Trivia 8-22-16 Identify

[truthckr]

The quest for a repeating handgun took some strange turns on the way to the revolving cylinder.


This particular oddity is known as a Harmonica Gun, because of the distinct appearance of a steel slide that contained a number of chambers.

It's a firearm innovation that preceded the perfection of the centerfire cartridge. On the earliest models, each chamber was breech-loaded with a powder charge, projectile, and percussion cap. You could say this design's heart was in the right place, but it just didn't quite get there as a practical repeater.

The slide was inserted into the breech. After firing a round, the shooter released a camlock to advance the slide through the gun. The problem was, each chamber had to be lined up with the barrel and hammer by hand. There were no indexes or mechanism to progress the slide. On later models, this was rectified, with some double-action models produced that advanced the slide through the gun to a new chamber as the trigger was pulled. But it was still bulky and awkward.

Harmonica Gun

 

[jackt62]

"A harmonica gun or slide gun is a form of firearm which was breech loaded with a steel slide, containing a number of chambers bored in it and which were filled with projectiles." (Wikipedia)

 

[Wallyfish]

That is a Harmonica Pistol. It was also called a slide gun.

An attempt to create a multi-shot pistol by adding a horizontal magazine—some variations held up to 10 percussion cap or pinfire cartridges—the harmonica gun was probably invented and certainly patented by a Frenchman, J. Jarre of Paris, between 1859-1862. No musical instruments were involved. The name came from the shape of the magazine, and the weapon was also called the "slide gun." An early manufacturer in the US was Jonathan Browning, father of firearms designer John Moses Browning. While looking like the sort of weapon a steampunk James Bond might carry, the harmonica gun proved too impractical for wide adoption. The user had to manually adjust the sliding magazine to center each cartridge under the hammer for every shot. Like VHS vs. Betamax, the much easier and faster shooting revolver finally won the day. The mechanism wasn't limited to pistols—famed Texas Senator Sam Houston owned a percussion rifle (by Henry Gross) using a harmonica slide which is on display at the National Museum of American History.

 

[JOHN42768]

Jarre Harmonica pistol, serial # 553, cal. 9mm pin fire,
10-shot variation, 4½" barrel with high front sight The 2-part trigger: the part outside the guard moves the harmonica, the part inside the guard releases the firing pin. As fashionable during the period metal parts kept in the white, plain wooden grip.
The pistol is extremely rare with 3 matching numbered harmonica magazines, in overall fine condition and in working order

Source: http://www.horstheld.com/0-Jarre.htm

 

[Frums]

Harmonica Pistol aka Slide Gun.

 

[ErnieMac]

Harmonica pistol.

 

[Bee]

It looks like a magazine & hand gun

 

[Bryan_C]

Looks like a pistol that doubles as a harmonica.

 

[MaryDee]

google images was no help. I finally realized this is a pistol with some kind of weird magazine added, and adding "magazine" to the keywords worked.

It's a harmonica pistol.
http://listverse.com/2013/05/02/10-strange-civil-war-weapons/

 

[sarladaise]

Harmonica Pistol

 

[57th Indiana Infantry]

A harmonica gun or slide gun

An attempt to create a multi-shot pistol by adding a horizontal magazine—some variations held up to 10 percussion cap or pinfire cartridges—the harmonica gun was probably invented and certainly patented by a Frenchman, J. Jarre of Paris, between 1859-1862.

An early manufacturer in the US was Jonathan Browning, father of firearms designer John Moses Browning.

 

[Grayrock Volunteer]

It's a Jarre harmonica pistol.

 

[Montana Territory]

Harmonica pistol - Three to eleven-shot weapons with horizontal magazines, invented by Alphone Jarre in Paris, France, and patented in the United States between 1859 and 1862.


http://io9.gizmodo.com/these-are-the-most-bizarre-deadly-weapons-in-human-hist-1557461980
http://www.horstheld.com/0-Jarre.htm
http://www.rockislandauction.com/viewitem/aid/62/lid/1318
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/402016704213053700/

 

[Mild53]

Identify this object:
View attachment 108249
credit: @chellers

An experimental 12 shot pistol?

 

[roberts]

Jarre Harmonica pistol

 

[lelliott19]

Awesome @chellers Ive never seen one of these before!

Harmonica Pistol (no actual harmonicas were harmed in the production of this gun) aka Slide Gun
Patented by J. Jarre of Paris, between 1859-1862; Jonathan Browning, father of firearms designer John Moses Browning, was an early producer in the states. http://listverse.com/2013/05/02/10-strange-civil-war-weapons/

 

[Lnwlf]

It is a harmonica stuck where a revolvers cylinder aught to be. Did I win?

 

[Caswell Ranger]

I think it is some sort of harmonica.

 

[Chattahooch33]

The harmonica or slide gun patented by J Jarre

 

[chellers]

credit for question