Jarre Harmonica Pistol
Jarre & Cie · Pistol · Discontinued · 1862
Also known as: Harmonica Pistol, Jarre Harmonica Gun, Jarre Patent Harmonica Pistol, A. Jarre Pinfire Harmonica Pistol, Jarre Breech-Bar Pistol
Overview
The Jarre Harmonica Pistol is a mid-19th-century French repeating pinfire pistol built around a removable horizontal steel bar of chambers, made in six- and ten-shot forms, that indexes across a fixed barrel as the gun is worked. The breech bar is preloaded with pinfire cartridges, held by a spring-retained catch, and pushed from chamber to chamber left-to-right by an arm linked to the trigger. The action is a combined single/double-action arrangement, comparable to the Adams or Starr revolvers: a cocking lever through the trigger guard can thumb-cock the hammer, or the shooter can fire straight through in double action. Made in Paris by Alphonse Jarre, chiefly in 7mm pinfire, the gun took its name from the cartridge bar that slides sideways like the mouthpiece of a harmonica. An ingenious sliding hinge let the protruding barrel group fold in front of the frame for carry, reducing the width to well under an inch. Patented in France and the United States between 1859 and 1862, the breech-bar system was offered for pistols, rifles and even cannon, but was rendered obsolete within a decade by self-contained centrefire revolvers.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 450 g (15.9 oz) |
| Overall Length | 178 mm (7.01") |
| Barrel Length | 70 mm (2.76") |
| Action Type | Double Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Double Action |
| Trigger Type | Double Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 10 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Internal |
| Muzzle Velocity | 229 m/s (751 fps) |
| Effective Range | 10 m (11 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 7mm Pinfire · primary — also known as 7mm Lefaucheux, 7mm broche
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Sliding Chamber Block
- Features: Sliding Chamber Block, Pinfire, Repeating, Spring Advanced Block, Self Cocking, Ring Trigger, Folding Carry Mode
Production
Production years: 1859-1873
Civilian/commercial pinfire pistol patented 1859-1862; rare, no documented production total. Examples have appeared at Rock Island Auction, Bonhams and Sotheby's, one ten-shot serial no.36 dated circa 1873.
Origin
Country of origin: France
Designer: Alphonse Jarre
Notes
Inventor Alphonse Jarre of Paris (28 boulevard Poissonnière), recorded on guns and in catalogues as A. Jarre and J. Jarre. Auction and reference sources consistently give 7mm pinfire as the principal chambering; six- and ten-shot bars are the documented forms. Barrel is round with an octagonal base, roughly 2.75 in (about 70mm). The muzzle velocity (~229 m/s / 750 ft/s) rests on a single secondary source and is approximate. Dimensions vary by example. Closely related to the entry 'Jarre Harmonica Gun'.
Background
The horizontal cartridge bar slides across the barrel like the mouthpiece of a harmonica being played, which is exactly how the gun earned its name. Alphonse Jarre's 'breech-bar' system promised a real jump in firepower for the early 1860s, six or ten shots on hand where most pinfire arms managed five or six, and the bar could even be folded across the frame for carry. Jonathan Browning, father of John Moses Browning, had independently built American slide-bar harmonica long guns a generation earlier, tying this oddball French repeater to one of the most famous names in firearms history. A ten-shot example sold at Rock Island Auction for around 16,100 USD.