Marlin Model 1873 tip up revolver .30 Revolver

This is a decent Marlin XXX standard 1873 revolver.

The revolver is a spur triggered 30 Calibre RF revolver which cocks, locks, and rotates nicely.. The revolver is nickel plated.

.The revolver looks better than the macro photographs as it is difficult to photograph the nickel finish. The revolver has good grips, and disassembles easily.

This revolver belongs to the genre of firearms which became known as Saturday Night Specials

This is somewhat of a misnomer as these days the phrase "Saturday Night Specials" is synonymous with mass-produced poor-quality guns but the history is somewhat different.

Shortly after the Civil War gun control began to rear its head and many States introduced Laws that only allowed the carrying of large pistols such as the Army & Navy Models. This was a deliberate policy to ensure that only the affluent could carry firearms and that firearms would be restricted from entering the ownership of the newly freed Black population or the poorer White settlers. In certain settlements the law was further refined by local Bylaws to restrict the wearing of firearms on a Saturday night when much of the local trouble was caused. Wyatt Earp is known for introducing such laws. To circumnavigate the law, smaller pocket pistols were carried as these were easily concealable and equally as deadly in close combat as their larger counterparts and this is the origin of the "Saturday Night Special". Many famous makers such as Smith & Wesson and Marlin produced such guns and these were of reasonable and often high quality. Fanciful names were given to the guns such as the Dictator, Continental, Smoker, American Bulldog, Devil, Red Jacket etc. Many of them were extremely short lived in the face of extreme competition and are now a scarce and interesting link to those times.

An interesting collection can be made of these little revolvers and prices of secondary manufacturers of US arms are increasing as the home market begins to appreciate the significance of these arms.