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Lot Essay
The ‘Turkish model’ is a rare variant of the Smith & Wesson Model 3, arguably the most popular handgun of the ‘Old West’ era of American firearms. A surge in popularity of personal firearms during the American Civil War (1861-5) led to the development of the Model 3. This revolver was first produced at the Smith & Wesson factory in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1870, when it became the first standard-issue, cartridge-firing revolver used by the U.S. army (Jim Supica & Richard Nahas, Standard Catalogue of Smith & Wesson, 3rd ed., Iowa, 2006, p. 88).
Beyond the United States, the major purchaser of the Model 3 was the Russian empire, which placed several large orders of tens of thousands of revolvers from 1871, eventually securing the rights to produce the handgun at the Tula Arsenal. The Ottoman empire placed a smaller initial order, to which the present revolver belongs, numbering no more than 1000 firearms (Supica & Nahas, op.cit., p. 95). The ‘Turkish Model’ made to fulfill this order can be distinguished from American and Russian Models, as well as later Turkish orders, by its use of the .44 Rimfire Henry cartridge, a then near-obsolete cartridge also used for the Winchester Model 1866 rifles used by Ottoman forces. Primarily a service weapon, the fine gold overlay and excellent condition of the present revolver mark it as an exceptionally rare example of one of the world’s most iconic handguns.
This luxurious revolver was owned by Barutçuzade Ahmed Vassif Effendi, whose family operated a gunpowder factory in Cyprus until the island was ceded to the British empire in 1878. He was subsequently elected as the Muslim representative of Nicosia-Kyrenia to the Cypriot Legislative Council in 1891 (Cyprus Gazette, 1891, p. 1878) and later appointed judge for Larnaca until his retirement in 1915 (Cyprus Gazette, 1915, p. 9129).
Beyond the United States, the major purchaser of the Model 3 was the Russian empire, which placed several large orders of tens of thousands of revolvers from 1871, eventually securing the rights to produce the handgun at the Tula Arsenal. The Ottoman empire placed a smaller initial order, to which the present revolver belongs, numbering no more than 1000 firearms (Supica & Nahas, op.cit., p. 95). The ‘Turkish Model’ made to fulfill this order can be distinguished from American and Russian Models, as well as later Turkish orders, by its use of the .44 Rimfire Henry cartridge, a then near-obsolete cartridge also used for the Winchester Model 1866 rifles used by Ottoman forces. Primarily a service weapon, the fine gold overlay and excellent condition of the present revolver mark it as an exceptionally rare example of one of the world’s most iconic handguns.
This luxurious revolver was owned by Barutçuzade Ahmed Vassif Effendi, whose family operated a gunpowder factory in Cyprus until the island was ceded to the British empire in 1878. He was subsequently elected as the Muslim representative of Nicosia-Kyrenia to the Cypriot Legislative Council in 1891 (Cyprus Gazette, 1891, p. 1878) and later appointed judge for Larnaca until his retirement in 1915 (Cyprus Gazette, 1915, p. 9129).