Cap and ball conversion to cartridge?

While White was working for Colt he came up with his idea and created a couple of crude patent models. His models actually featured a bizarre loading feature, the bored through chambers was almost an afterthought.

White brought his models to Colt but Colt passed on the idea.

So White patented it himself. The patent was granted on April 3, 1855.

In 1856 Daniel Wesson was designing his new, tiny 22 rimfire Tip Up revolver. It was a revolutionary design, all the revolvers made up to then were percussion revolvers. Wesson's design utilized chambers bored through the cylinder so cartridges could be loaded from the rear. He investigated the patentability of his new revolver and discovered White's patent, which covered the bored through chambers.

Wesson wrote to White on October 31, 1856 and suggested they meet. White replied on November 3, 1856 indicating he would be happy to meet with Wesson. They met on November 17, 1856.

Wesson wanted to buy the rights to the patent outright, but White did not want to sell. Instead, the agreement they signed stated that White gave Smith and Wesson exclusive rights to manufacture revolvers with bored through cylinders and S&W would pay White a royalty of $0.25 for every revolver they made. White gave up the right to make revolvers under his own patent.

Wesson also insisted that White would have to defend the patent against all patent infringements. He had learned a hard lesson while working for his brother Edwin how difficult it could be to defend a patent against patent infringements. This clause eventually proved to be very expensive for White.
 
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Good stuff gentlemen! Thanks to all who have contributed to our knowledge of this era and its revolvers.

Dave
 
I just recently sold a Colt , one of the remakes that was converted to 22rf. Gun was in mint shape. Shot it a box. There was no ejector, had to poke them out with stick. There was a loading gate installed.
 
Driftwood Johnson said:
This is a screen shot of Clint reloading his 1858 Remington with a fresh cylinder loaded with cartridges in Pale Rider.

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The prop guys converted a Cap & Ball 1858 to accept cylinders for cartridges. It may have only been capable of shooting blanks, I don't really know.
Click to expand...

http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Pale_Rider
 
Interesting read.

BTW Prof Young, I was in Elk City just 43 years ago. Was in the “neighborhood” visiting my Great Aunt who lived in Kamiah. It’s beautiful country out there.
 
I have a 1970s "Legal Defender" Conversion. It was sold with easy reading between the lines for the purpose of assembling a .38 S&W (Yes, .38 S&W, much more available than .38 Colt in the pre-CAS era.) from a non-GCA 68 cap and ball in repressive jurisdictions.

It is a simplified Richards type without gate or ejector.
Accuracy was nil, even loading HBWC in an attempt to engage the Uberti 1851 rifling. So I caught my gunsmith in an experimental mood and he lined the barrel to .358".
 
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