Devisme Model 1859
- Category
- Revolver
- Barrel
- 150 mm
- Weight, empty
- 890 g
- Introduced
- 1859
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Devisme Model 1859 is a six-shot, single-action central-percussion revolver built by the celebrated Parisian gunmaker Devisme. It fires an 11mm ball from a 150mm rifled barrel and uses a distinctive barrel-and-cylinder assembly that swivels downward for loading, retained by a leaf spring. Roughly 890 grams and 310mm overall, it was offered in plain service form and as a lavishly gold-inlaid presentation grade, and examples saw use in the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 before self-contained metallic cartridges rendered the design obsolete.
Louis-Francois Devisme ran an acclaimed Paris workshop whose arms were prized by European royalty; his central-percussion Model 1859 could be had in a gold-incrusted presentation grade, yet the whole line was overtaken within a decade by self-contained cartridge revolvers.
Documented in both a plain 11mm service configuration (890g, 310mm overall, 150mm barrel) and a 9mm gold-inlaid luxury grade. A transitional central-percussion design bridging the percussion-cap and metallic-cartridge eras; specifications derive primarily from a single French collector reference.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Devisme
- Category
- Revolver
- Country
- France
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1859 to 1870
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 150 mm
- Overall length
- 310 mm
- Weight, empty
- 890 g
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
- Engraved
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 percussion
Six shot cylinder
Rifled barrel- Tip down barrel cylinder unit
- Leaf spring cylinder retention
Engraved frame- Gold inlaid luxury variant
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 | 890 g | 1.25 kg | Among the lightest tenth |
| Overall lengthAmong 37 .44 Caliber Percussion revolvers | 310 mm | 349 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 37 .44 Caliber Percussion revolvers | 150 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 1859
How much does the Devisme Model 1859 weigh?
The Devisme Model 1859 weighs 890 g (1.96 lb) empty. It is the 1st lightest of 37 .44 Caliber Percussion revolvers in the catalogue.
What caliber is the Devisme Model 1859?
The Devisme Model 1859 is chambered in .44 Caliber Percussion.
How many rounds does the Devisme Model 1859 hold?
The Devisme Model 1859 holds 6 rounds, fed from a revolving cylinder.
How long is the Devisme Model 1859?
The Devisme Model 1859 is 310 mm (12.2 in) long overall, with a 150 mm (5.91 in) barrel.
Who makes the Devisme Model 1859?
The Devisme Model 1859 is made by Devisme (France). It was designed by Jean-Louis Francois Devisme.
When was the Devisme Model 1859 introduced?
The Devisme Model 1859 was introduced in 1859 and discontinued in 1870.
How does the Devisme Model 1859 operate?
The Devisme Model 1859 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
62%
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-1859' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "devisme-model-1859", "name": "Devisme Model 1859", "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": 1859, "barrel_length_mm": 150, "weight_empty_g": 890, "action_type": "single_action_revolver"}