SWEETWATER COUNTY – A 19th century pocket revolver was examined and researched recently through the Sweetwater County Historical Museum’s Vintage Firearms Research Program.
Museum staff identified the handgun as an engraved, nickeled, five-shot Hopkins & Allen Blue Jacket No. 2 in .32 Rimfire fitted with a spur trigger. The Blue Jacket was in production from 1871 to 1898; based on its patent markings, the revolver researched was made between 1871 and 1879.
The Hopkins & Allen Arms Company, founded in 1868 by Samuel S. Hopkins, Charles W. Hopkins, Charles Allen, Charles Converse, and Horace Briggs, was based in Norwich, Connecticut. The company’s focus was on less expensive revolvers, rifles and shotguns and went bankrupt in 1916, when it was bought out by Marlin-Rockwell.
Inexpensive pocket revolvers like the Blue Jacket, made by a host of minor American manufacturers, were very popular, especially during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were so low-priced that major gunmakers like Colt and Smith & Wesson stopped making their own versions of them, as they could not compete. Much later – around 1948 – the term “Suicide Special” was coined for the little handguns.
Those with a vintage firearm (or firearms) who would like to learn more about them are encouraged to contact the museum at (307) 872-6435 or via email at blustd@sweetwatercountywy.gov. There is no charge for the service.