SOUTHERN DERRINGERS OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY

Henry Deringer of the famed Philadelphia company believed that the greatest part of his trade was in the southern states. It was only proper that many independent makers of derringer type guns would spring up throughout the area where they were so popular. The line from St. Louis to New Orleans was the starting point for the westward trade and many of these guns were carried as a hideout weapon to California during the most popular period from 1845 through 1870. A casual study shows great differences between the southern made derringers and those of Philadelphia, each of which has its own peculiar and particular characteristics.

In the court case of Henry Deringer vs. Plate, Deringer states that he started producing his celebrated small gun in 1825. A careful study of the southern manufactured derringers shows that all of them started around 1855 or later with some of them continuing production until the 1870s.

There are two kinds of Southern Derringers; those that are made by Henry Deringer with agent markings and those that are manufactured in the South.

Henry Deringer pistols bearing agents names and marked with the legend “MAN^d for” appear to date from the earlier period of his manufacture.

Later pistols omit this stamping and read, for example:

WOLF & DURRINGER LOUISE KY AGENTS
LULLMAN & VIENNA MEMPHIS, TENN.

Please note that the Calhoun, Hyde & Goodrich, J. B. Gilmore, Lullman & Vienna and the two F. H. Clarks are marked with the earlier marking, while the Swett, the one F. H. Clark and the two Lullman & Vienna’s are marked with the later type of stamping. These are the only guns in my collection that are genuine Henry Deringers.

Of those southern made derringers that are manufactured in that area, only a few have the escutcheon plate underneath the forearm with a screw through the plate holding the barrel. Most of this type did not use a wedge but one did use a wedge and this screw. Many used a screw through the trigger plate to the barrel.

A few of the southern made derringers had flat butts particularly those of Nashville and Memphis.

About half of the southern manufactured guns had octagon barrels and the other half had those of the Henry Derringer style with a round barrel and a rib on top.

Never before have I observed a gun photograph using a mirror to show the underside of a forearm and the guard. Although this innovation is about 1½ inches out of focus, because of the extra light travel, it does show these features that are otherwise hidden and that are very important in identification. All of this photography, and for our catalog, is done with an ancient Polaroid with portrait lenses.

In 1957 I obtained my first specimen of a southern made derringer from Nathan Swayze, author of “51 Colt Navies”, at the Jackson Mississippi Gun Show. This was a Glassick Derringer as was my second gun obtained later that year at another Jackson Mississippi Gun Show.

About one year later from Horace Tolliver of Manchester, Tennessee I traded for two more derringers, one a Glassick and the other a Schneider & Glassick.

By 1961 I had six or eight different guns and I cannot now remember in what order they arrived and who I obtained them from. About 1962 I stopped buying Yankee. Deringers and still have thirty odd such pieces. They were too easy to get.

By this time I began to hear rumors of other makers that were not listed in any of the gun books and I drifted along for a few years until about 1965 or 1966 gathering together perhaps a total of fifteen or eighteen of the guns.

My appetite was whetted in 1963 when Theodore Dexter, a prominent gun dealer of that time, offered for sale a pair of Louis Hoffman, Vicksburg, Mississippi derringers in awfully nice condition. So, another pair had turned up that I had never heard of nor had anyone ever seen before. One of these guns is now in Mississippi near Vicksburg and the other is in a prominent collection in California and someday I would like to get these two back together and perhaps in my possession. All of this information made me real warm towards expanding the collection of Southern Derringers especially after I saw an O’Dell, a Linde and a Merriman. Slowing somewhat in my collection of military long guns before 1890, my collection of Kentucky Rifles, Colt Pistols, Confederate Revolvers, Confederate Veterans Reunion Badges and certain other items, I began to concentrate more on the Southern Derringers until today I have over fifty of these guns.

Five guns exist that I do not have. They are A. J. Millspaugh, Shreveport, H. G. Newcomb, Natchez, J. A. Schaffer, Vicksburg, Louis Hoffman, Vicksburg and Holyoake-Lownes & Co. One other, F. Schumann is authenticated by newspaper accounts of that period as having made derringers but not a single specimen has ever turned up according to my collector friends. Of great importance though is a derringer barrel, octagon in shape, marked “F. Schumann, Memphis, Tennessee” that has never been assembled or made into a gun. This specimen is in Dixie’s collection and was found 30 years ago in an old Memphis gun repair store.

By no means have I completed my collection. I do look forward to years of hunting for additional pieces, adding more information to my papers and if enough of you good readers are interested in this book so that I can dispose of the first 1000 copies, I will look forward to the time when it can be reprinted with additional information.

HYDE & GOODRICH

#2 The vast majority of Hyde and Goodrich deringers are usually of a bulky undesirable style that I do not like. This one follows that example. Caliber is .410. Has German silver furniture and with ramrod. The barrel markings on #2, #255, and #284 use the same single stamp.

The barrel is marked in three lines as follows:

Mand for
Hyde and Goodrich
Agents, N. O.

In a City Directory of 1853 this company was listed as dealers in “guns, pistols and military goods.” They imported a number of arms just prior to the war, marked “Hyde & Goodrich, Agents for the United States South.”

In 1861 the firm was changed into Thomas, Griswold & Company, both Thomas and Griswold having been former employees of Hyde & Goodrich.

One of the principles of Hyde & Goodrich; A. L. Hyde, withdrew from the firm on August 23, 1861.

HYDE & GOODRICH

#255 Another Hyde and Goodrich except this one has gold bands at the breech and sterling silver furniture which makes it somewhat more desirable. This is one of the fattest and bulkiest Henry Deringer that I have ever seen. Made without ramrod. Cap box in butt. .380 caliber.

Marked in three lines with one die stamp on the barrel as follows:

Mand for
Hyde and Goodrich
Agents, N. O.

HYDE & GOODRICH

#284 This is an extremely fine Hyde and Goodrich with 100% original browning on the barrel and 95% of the original varnish. It has the excellent quality classic style in the stock contour. Double gold banded breech. Furniture is German silver. Made with ramrod and capbox in butt. Muzzle of the barrel is fluted. Caliber is .420.

Remember that all Hyde and Goodrich deringers are genuine Henry Deringer guns and are not manufactured by Hyde and Goodrich. These four guns and all that I have ever seen have the pineapple finial on the trigger guard. Be sure that you note the different kinds of Henry Deringer barrel markings when the agent’s names is used. For instance, in the case of Hyde and Goodrich Henry Deringer guns that are in my collection, there are two different types of barrel stampings.

Marked with one stamp on the barrel only:

Mand for
Hyde and Goodrich
Agents, N. O.

HYDE & GOODRICH

#3 Still the same is this Hyde and Goodrich gun that is bulky and I do not think pretty. Made with ramrod and German silver mountings. Caliber is .390.

Contrary to the other guns, this one is marked with four different hand stamps as follows:

Mand for
Hyde and Goodrich
Agents, N. Orleans

HYDE & GOODRICH

This is a fake Hyde & Goodrich, it being a Belgian produced derringer in what is apparently an original case with accessories. The barrel is Belgian proofed underneath.

The point in showing this fake gun in this book is that somewhere on the West Coast someone is running around stamping odd derringers with the name Hyde & Goodrich as follows in three lines.

Mand for
Hyde and Goodrich
Agents, N. O.

When the fellow at the Las Vegas Show walked up to my table and showed me the gun my eyes popped out that here was a cased Hyde & Goodrich and I did not stop to analyze it. From the contour of the gun and the French type casing, I should have realized that it was not an American gun. It was reasonably priced and I shelled out the money within about thirty seconds after looking at the gun.

Then that night up in the hotel room I got to looking at the gun and remembered that I had seen the same gun at the Disneyland Show six months before and it was not marked at that time. Then I examined the barrel stampings closer and realized that they were new stampings. Upon my arrival home I compared this stamping with other guns in our collection and found that this was a good facsimile but the spacing of the letters was not the same as on the original. And then, there were other minute differences in the letters that showed it was new.

As in most of these cases, the fellow I bought it from refused to refund my money and I got stuck with it.

But it is a good lesson to not buy anything too quick or that is rare or at a high price unless you study it out first to be sure it is not faked or altered.