Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! The Frankenau Purse Gun was a highly unusual concealed carry pistol patented in 1876. Hidden inside what appeared to be a normal ladies’ coin purse, one side flipped open to reveal a 5-shot pinfire revolver. The purse’s other side functioned normally with accordion pockets for money. A hinged muzzle cover and folding trigger kept the purse gun’s true nature concealed until needed. To fire, the user released a catch to open the revolver compartment and extend the trigger. Frankenau’s clever design provided surreptitious self-defense in a compact package. However, few were produced as the 5mm pinfire cartridge was already becoming obsolete by the late 1870s. Surviving examples are very rare today. The Frankenau Purse Gun represents both the endless innovation and impracticality sometimes encountered in Victorian-era concealed carry firearms.
“These interesting self-defense handguns are discussed in “Firearms Curiosa” by Winant and pictured on page 159. The design for this unusual weapon was patented in the U.K. on September 5, 1877, and then the U.S. on November 6, 1877. This revolver appears to be a coin purse at first glance but contains a folding trigger pinfire revolver within with the serial number “602” on the recoil shield on the right, “2” on the back of the cylinder, “602” on the rear of the right blast shield, and a “crown/Z” proof on the left side of the frame at the rear. The trigger folds down and through the bottom of the purse so that the revolver can be fired without opening the purse itself.”
Lot 84: Frankenau’s Patent Concealed Pinfire “Purse” Revolver. (n.d.). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved February 12, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/83/84/frankenaus-patent-concealed-pinfire-purse-revolver.
