#shattuck unique

[historicalfirearms]

Mossberg Brownie

The Brownie is one of a number of pistols designed by Mossberg’s founder, Oscar Mossberg. He patented the genesis of the Brownie in 1905, and licensed the design out to the Shattuck Company. Shattuck produced the small 4-barrelled palm pistol as the ‘Unique’ from 1905 until 1915.

After the First World War, Oscar and his sons, Harold and Iver, set up their company. The first product they offered was not as you might expect a shotgun, instead it was a small .22 calibre derringer-style pocket pistol, the Brownie. The Brownie evolved from Oscar’s earlier pocket pistol design, he patented the new pistol in August 1919, introducing it in 1920. The Brownie was named after then-popular small, impish cartoon characters called ‘the Brownies’, popularised by Canadian author Pamela Cox, the Kodak’s iconic small camera, the Kodak Brownie camera was also named after the characters. 

Mossberg’s small pocket pistol proved popular, costing around $5, and marketed as “protection at a trifling sum” by contemporary adverts. The gun was also aimed at trappers as a handy tool as well as a defensive weapon that could be “easily concealed in the palm.”

Contemporary advert for the Brownie dating from the 1920s (source)

The Brownie weighed just 10 ounces and was 4.5 inches long overall. It had a number of interesting features, including a hinged barrel assembly with four 2.5 inch rifled barrels and an action that locked by a pivoting latch on top of the pistol. The pistol lacked a built-in extractor, instead it came with a small, flat ejector rod that slipped into the side of the receiver. Easily lost and not ideal for rapid reloads. The Brownie came with black walnut grip panels and either a blued or nickle finish.

The Brownie had a double action trigger that fired one barrel with each pull. The hammer striking a rotating firing pin to fire the barrels in succession with each pull. Most of the pistols are marked with Mossberg’s 1920 patent date but some earlier examples, like the one pictured above are marked ‘PAT. APPL’D. FOR’.

Mossberg manufactured the Brownie well into the 1930s and produced just over 30,000. While not a runaway success the little pocket pistol was successful enough to keep Mossberg and his sons in business and add a series of shotguns, target rifles and bolt-action hunting rifles to their line. 100 years on Mossberg have returned to the pistol market, sadly but understandably their new pistol hasn’t reprised the Brownie name.

Sources: 

Images: 1 2 3 4

‘Firearm’, O.F. Mossberg, 27 July, 1920, US Patent #1348035 (source)

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[historicalfirearms]

The Shattuck Unique

The Unique is a late example of the concealable pocket and palm pistols which had become popular in the 19th century. Produced by the Shattuck company of Hattfield, Massachusetts, the Unique was essentially a four shot palm derringer. 

Notably, it was actually designed by Oscar F. Mossberg, later founder of O.F. Mossberg and Sons. He patented the genesis of the gun in 1905, and licensed the design to the Shattuck Company, for whom he worked at the time. The pistol has a double action only trigger with a hinged barrel assembly with a latch at the 12 o’clock position on top of the pistol. 

The weapon was designed specifically for pocket carry with Mossberg’s patent even explaining that “the arm may be fired while held in the pocket, there being no parts extending beyond the frame to interfere with this operation.” 

Mossberg’s 1905 patent, not the trigger at the bottom of the gun marked ‘c’ (source)

The Unique’s ergonomics are particularly interesting with its trigger comprising of a large block on the underside of the pistol which was pulled up, so the firearms had to be held in a horizontal rather than vertical fashion. There is no mechanical means of extraction. 

The Unique was in production from 1907 to 1915 and was offered in .22, .30 and .32 calibre chamberings, all had a Nickel finish. Interestingly, all of the production Uniques have C.S. Shattuck’s name misspelled, missing a ‘t’. The example pictured above is the larger .32 example. Oscar Mossberg would eventually leave Shattuck and in 1919 established his own company Mossberg & Sons and initially sold another pocket pistol, the Mossberg Brownie.

Sources:

Images: 1 2 3.

‘Pistol’, O.F. Mossberg, US Patent #837867, 20/04/1905, (source)

C.S. Shattuck, Unique Palm Pistol, Littlegun.be, (source)

Shattuck Unique, Forgotten Weapons, (source)

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