Turner Kirkland

“ I have never seen a Lullman and Vienna marked gun except for those that are genuine Henry Deringer guns. Or, in other words, they did not make their own guns.
This specimen is German silver mounted throughout, without ramrod and with a tear drop buttcap. ”

“ Schneider & Glassick, Memphis, Tenn.
49 W. H. CALHOUN
#225 W. H. Calhoun was a fancy goods merchant in Nashville, Tennessee during and well before the Civil War. Fancy goods merchants sold jewelry, watches, and guns which sort of fitted together in those days and times. Calhoun never made guns himself as far as I know and was not a gunsmith. This is a genuine Henry Deringer gun surcharged or marked with the agent’s name on the barrel. This gun has typical Henry Deringer characteristics such as German silver furniture and a pineapple finial on the trigger plate. ”

“ Invariably the lock plates are not marked but do have a floral pattern engraved in place. They are always long and slender and are not large guns and are not heavy. This piece is made without ramrod and with German silver mountings throughout. The trigger plate finial is in the shape of a pineapple. The barrel has a brown twist steel imitation finish. The German silver front sight is milled into the barrel and is not dovetailed. ”

“ His guns are entirely different. Notice the funny nosecap, the tall hammer, and the extra narrow trigger guard and trigger plate. Although the trigger plate ends in a finial of a pineapple, it is not a Henry Deringer type of pineapple. This derringer has a silver band at the breech with a small amount of engraving. The barrel is round with a rib on top. ”

“ From 1854 til 1857 he worked in Vicksburg at the Zimmerman and Reading Foundry, learning the art of metal craft. In 1857 at the age of 34 he had saved enough money to start his own business.
His first ad in the Vicksburg Daily Whig dated October, 1857 states: “New gun shop—Louis Hoffmann takes pleasure in informing his community and the public generally that he will carry on the gunsmith business and all its branches. It will make rifles to order, stock guns and pistols, etc.” ”

“ During the 20 months in 1969 and 1970 that we have been displaying our derringers at gun shows we have won 25 awards. Our derringers have been displayed from the East Coast to the West Coast and from the North to the South. Great acclaim was given them at the National Rifle Association Convention. Considering the point that awards are won not only on quality or quantity but on the educational value, we believe that our display is one of the best. ”

“ The tear drop buttcap, the wedge plate escutcheons, the silver inlay under the barrel and the left hand sideplate and name plate over the wrist are all plain with no engraving which is typical of Southern guns. ”

“ Although this innovation is about 11⁄2 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. ”

“ In 1836, the year Arkansas became a state in the Union, the present location of the town of DesArc was known as McNulty’s Bluff and was nothing more than a ferry crossing the White River at this point—the most eastern edge of what was then Pulaski County. It wasn’t until the early 1840’s that the townsite was laid out and became known as DesArc. Today the population is about 500. ”

“ Some rifles are known that are marked “H. Folsom & Co., St. Louis.”
He is first listed in 1866 in the St. Louis City Directory and again in 1870 as a dealer and gunsmith.
It is known that Folsom worked in Memphis at some time and it is possible and reasonable that he made deringers there and in St. Louis but with a different marking, leaving off the St. Louis in the case of the Memphis guns.
59 A. WEISGERBER
#256 Weisgerber was an authenticated maker according to newspapers of those days of derringers, shotguns, and rifles. ”

“ The sideplate of German silver is absolutely identical to those of most Suter Deringers. This will leave some room for thought that Suter Deringers are made by Wurfflein. Notice there is some similarity in the shape and contour of this Suter #274 and the illustrated Wurfflein. Both of these guns are often but not always marked with the word “steel” on the right hand barrel flat immediately below the top flat but always with different size stamps.
C. Suter,
Selma, Ala.
33 C. SUTER
#264 I have seen Suter derringers in many sizes and this is about as large as they come. ”

“ This particular handsome little gun with its 17⁄8” barrel was manufactured by him and is not a Henry Deringer product although it has characteristics exactly like old Henry of Philadelphia. All furniture is of German silver. ”

“ The only markings are on the top of the barrel flat as follows:
J. B. GILMORE
Jerome Bonaparte Gilmore was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky, in 1827, and came to Shreveport, La. in 1849. There is a strong possibility that he was the son of J. Gilmore, of the firm J. Gilmore and Moses Dickson, Gunmakers, of Louisville (1848-1860) , as, according to the census of 1840, J. Gilmore, Sr. had a son of about this age. J. B. Gilmore worked for David Pobst, gunmaker, until about 1853 when young Gilmore went into the gun business for himself. ”

“ This chart shows the relative rarity of Southern derringers in the opinion of several knowledgeable collectors. Position #1 is the easiest to obtain and position #10 is the hardest to find. The text of this book takes up each maker in this same order.
6 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 only markings are on the barrel with a one piece machine made hand stamp in two lines as follows:
A. R. Mendenhall
DesArc, Ark.
From Charles Elias, North Little Rock, Arkansas comes certain information on this deringer maker that he has dug out of the U.S. Census files of Arkansas taken every decade. ”

“ It is interesting to notice that Mrs. Jefferson Davis carried a Swett derringer in her purse. The gun is now on display in the old capitol museum in Jackson, Mississippi.
51 J. A. SCHAFER
J. A. Schafer. Vicksburg, Mississippi, is one gun that I do not have and I would like to obtain. I have heard of three of these guns and they are always Henry Deringer guns surcharged with this agent’s name and without a doubt all will be typical of Henry Deringer manufactury.
52 L. F. TRUMPLER
#204 Trumpler of Little Rock does not make a gun that looks like a Henry Deringer or a Southern Derringer. ”

“ He had some facilities for manufacturing and is well known for his Confederate swords. There is a record of an important contract with the state of Alabama for sabres.
64 A. R. MENDENHALL
#259 Mendenhall of the little town of DesArc, Arkansas produced derringers that had no characteristics of either the Mississippi derringer makers, those of Nashville or of Memphis. His were entirely different. Notice the heavy walnut stock, the long slender hammer, and the pewter nosecap. ”

“ 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.” ”