POTD: A Flawed Design – The James Reid Model 2 Spur Trigger Revolver
Sam.S 05.02.23
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have an American Civil War era revolver that most soldiers probably would not buy if they knew more about it. This is the James Reid Model 2 Spur Trigger Revolver. James Reid is better known as the man who invented and manufactured the “My Friend” Knuckleduster. This James Reid Model 2 Spur Trigger Revolver is a sort of disobedience that worked out. You see, at this time Rolin White’s patent on the bored-through cylinder was still owned by him and Smith and Wesson. Fortunately for James Reid, he produced these revolvers in such low numbers that he was never sued. The really sucky part about these guns was that even though they were advertised as being able to fire 100 black powder cartridges before cleaning, they were very difficult to take apart. So difficult that you have to remove the barrel!
“Only an estimated 1,200 of these revolvers were manufactured by James Reid of New York in the early 1860s. This example has the straight line frame fitted with an ejector rod. It is marked “ADDRESS W. IRVING 20. CLIFF ST. N.Y.” on the top of the barrel and has the serial number on the bottom of the barrel, rear of the cylinder (partial), right side of the grip frame and underside of the right grip. It is equipped with a half-moon blade front sight, frame groove rear sight, sliding recoil shield on the right for loading and a pair of smooth grips. The exact revolver is photographed on the top of page 50 of “James Reid and His Catskill Knuckledusters” by Taylor G. Bowen. Page 35 notes that Reid likely believed that Rollin White’s bored through cylinder patent was invalid due to earlier international patents and the fact that multiple companies produced revolvers using the system. It is assumed Reid was able to get away with violating White/Smith & Wesson’s patent rights because he was a small time manufacturer. In the meantime, many other manufacturers were defeated in the courts. The fact that most of these early revolver do not have Reid’s name on them likely also helped.”
Lot 3069: Reid James 2 Revolver 32 Rf – Documented James Reid Model 2 Spur Trigger Revolver. (n.d.). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/76/3240/reid-my-friend-knuckleduster-revolver.
