Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have an Allen & Wheelock Center Hammer Lipfire Navy revolver manufactured in the early 1860s. A technological dead-end – good idea executed well that arrived at exactly the wrong time.
The lipfire cartridge was Allen & Wheelock’s attempt to dodge Rollin White’s bored-through cylinder patent, which Smith & Wesson had locked up tight. Instead of drilling chambers all the way through, the lipfire used a protruding rim or “lip” on the cartridge that sat in a groove cut into the rear of the cylinder. The firing pin struck this lip to ignite the priming compound inside. On paper, it worked. The design avoided patent infringement while offering the speed and convenience of metallic cartridges over cap-and-ball loading.
The problem was timing and practicality. By the early 1860s, the Civil War was creating massive demand for revolvers, but the military wasn’t interested in adopting a proprietary cartridge system that only worked in one company’s guns. Percussion revolvers like the Colt 1860 Army were proven, available in huge numbers, and used ammunition already in the supply chain. Civilian buyers weren’t much more interested. Why invest in a lipfire revolver when percussion guns were cheaper and more reliable, or when you could get a Smith & Wesson that used standard rimfire cartridges?
The lipfire cartridge never caught on commercially, and once Rollin White’s patent expired in 1869, there was no reason for anyone to bother with alternative designs. Allen & Wheelock didn’t make these in huge numbers, and most that were made probably got converted or scrapped once lipfire ammunition became impossible to find.
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!
“Scarce Allen & Wheelock Center Hammer Lipfire Navy Revolver.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/1049/337/allen-wheelock-center-hammer-lipfire-navy-revolver. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Writer | TheFirearmBlog
Writer | AllOutdoor.com Instagram | sfsgunsmith Old soul, certified gunsmith, published author, avid firearm history learner, and appreciator of old and unique guns.
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