POTD: Marius Berger Magazine Pistol – The French Frankenstein

   06.18.25

POTD: Marius Berger Magazine Pistol – The French Frankenstein

Welcome to today’s Photo of the DayThis weird French pistol from the 1880s looks like someone grabbed spare parts from three different guns and mashed them together in a workshop fever dream. Marius Berger’s creation steals the magazine tube idea from Volcanic pistols, borrows a Remington-Rider elevator system, and tosses in Rolling Block hammer mechanics because why not. The loading system is pure mechanical insanity. Berger ditched simple magazines for a rotating plunger that cracks open the entire side of the gun. The left side plate swings open like a cabinet door, exposing the mechanical nightmare inside—gears, springs, and levers that somehow function when you yank the ring trigger.

This pistol matters because of when it showed up. The 1880s were peak “throw everything at the wall and see what sticks” time for gun inventors. Most ideas crashed and burned. Berger’s design crammed too many complex systems together to compete with the simpler, more reliable guns flooding the market. The mixed finishes—blued barrel, nickel magazine tube, casehardened frame—tell you Berger cared more about making it work than making it pretty. The tall blade front sight and St. Etienne proofmarks confirm French manufacture during the era when that city was cranking out firearms experiments left and right. The custom book-style case makes this whole package even stranger. Disguised as a Swedish encyclopedia, it shows how 19th century gun owners hid their hardware in everyday objects for sneaky transport.

This pistol is mechanical ambition gone wild—a fascinating dead end that shows why simple designs eventually crushed the competition. Sometimes the coolest engineering is also the most impractical.

Marius Berger

“Marius Berger Double Action Magazine Pistol.” Rock Island Auction Company, https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4094/3486/marius-berger-double-action-magazine-pistol. Accessed 17 June 2025.

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Writer | TheFirearmBlog Writer | AllOutdoor.com Instagram | sfsgunsmith Old soul, certified gunsmith, published author, avid firearm history learner, and appreciator of old and unique guns.