MERWIN HULBERT

Merwin Hulbert offered very high quality revolvers which were serious competitors with the Colt, Smith & Wesson, and Remington large frame single actions during this era. Their guns are believed to have been manufactured in a separate section of the Hopkins & Allen plant. Most will have both Merwin Hulbert and Hopkins & Allen markings on the barrel.
Merwin revolvers have a unique twist-open mechanism. The latch on the bottom of the frame is pushed toward the rear, while barrel & cylinder are twisted clockwise and pulled forward. This design was intended to allow selective ejection of empty cases while leaving unfired cartridges in the cylinder.
A unique and highly desirable feature of Merwin revolvers is "suction". Due to the exceptionally tight machining tolerances of these revolvers, when the barrel and cylinder were twisted to the right, drawn forward, and let go of, they would return to an almost fully closed position on the frame due to the "suction" created by these tight tolerances. Merwins with extremely good "suction" will bring a 10%-20% premium.
Merwins will often be found with a distinctive and unusual "punch dot" style factory engraving, often with some sort of simple panel scene (animal, bird, flowers, etc.) on one or (rare) both sides of the frame. These will usually bring perhaps a 50% premium in lower grades, while in higher condition may bring double or triple what an undecorated gun will bring. The highest quality factory Exhibition/Presentation grade guns may bring four to five times what an undecorated gun will bring. These are exceptionally rare!
During 1868, Joseph Merwin merged with Hulbert Bros. to form an import/export company. In 1871, Merwin-Hulbert & Company of NY became the sole agent for Hopkins & Allen products. Joseph Merwin passed away in 1878. During 1880-1881, the company made some bad investments, and was forced into trusteeship. In 1887, Merwin, Hulbert & Co. claimed ownership of the Hopkins & Allen factory in Norwich. But by 1896, another chaotic financial situation brought about the demise of the company, as well as Hulbert Bros. Co.
Previous company with headquarters located in New York, NY, circa 1874-1896. Joseph Merwin was involved with no less than five different cartridge companies before eventually founding Merwin & Hulbert.
MERWIN HULBERT logo

MERWIN HULBERT Antiques Models

FIRST POCKET MODEL SA Image

FIRST POCKET MODEL SA

.38 cal., 5 shot scoop flute cylinder, 3 1/2 or 5 1/2 in. ribbed barrel, fixed, round blade front and frame notch rear sights, spur trigger, nickel finish, saw-handle or bird's head style checkered black hard rubber grips, distinguishing fe...

FIRST MODEL FRONTIER ARMY SA Image

FIRST MODEL FRONTIER ARMY SA

.44 MH, .44 Russian, or .44-40 cal., single action open top revolver, square butt large frame with lanyard loop roll-stamped "CALIBRE 44 MH & Co," for .44 Merwin Hulbert cal., "CALIBRE WINCHESTER 1873" for .44-40 cal...

SECOND POCKET MODEL SA Image

SECOND POCKET MODEL SA

.38 cal., 5 shot scoop flute cylinder, spur trigger, saw handle or bird's head style, checkered black hard rubber grips, similar to First Pocket Model, except has sliding loading gate.

SECOND MODEL FRONTIER ARMY SA Image

SECOND MODEL FRONTIER ARMY SA

.44 MH, .44 Russian, or .44-40 cal., single action open top revolver, square butt large frame with lanyard loop roll-stamped "CALIBRE/WINCHESTER 1873" for .44-40 cal., "CALIBRE/.44 MH" for .44 Merwin Hulbert cal., or &qu...

SECOND MODEL POCKET ARMY SA Image

SECOND MODEL POCKET ARMY SA

.44 cal., single action revolver, large frame, 3 1/2 or 7 (scarce) in. barrel, one screw above trigger guard, similar to Second Model Frontier Army, except has bird's head butt, may be marked "POCKET ARMY".

THIRD POCKET MODEL SA Image

THIRD POCKET MODEL SA

.38 cal., 5 shot cylinder w/standard flutes, spur trigger, saw handle or bird's head style, checkered black hard rubber grips, similar to Second Pocket Model, except has enclosed cylinder pin.

THIRD POCKET MODEL SA WITH TRIGGER GUARD Image

THIRD POCKET MODEL SA WITH TRIGGER GUARD

.38 cal., single action revolver, 5 shot cylinder w/standard flutes, saw handle or bird's head style, checkered black hard rubber grips, similar to Third Pocket Model, except has conventional trigger, trigger guard, and enclosed cylinder pi...

THIRD MODEL FRONTIER ARMY SA Image

THIRD MODEL FRONTIER ARMY SA

.44 MH, .44 Russian, or .44-40 cal., single action revolver, square butt large frame with lanyard loop roll-stamped "CALIBRE/WINCHESTER 1873" for .44-40 cal., "CALIBRE/.44 MH" for .44 Merwin Hulbert cal., or "RUSSIA...

THIRD POCKET MODEL DA .38 Image

THIRD POCKET MODEL DA .38

.38 cal., double action, 5 shot, saw handle or bird's head style, checkered black hard rubber grips, similar to Third Pocket Model, except double action, conventional trigger, trigger guard, enclosed cylinder pin, and may have folding hamme...

THIRD MODEL FRONTIER ARMY DA Image

THIRD MODEL FRONTIER ARMY DA

.44 cal., square butt large frame, 7 in. round barrel, similar to Third Model Frontier Army SA, except is double action, topstrap, usually has conventional fluting on cylinder, but some have scoop flutes and may have folding hammer spur.

THIRD MODEL POCKET ARMY SA Image

THIRD MODEL POCKET ARMY SA

.44 cal., single action revolver, 3 1/2 or 7 in. round barrel, available with interchangeable barrels, similar to Third Model Frontier Army, except has bird's head butt instead of square butt.

SMALL FRAME DA POCKET MODEL Image

SMALL FRAME DA POCKET MODEL

.32 cal., centerfire, double action, small frame, 5 shot, 3 in. round barrel w/rib marked "MERWIN HULBERT & CO. NEW YORK U.S.A." and "PAT. APR 17. 77 JUNE 15. 80 MAR. 14. 82 JAN. 9 83", nickel finish, flat butt, hard...

THIRD MODEL POCKET ARMY DA Image

THIRD MODEL POCKET ARMY DA

.44 cal., double action, large frame with bird's head butt, available with interchangeable 3 1/2 or 7 in. barrels, similar to Third Model Pocket Army SA, except is double action.

TIP-UP .22 MODEL Image

TIP-UP .22 MODEL

.22 rimfire cal., 7 shot, spur trigger, closely patterned after the S&W Model One, some marked "O. S. CUMMINGS, LOWELL". Approx. 1,000 mfg. RF=3.

FOURTH MODEL FRONTIER ARMY SA Image

FOURTH MODEL FRONTIER ARMY SA

.44 MH, .44 Russian, or .44-40 cal., single action revolver, square butt large frame with lanyard loop roll-stamped "CALIBRE/WINCHESTER 1873" for .44-40 cal., "CALIBRE/.44 MH" for .44 Merwin Hulbert cal., or "RUSSIA...

FOURTH MODEL FRONTIER ARMY DA Image

FOURTH MODEL FRONTIER ARMY DA

.44 cal., square butt large frame, 3 1/2, 5, or 7 in. ribbed barrel, similar to Fourth Model Frontier Army SA, except is double action, topstrap, conventional flutes and may have folding hammer spur.

FOURTH MODEL POCKET ARMY DA Image

FOURTH MODEL POCKET ARMY DA

.44 cal., double action revolver, large frame with bird's head butt, 3 1/2, 5 1/2, or 7 in. barrel, similar to Fourth Model Pocket Army SA, except is double action.

FOREIGN COPIES OF LARGE FRAME REVOLVERS Image

FOREIGN COPIES OF LARGE FRAME REVOLVERS

.44 cal. These models may be based on any configuration, but 2nd & 3rd Frontier Army styles are probably the most commonly found. The words "Merwin Hulbert" (such as "Sistema Merwin Hulbert") may appear somewhere on ...