IMPROVEMENTS IN REVOLVING PISTOLS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henry Adams, trading under the style of Adams
& Co., of Finsbury Place South, in the County of Middlesex, Gun
Maker, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN REVOLVING PISTOLS.”
Sealed the 8th July 1873, and dated the 20th May 1873.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Henry Adams at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition and
Declaration, on the 20th May 1873, pursuant to the 9th Section of
the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HENRY
ADAMS, trading under the style of Adams & Co., of Finsbury Place
South, in the County of Middlesex, Gun Maker, send greeting.
WHEREAS I am in possession of an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS
IN REVOLVING PISTOLS," and have petitioned Her Majesty to grant unto
mc, my executors, administrators, and assigns, Her Royal Letters Patent
for the same, and have made solemn Declaration that I verily believe
myself to be the first and true Inventor thereof.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Henry Adams, do hereby declare
that the following Complete Specification, under my hand and seal,
fully describes and ascertains the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner in which the same is to be performed, reference being had to
the Drawing hereto annexed and forming part of this Specification, and
to the figures and letters marked thereon, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in the construction and application to revolving
pistols of a self-acting safety lever for locking the hammer when cocked
or uncocked, so as to prevent any accidental discharge of the pistol when
in the pocket or in the holster of the saddle or otherwise, at the same
time allowing of the arm being instantly fired when in the hand. This
self-acting safety lever works on a pin or pivot in a slot made in the
lower strap by which the pistol is fixed to the wooden stock; the upper
end of the lever may form a catch and take into a notch in the lower
part of the hammer or cock, or the upper end of the said lever may bear
against and wedge the sear; the lower end of the lover is formed with a
knob or button, and a spring acting on the lever keeps its upper end
against the hammer or sear. By this arrangement the arm can be
carried in the pocket or holster either cocked or uncocked without risk
of accidental discharge, and when the pistol is taken in the hand for
firing, the fingers will press the said knob or button inwards, and
thereby release the hammer or scar from the upper end of the lever,
allowing the arm to be fired in the usual manner. When the pistol is
replaced the lever being relieved from the pressure of the fingers will be
carried into its normal position by the spring and the hammer will be
again locked.
To make my Invention better understood I will proceed to describe the
same by reference to the accompanying Drawing, in which Figure 1 is a
side elevation of a six chambered revolver, constructed with my improve-
ments, the stock of the pistol being removed; Figure 2, similar view of
an ordinary revolver with the improved self-acting safety lever applied
thereto; Figures 3 to 13 details. Similar letters in all the Figures
represent similar parts.
I will first describe my Invention by reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, and 7. a is the lever (shewn detached in side and front elevations at
Figures 5 and 6); this lever is placed in a slot in the strap b, and pivots
on the pin c passing through the hole d (Figure 5) in the lever a; e is

page_text: the catch at the upper end of the lever taking into the notch f in the
lower end of the hammer g, shewn in a separate view at Figure 4; h is
the knob or button at the lower end of the lever by which the lever is
actuated when the arm is to be fired, i is the spring of the lever screwed
at its lower end to the strap by the screw 1, the upper or free end of the
spring presses against the lower arm of the lever a, forcing the knob or
button h outwards, thereby causing the catch e to bear against the lower
part of the hammer g, and to tako into the notch f, when the arm is
cocked as shown in dotted lines at Figure 1. The spring i is shewn
detached in side clevation at Figure 7; Figure 3 is a view of part of the
outer face of the strap 6 showing the knob or button h of the lever a.
By these improvements, as will be seen by reference to Figure 1, when
the hammer g is cocked the catch c of the lever a will by the action
of the spring i, take automatically into the notch f of the hammer, and
will lock the hammer in that position so that the arm cannot be discharged
by pulling the trigger j. If however the pistol is to be fired it is only
necessary to press inwards the knob or button / simultaneously with
the pulling of the trigger when the catch e will be disengaged from the
notch f, and the arm discharged in the usual manner.
Figures 8 and 9 shew views of the form of lever I prefer when
applying my Invention to existing revolvers, as shown in Figure 2. The
lever a is made of a different form from that shewn in Figure 1 to
adapt it to the different form of main spring %, and different width of
strap 6; Figures 8 and 9 are detached views of the lever. This lever is
formed with a projection at m for fitting into a corresponding slot in the
strap b, the pin c passing through the hole d in the said projection m;
the upper end of the lever instead of being formed with a catch as
herein-before described is in this case plain and presses against and
wedges the projection 7 of the scar o, shewn in side elevation at Figure
12, and in edge elevation at Figure 13; i, Figures 2, 10, and 11, is the
spring acting against the pin or stud n on the lever a, this pin or stud n
passes through a hole in the strap shown in dotted lines at Figure 10,
which is a side view of the lower part of the strap b, and the spring i; p
is a hole in the lever a to free the screw of the trigger guard r.
The action of the lever a is the same as that hercin-before described
and shewn in Figure 2, except that the hammer g is locked when
cocked or uncocked by the wedging of the sear o, instead of by the
catch e, taking into the notch f of the hammer.

page_text: It will be understood that my improved self-acting safety lever may
be applied to other constructions of revolving pistols, the form of the
lever a being modified to adapt it to the different construction of lock or
other parts of the mechanism of such revolvers.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention and the best 5
means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into effect, I wish it
to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precise details
herein laid down and shewn in the Drawing, as the same may be varied
without departing from the principle of my Invention; but what I
claim is, the construction and application to revolving pistols of a safety 1
lever and spring, arranged and operating substantially in the manner
and for the purposes herein-before described and represented in tho
accompanying Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henry Adams, have hereto set
my hand and scal, this Nineteenth day of May, in the year of 1
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.
HENRY ADAMS. (L.S.)