'Commercal' 1892 Lebel revolver?

[Anzac15]

Have been after one of these for some time. As it turns out, this may be a 'commercial' variation. There is not ONE serial number on this revolver. Top of frame reads ' J. NORY AROr PARIS' then '101 R. ST. LAZARE'. Worn finish, but in good shape. One groove in the cylinder reads 'St. Etienne' with what appears to be an 'eagle', but can never remember an eagle being a part of St Etienne. Anyway, have a look!

Information

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[Anzac15]

Update...found a serial number on underside of barrel and front of cylinder. '4903'. Thats it. Its an unusual one.

[jmoore]

How about the inside?

[Anzac15]

Nothing at all on the inside..this example doesnt even completely match up with photos of this revolver Ive been lookng at. This one doesnt have screws where others do. And I can find no reference to 'J Nory Paris' or ' 101 R St Lazare'.

[jmoore]

Some comparison photos:






.

[Patrick Chadwick]

And I can find no reference to 'J Nory Paris' or ' 101 R St Lazare'.

Are you sure about Nory? And not maybe J. N. Ory? How about a photo of the markings? All of them !!!

I suspect this may be a Belgian copy.
Anyway, it looks like a mixmaster, so I would be reluctant to identify it on the basis of one component.

(There was indeed a Belgian gunmaker named Ory)

[Colonel Enfield]

101 R St Lazare is a street address in Paris - 101 Rue Saint-Lazare (St Lazarus Street), which would appear to be a few doors up from the Concorde Opera Paris Hotel (at 108 Rue St Lazare).

I'm afraid I can't help with you with the J N Ory (or J Nory) inscription, though. Might have been a Gentleman's Outfitter of some kind, perhaps? It seems like it was (and is) a fairly well-heeled part of Paris.

[Anzac15]

More pics. You can see 'St Etienne' on the cylinder, and where the barrel fits into the frame..have to look hard, theres some pitting. Also, top of the frame markings....'J NORY AROr PARIS' and '101 R ST LAZARE'.

[Anzac15]

Ok......another update. Opened the revolver up, and it is indeed numbered inside. This is an all matcher. '4903' everywhere. No prefix. Even the wood grips match. No proofmarks of any kind. I've never seen one like this!

[jmoore]

So no barrel markings? Usually a date on one of the upper flats.