Historically, it represents a milestone in pistol development, military deployment, plus a touch of infamy making it an important part of the antque pistol collector’s portfolio.Ī Union Cavalry soldier with his Lefaucheux M1854pistol. Just before the beginning of the Civil War, Eugène Lefaucheux had obtained the US patent n° 31809 that covered his revolver and also a rifle. It is mechanically sound with tight cylinder rotation, folding trigger with double action and well-defined engraving and has resided among private European collectors until 2019. The Lefaucheux became an appreciated military sidearm after the fall of Fort Sumter in 1861. Ours is a factory-engraved model which has managed to survive two world wars, countless political upheavals and numerous economic meltdowns in very good condition. His original pistol is currently on display at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Ī Lefaucheux 7mm pistol is said to have been the type used by Dutch master Vincent Van Gogh, who in 1880 fatally shot himself. In 2016, that original pistol sold at a Paris auction for 435,000 euros. The popular French poet Paul Verlaine used one to shoot and wound another French poet, Arthur Rimbaud in 1873. The pinfire history is closely associated with the development of the breech-loader which replaced older muzzle loading weapons. Invented in 1828 by a Frenchman by the name of Casimir Lefaucheux, it was one of the earliest practical designs of a metallic cartridge. This 7mm model also had something of a reputation among European arts and cultural circles in the 19th century and was a popular personal-carry piece in France, Holland, Belgium and Germany. Civil War pinfire pistol from Gettysburg Battlefield. The US government purchased 11,000 model M1854 13mm calibre pistols (originally developed for the French navy) for the Union army’s cavalry and some also found their way into Confederacy hands – most likely via New Orleans – during the American Civil War. In 1846, Lefaucheux pinfire revolvers – named after pinfire bullet inventor Casimir Lefaucheux 1802-1852 (pictured below) – were the first to use an all-metallic bullet and were in commercial production until about 1873.