Ca. 1890 CAST IRON & WOOD TOY PISTOL, UM-27 IN CHARLES BEST CAP PISTOL BOOK

Description

Circa 1890 cast iron, wood, & tin toy pistol. The front barrel part of this interesting toy is made of wood. There is a strip of tin & a tin hammer & trigger in the middle behind the wood. The handle is made of cast iron. As far as we can tell, the toy operates properly as designed. When the hammer is manually pulled back in to position there is a loud clicking sound. Then when the trigger is pulled there is another loud clicking sound. We assume that the wooden peg would propel to the cardboard soldiers. But, we are not able to test that part of the function as we do not have the wooden peg (or pegs).
This pistol was made by the Milton-Bradley Toy Company & originally came in a game which had five toy cardboard soldiers. This pistol was NOT made to fire a cap. The pistol was made to propel a small wooden peg which was approximately 1 inch long to knock over the soldier(s). We do not have a wooden peg & we do not have the soldiers. An example of this toy pistol is listed on page 172 & pictured on page 173 in the 1973 classic reference book "Cast Iron Toy Pistols" by Charles Best. This is NOT a cap pistol as are most of the toys listed in the book. But, this is an interesting & unusual novelty pistol which many toy cap pistol collectors like to have in their collections.
This toy measures 4 3/4 inches long by 2 5/8 inches tall. There are no chips, no cracks, & no repairs to the wood section. The wood section is in excellent condition with a pleasing patina from natural age acquired over the approximate 130 years since the toy was made. The iron & tin sections have an even layer of dark rich age patina combined light even surface rust. We suspect that the light rust could be easily removed, if desired. But, since we personally find it more appealing with the original dark patina on the iron, we have decided to leave the toy exactly as found & to leave that option up to the buyer. A fascinating & unusual toy pistol. This is item #10,198.
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NOTE: In compliance with eBay rules this antique TOY cap pistol has been plugged with a blaze orange plug. This replica gun contains the colored markings required by law, including a permanently attached orange plug. It CANNOT be altered to fire bullets, or ammunition, or lethal projectiles of any kind. This antique TOY cap pistol is located in the United States & it will only be sold to residents of the United States & shipped to addresses in the United States. This antique TOY cap pistol can only be sold to buyers above the age of 18. All of the pictures in this listing have been taken & uploaded by me & are NOT stock photos. This antique TOY cap pistol is shown as a whole in its entirety in several different views. We have carefully adhered to all eBay requirements in listing this item.