information on model 1888 single action.

[washman65]

i have a what i believe is a 1888 single action revolver it has walnut grips with 44w on the left grip a lanyard ring on the bottom of the grip on the top of the barrel it has the markings of e.remington & sons.ilion n.y.u.s.a. it is blue finish 5 3/4 barrel. the serial number is 639. i can find a little information on the gun but if anyone has any more information about this model such as how many were produced etc. i understood they were made for the army bidding but colt got the bid and manfacture of this gun was ceased. any info would be appreciated.

[DavidFagan]

Would love to see a couple good pictures of it posted.

[Mike Strietbeck]

If your revolver is a true "1888", it will bear assembly numbers in addition to the serial numbers of the "1875". The "1888" assembly numbers will be stamped on the ejector housing, barrel underside, and frame under the grip. It will have the ejector housing web cutout of the "1890" as well.

It is my understanding that this revolver had nothing to do with bidding on a possible government contract, but rather was manufactured to use inventory gathered by Hartley & Graham during the bankruptcy acquisition of Remington during 1887-88.

A relatively detailed write up on the 1875 - 88 - 90 revolvers from Remington was produced by Slim Kohler and Don Ware for the RSA Journal and a search on this web site will lead you to the year and issue and past issues may still be available.

Hope this helps,

Mike Strietbeck