Available from Morphy’s here:
https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/_A__RARE_WARNER_S_PATENT_OPEN_FRAME_GROOVED_CYLIND-LOT665548.aspx
James Warner was a gunsmith and owner of the Springfield Arms Company. In the 1850s he produced a series of revolving rifle designs which are interesting, but poorly documented. Only a few hundred of each were made (at most) and they appear to have begun as with a design intended to sell when Colt’s patent was supposed to expire. This used a single-action mechanism with an open frame, and had to be changed when Colt was able to extend his patent. A new model followed which was much simpler, probably trying to compete on price since the patented elements remained protected.
This simpler system was manually indexed and used a simpler receiver and side plate design than before. It also eliminated extraneous features like the loading lever. These are all roughly .40 caliber, six-shot guns and usually have 22-23 inch barrels (this example was shortened at some point).
A final change in design took place around 1856 when Warner moved to an enclosed frame design, before moving away from revolving rifle designs entirely. There are a few records of Warner revolver rifles in the Civil War, and these were most likely the latter enclosed frame type.
Video on Warner’s single-shot breechloading carbine from the Civil War:
Having shot a revolving carbine extensively, the problem with them is that it’s like have a large fire cracker go off 4 inches in front of your nose, in an era with no safety classes. They were never going to be popular or compete with lever action rifles.
True, but lever action repeaters only became widely available with the War Between the States. Before that a revolving rifle looked like the go to solution for multiple shots. A poor solution, as you say. But revolving rifle makers were not wilfully stubborn. The better solution, the lever gun, was unknown to most makers
There had been early lever guns like the Volition rifle and Smith-Jennings rifle. These were less than satisfactory and it was not self-evident that lever guns would be a success.
I have to wonder if Barrel #83 in its full length configuration is still out in the world somewhere, stored in some box in an attic, cellar, cupboard, or closet in the same location from where this example was found.
As easy as it is to change the barrel on this gun, and like a modern day AR15 with uppers of different barrel lengths that can be quickly swapped, I can imagine the owner of this gun getting a substitute barrel (#27) to cut it down short as a secondary option, while keeping barrel #83 it’s original full length. So he has one barrel as a home defense or stage-coach weapon, and one for shooting longer range when wanted.
Having a single firearm with quick-change barrel length options certainly is a feature that would be prized regardless of the time-period, just as it is today.
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