard. But the loading gate is only marked “4”, without the “1 B”. This is as far as I have gone with disassembling the carbine.

Best regards,
Greg

4

Thank you for the assembly number.
There are no documents that mention the end of production of this model. The patent for the 1854 revolver fell into the public domain in April 1869.
The LF 2443 is the highest number currently known.
From 1867/1868, production at Lefaucheux slowed down, stopping with the War of 1870 and resuming production for the M1870 revolver in 1871/1872.
I think (and estimate) that the LF 2443 could have been manufactured in 1867.
Sorry I can’t be more specific, but documentation is lacking regarding the production volume and time-table of revolver-carbines and rifles.
guillaume

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Thank you very much Guillaume. I greatly appreciate the scholarship which informed your response.

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Lovely rifle :+1:
I love it !