POTD: Before the MC1 – Mossberg O F & Sons Inc Brownie Pistol 22
Sam.S 03.14.22
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have an early Mossberg firearm in the form of the Brownie pistol. These little guys came onto the scene in 1920, but were patented by Oscar Mossberg in 1919. Oscar Mossberg at this point was in his 50s and already had a life rich in firearm-related adventures with other manufacturers. For example, he worked for the Marlin company before it was actually Marlin! In a way, this pistol had a life before it was a Mossberg branded gun. Oscar Mossberg had actually licensed a similar design with the same operating mechanism to the Shattuck Company who produced the squeeze-firing Unique Pistol. Operating with a top break rotating firing pin action the Brownie was marketed for self-defense, trappers, and retailed for around $5. Interestingly enough the Brownie does not use a built-in extractor/ejector, but relies on a separate piece to act as an ejecting rod. This piece is a long flat piece of metal that is cleverly stored in the top of the frame pointing downward into the grip (you can see the top of it above the word “Brownie”). This gun’s interesting name is believed to be a marketing thing in an attempt to gain some consumers from the recognition of Browning’s Baby Browning Pistol.
Lot 393: Mossberg O F & Sons Inc Brownie Pistol 22. (n.d.). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved March 14, 2022, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/2010/393/mossberg-o-f-sons-inc-brownie-pistol-22.
