POTD: Charles Tyler Patent Revolver – A 30-Round Idea in 1853

Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a prototype percussion revolver built around one of the wilder patents of the 1850s. This is the Charles Tyler patent revolver, made around 1853 in 38 caliber by Charles N. Tyler of Worcester, Massachusetts.

Tyler’s patent, No. 9,701 from May 3rd, 1853, set out a few goals. The first was tucking the whole lock, hammer included, inside the stock so nothing blocked your sight line. You get an internal hammer and a ring trigger that turns the cylinder, cocks the lock, and fires it. Easing the trigger forward would let it down without firing, and a small button-operated stop kept you from touching it off by accident while cocking.

The real kicker is the part this gun doesn’t have. The patent drawing, labeled “Magazine Gun,” shows a round spiral magazine under the barrel holding around 30 cartridges with a spring-driven follower. You pulled a ring-ended rod with your index finger to ram a fresh round into the bottom chamber, then worked the trigger with your middle finger, going back and forth until all 30 were gone. That’s a lot of firepower on paper for 1853. My favorite detail is that Tyler went out of his way in the patent to say he wasn’t claiming the charger from a shoe-pegging machine patented in 1848.

This example skips the magazine but keeps the same basic internals. Few percussion designs I’ve come across aim this high.

Most of our POTDs utilize images from our friends at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse their current auctions – who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!

“Engraved Prototype Charles Tyler Patent Percussion Revolver.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4097/3212/engraved-prototype-charles-tyler-patent-percussion-revolver. Accessed 29 Sept. 2026.

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