Original Item: Only one Available. Guns like these take us straight back to "Jack the Ripper" and "Sherlock Holmes": the closing years of Queen Victoria's reign, with London's fogged in streets rewound in time to the Policing of a bygone age. However, England was not the only area with a bad reputation, and there were some cities of the United States that had reputations just as bad. There was even one area of San Francisco that was known as "The Barbary Coast", and as such the "British Bull-dog" revolvers were popular import items.

San Francisco is also where British Immigrant and Gunsmith John Plumb Clabrough set up his first shop in 1867. He had originally arrived in New York City circa 1857 with his brother George and sister Harriet, and after some time arrived in St. Louis, where he found work in the shop of the legendary Samuel Hawken circa 1860. After some time he set out on his own to California, and found work there with several firms, and by late 1863 was listed in the cities business directory. His business grew, and circa 1868, his brother George moved to San Francisco join the company. At the same time his younger brother Joseph, also trained as a gunsmith, had set up in Birmingham, England as a gunmaker.

J.P. then visited England to set up production contracts in Birmingham for import into the United States, and his brother Joseph joined up to oversee the logistics. Then in 1871, he returned again to Birmingham and set up his own factory at 8 Whittall Street. At this point the company became known as J.P. Clabrough & Bros., with both San Francisco and Birmingham addresses, and the company operated under this name for the next 20 years or so. In 1890, new import Tariffs unfortunately dealt a serious blow to Clabrough, and the factory in Birmingham, England was sold. J.P. Clabrough then busied himself with real estate, until his untimely passing in 1895 from Liver Cancer.

We found a fantastic article at the Shooting Sportsman, where they specifically reference the importation of British Bulldog style revolvers:

San Francisco was the Wild West, and vigilante justice was a fresh memory. Many San Franciscans carried concealed weapons—a fact that wasn’t lost on Clabrough. In 1869 Webley patented its five-shot, double-action Bull Dog revolver. It was small, inexpensive but reliable, used centerfire cartridges, and was more powerful than most derringer-type handguns. Clabrough soon began importing Bull Dogs and then other handguns for distribution across the US.

The rest of the article can be found here: Shooting Sportsman - J.P. Clabrough.

We believe that this is one such example, and it was definitely made for a person of some importance, as it has a lovely engraved frame and great marine ivory grips, which have mellowed over the years quite nicely. The revolver follows the typical format of "British Bulldog" pistols, which were inspired by the Webley & Son original. It features a 2 1/2" barrel and a 5 round cylinder, functioning in both single and double action. Overall length is 6 1/4", making it very concealable.

These were originally designed to take the large .45 Adams / Boxer cartridge, however this example has the front of the chambers measuring about 10.4mm / .41", the barrel measuring about the same. This is definitely too small for the .45, the .442 Webley, or .44 Bulldog used in the U.S.. Research indicates that it may be for a "410 Eley", but unfortunately we have no way of determining this.

The top of the barrel is engraved with BRITISH BULL-DOG, while the top strap over the cylinder is marked J.P. CLABROUGH / & BRO'S. The frame, barrel and cylinder bear very small Birmingham proof marks, including the CROWN / CROSSED SCEPTERS / BPC "proof" and CROWN / CROSSED SCEPTERS / V "viewed" marks. There are not really any other markings that we could see on the revolver, even with the grips removed.

Condition of the revolver is very good, and it displays a nice lightly worn patina overall, which we have left intact to preserve the history. It looks like it was originally nickel plated overall with a copper flash coat underneath, but it is now lightly stained bare steel except on the cylinder and right by the arbor pin. We do not see any major oxidation or other issues, and the engraving is still crisp, with no signs of refinishing.  The marine ivory grips are lovely, and have just a bit of cracking at the bottom.

The revolver functions great in both single and double action, and has good indexing and a crisp dry fire. The revolver can be broken down correctly by moving the ejector out of the way and removing the cylinder arbor pin. The loading gate is still intact and fully functional. The bore is in excellent condition, showing crisp lands and grooves and a mostly bright finish. There is just a bit of oxidation in the grooves. Really a nice honest example!

A great "British Bulldog" revolver, most likely sold for use in the "Wild" areas in California. In great condition with lots of eye appeal, this is ready to display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: 1880s
Caliber: .450 Adams / .450 Boxer Mk I
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Overall Length: 6 inches
Barrel Length: 2 1/4 inches
Action: External Hammer Double/Single Action
Feed System: 5 Shot Revolver

Lineage
The pocket revolver known primarily as the "British Bull Dog" was first produced by P. Webley & Sons of Birmingham, England, in 1872. Its appeal was so great that the "British" Bulldog was adopted and copied by gun manufacturers in Belgium, Spain, France and the U.S. Though American-made Bulldogs came from the armorers Iver Johnson, Harrington & Richardson, Forehand & Wadsworth, and several other makers who quickly went in and out of business, the Webley versions are rightly considered the real McCoy.

Though the revolver remained in production until the WWI-era, the hay day of the Bulldog was in the 1870s to 1880s, a time when it was known its affordability and reliability, consequently making it one of the most popular pocket pistols in both Europe and America. Though Colt is the brand we all know and love, and their single actions are thought to have fit the hip of near every cowboy, ranch-hand and gunslinger, Colt's single-actions sold for three to four times the cost of the British Bulldogs. The inexpensive, yet solidly made little dogs - many of which survive as shooters today - were available to everyman.

Build
Though this little gun has had as many variations and names as it had makers, the general features are quite simple: a 2.5-inch barrel, five-round capacity, double-action trigger, and an overall true small-frame pocket pistol.

Bulldogs are quickly recognizable by the bird's head grips, generally made of either walnut or pearl. However, there are many fine examples with sweet ivory grips and delicate engraving. Most had a blued finish, but some nickeled models have survived as well. The revolver is generally dressed with simple fixed sights, a large looping trigger guard, curvaceous hammer spur and weigh in around 20 ounces.

Many European Bulldogs were chambered for .44 Short, .442 Webley, .455 Webley and .450 Adams, but there are several smaller variations of Webleys chambered in .320 and .380 calibers, though they were produced much later and were never labeled as Bulldogs.

Both the American and Belgian Bulldogs, which seem to be the most prevalent on the market these days, were readily available in smaller calibers. Perhaps the most common American clones housed .44 Webley and .38 caliber chamberings.

Famous ties
The Bulldog revolver has connections both famous and infamous in American history, as detailed George Layman's book "The British Bulldog Revolver: The Forgotten Gun that Really Won the West!"

Probably the most infamous connection places it in the hands of Charles Guiteau, the man who shot President James Garfield in 1881. Though the wounded President lived for several months under the rudimentary medical care of the time, he succumbed to the pair of bullet wounds almost three-months later.

As the story goes, Guiteau was reportedly furious that Garfield overlooked him for appointment to a federal post and vowed to take vengeance on the President - and to do so with a good-looking gun, but one that could be had on a budget.

Guiteau is said to have used a Belgian-made British Bulldog in .44 caliber, but interestingly there is some debate over whether Guiteau got his wish of acquiring one with ivory grips. As rumor has it, he wanted his gun to look good when it eventually made its way to a museum, but the ivory upgrade cost several dollars more than the walnut model, which sold in the $8 to $12 range. The gun commonly shown as Guiteau's model in period illustrations has walnut grips, but the actual gun is, in fact, long gone. Following Guiteau's trial, the revolver was on loan to the Smithsonian, but, a short time later, the revolver disappeared and has not been found to this day. It is unclear whether the gun disappeared during its stay with the museum or sometime later.