401 - A very rare and interesting Galand revolver model 1872 "De Guerre"

A very rare and interesting Galand revolver model 1872 "De Guerre" dating: circa 1870 - 1880 provenance: Belgium, Rifled, octagonal barrel, approximately 3.9" (10 cm) long, provided with foresight, marked "C.F.G." (Charles-François Galand) under crown. 11 mm cal. at the nozzle. Smooth, six-shot cylinder, featuring the mark of the Liège test bench and the inspector’s stamp "N" under crown. Working mechanism in both single and double action. Steel frame with manually opening slide. Grip with finely checkered wooden grip scales, provided with a disassembly lever. Lanyard ring. Serial number “3xx”. Some small areas show pitting, particularly on the lanyard ring, the butt-plate and the ejector sleeve. With most of its original blue/black finishing, with small missing parts and some signs of time. This is probably a civilian production version of the rare 1872 "De Guerre" model, which was developed by Galand for the French Army. The Army was seeking a new revolver to issue to its troops following the Franco-Prussian War. The weapon was entered into a competition with several others, including the Chamelot-Delvigne, which was ultimately chosen because it was cheaper. Galand’s revolver had several notable features. Notably, it could be completely dismantled without tools. Starting with the removal of the grip using the dedicated lever, the cylinder could be removed and the panel on the left side of the weapon opened to disassemble all components easily. Our item has the typical features of the first type, lacking a retaining screw on the grip, and was perhaps intended for civilian production.