The bar-hammer percussion revolvers were the first revolvers Ethan Allen designed and manufactured. Collectors often refer to them as transitional revolvers because they closely resemble Allen’s earlier pepperboxes in both appearance and mechanical design.
Their double-action mechanism and cylinder-locking system closely follow those of the pepperboxes covered by U.S. Patent No. 3,998 of 1845. With this design, Allen clearly continued to favor rapid firing over accuracy, suggesting that he still considered speed of fire more important than precise shot placement.
Essentially, Allen created the bar-hammer revolver by adapting his earlier pepperbox design to accommodate a single barrel. However, this approach had significant limitations, prompting him to develop a more advanced revolver to better meet customer expectations.
Allen manufactured these revolvers in three distinct frame and cylinder sizes: large, medium, and small.
Most examples featured blued frames, barrels, and trigger guards, while case-hardening provided a contrasting finish on the cylinders, hammers, and triggers. Allen typically fitted these revolvers with varnished walnut grips, although customers could also order ivory grips at an additional cost.
The earliest production models featured an unusual and problematic design: removing the cylinder pin required the owner to unscrew the barrel from the frame. Unsurprisingly, this arrangement proved highly impractical, prompting Allen to introduce a second variation with a more conventional cylinder pin that users could easily remove.
All first-variation revolvers and early examples of the second variation bear the ALLEN & WHEELOCK name, stamped either on the top barrel flat or on the top frame strap, while the left side of the hammer carries the patent date. In later production, Allen moved both the manufacturer’s name and patent information to the left side of the barrel.
Cylinder sizes
The small-frame revolver has a .30-caliber cylinder measuring 1.25 inches in length. Both the medium- and large-frame revolvers used .32-caliber cylinders, measuring 1.5 and 1.625 inches, respectively. Some cylinders incorporated hammer rests, as illustrated by the large-frame example, while others lacked this feature.
The exact production dates remain uncertain, but researchers generally place manufacture between 1856–1857 and 1861–1862, with an estimated production of approximately 1,000 revolvers in each frame size.
All three frame sizes have five-shot cylinders adorned with elaborate scroll engraving depicting a decorative scene of animals in a forest.
Rollin White
The revolver shown here is a true curiosity. This Allen & Wheelock bar hammer revolver was modified to a cartridge revolver by Rollin White and served as the model for his U.S. Patent 19,961, issued on April 13, 1858. The design aimed to achieve two main objectives: (1) to reduce the gap between the cylinder and the barrel in order to minimize gas leakage, and (2) to prevent jamming caused by expended fired cartridge cases. As with many of Rollin White’s inventions, the concept proved highly impractical, and to the best of my knowledge it was never adopted for production in any revolver.
Barhammer Revolver – Medium frame – 2nd variation – early production
This is the second variation of an early-production medium-frame revolver, identifiable by the maker’s marking on the top strap.
Allen & Wheelock Barhammer Pocket Revolver
This specimen is the most commonly encountered variation of the pocket model and represents a late-production example, distinguished by the maker’s name and patent information stamped on the left side of the barrel, with no markings on the hammer. Note that the limited space on the barrel resulted in the truncation of the final letters of the marking.
Â
Â
From the P.O. CollectionÂ
Continue exploring Ethan Allen’s legacy
Allen & Wheelock Side-hammer Percussion Revolvers
As the sucessor of the bar-hammer percussion revolver, the side-hammer model saw considerable service during the American Civil War. Although never officially adopted by the U.S. military, it was widely purchased as a private sidearm by soldiers, officers, and state militia units. Period photographs attest to its popularity, making it one of the Allen firearms most frequently encountered in Civil War images.