Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have the Miller Revolving Pill Lock Rifle. The Miller brothers were real trendsetters with their 1829 patented revolving rifle design. Before Colt came around with his famous revolvers, the Millers crafted a rare breed of repeating firearm in their Rochester, New York workshop. Their secret sauce was a cylinder that had to be manually rotated between shots, not unlike spinning the chamber on a modern six-shooter. To ignite each charge, they used an explosive mercury fulminate pill that got crushed by the firing pin into a shower of sparks. No more than a few hundred of these rifles were ever made.
“James Millar patented this system in 1829, and brothers James and John Millar manufactured them in Rochester, New York, in the 1830s. The surname was later written as Miller. At least 15 gunsmiths ultimately made revolving rifles under the Miller patent into the mid-19th century, but William Billinghurst, who worked with the Millers and is identified as buying out their patent in 1841, produced a significant percentage of the total Miller patent revolving rifles leading them to also be known as Billinghurst revolving rifles. It is estimated that only a few hundred were produced in total. Nonetheless, surviving examples of revolving rifles using the Miller patent show a wide variety, and each is a glimpse into 19th century craftsmanship and design.”
Lot 56: Deluxe J. & J. Miller Revolving Pill Lock Rifle – Incredible Documented Deluxe Engraved, Silver and Gold Mounted J. & J. Miller “Show Piece” Pill Primed Revolving Rifle with “C. Emerson” Inscription as Pictured in “Steel Canvas: The Art of American Firearms” by R. L. Wilson. (n.d.-a). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/86/56/deluxe-j-j-miller-revolving-pill-lock-rifle.
