Devisme Model 1855
- Category
- Revolver
- Barrel
- 153 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.01 kg
- Introduced
- 1855
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Devisme Model 1855 is a six-shot, single-action percussion revolver built by the celebrated Parisian gunmaker Devisme, based on a Belgian patent filed in November 1854. It fires a 10.8mm ogival ball from a 153mm rifled barrel cut with eight right-hand grooves, and uses a distinctive centrally-mounted (decentered) internal hammer that lowered the bore axis for improved pointing. Elegantly finished with vine-pattern engraving over a nickelled body and marked 'Devisme a Paris', the revolver had to be broken down into its handle, barrel, cylinder and rammer for loading, an impractical arrangement that was quickly rendered obsolete by the arrival of self-contained centre-fire cartridges.
Louis-Francois (Jean-Louis Francois) Devisme (1806-1873) ran an acclaimed Paris workshop whose arms were prized by European royalty; his central-hammer 1855 revolver lowered the bore line for better handling but required the gun to be taken apart in four pieces to reload, and the innovation was overtaken within a year by cartridge revolvers.
Datable to roughly 1855-1858. Barrel signed 'Devisme a Paris' with an FD-crowned oval mark and the patent notation 'Devisme Bte 1177'. A transitional design bridging the percussion cap and metallic-cartridge eras; some manufacture is believed to have been carried out in Belgium. Overall length 320mm, weight about 1010g.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Devisme
- Category
- Revolver
- Country
- France
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1855 to 1860
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 153 mm
- Overall length
- 320 mm
- Weight, empty
- 1.01 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Single action revolver
- Firing mechanism
- Percussion
- Trigger
- Single action
- Capacity
- 6
- Magazine
- Revolving cylinder
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Nickel
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Effective range
- 25 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Central hammer
Six shot cylinder
Rifled barrel
Vine pattern engraving
Nickel plated finish- Disassembles for loading
Cap and ball
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 37 .44 Caliber Percussion revolvers | 1.01 kg | 1.25 kg | Lighter than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 37 .44 Caliber Percussion revolvers | 320 mm | 349 mm | Shorter than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 37 .44 Caliber Percussion revolvers | 153 mm | 191 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 37 .44 Caliber Percussion revolvers | 6 | 6 | Holds more rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the Devisme Model 1855
How much does the Devisme Model 1855 weigh?
The Devisme Model 1855 weighs 1.01 kg (2.23 lb) empty. It is the 3rd lightest of 37 .44 Caliber Percussion revolvers in the catalogue.
What caliber is the Devisme Model 1855?
The Devisme Model 1855 is chambered in .44 Caliber Percussion.
How many rounds does the Devisme Model 1855 hold?
The Devisme Model 1855 holds 6 rounds, fed from a revolving cylinder.
How long is the Devisme Model 1855?
The Devisme Model 1855 is 320 mm (12.6 in) long overall, with a 153 mm (6.02 in) barrel.
Who makes the Devisme Model 1855?
The Devisme Model 1855 is made by Devisme (France). It was designed by Jean-Louis Francois Devisme.
When was the Devisme Model 1855 introduced?
The Devisme Model 1855 was introduced in 1855 and discontinued in 1860.
How does the Devisme Model 1855 operate?
The Devisme Model 1855 uses a single action, and its firing mechanism is percussion.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
72%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/devisme-model-1855' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "devisme-model-1855", "name": "Devisme Model 1855", "manufacturer": { "id": "devisme", "name": "Devisme", "countryCode": "FR", "foundedYear": 1834, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-07-19 22:59:14", "updatedAt": "2026-07-19 22:59:14", "version": "49442e154e51719d154c3603af8ae3d9f55e2d8391a2fd2318f02eaa8f37281f" }, "category": { "id": "revolver", "name": "Revolver", "description": "Handguns with a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers" }, "country_of_origin": "FR", "year_introduced": 1855, "barrel_length_mm": 153, "weight_empty_g": 1010, "action_type": "single_action_revolver"}