POTD: Eben T. Starr Derringer – The Pocket Gun That Nearly Wasn’t
Sam.S 07.07.25
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! This Eben T. Starr derringer represents one of the rarest pocket pistols of the Civil War era, with only an estimated 800 manufactured from 1864 to 1869. What makes this .41 rimfire derringer historically significant is its place in the Starr Arms Company’s desperate attempt to survive the end of the Civil War. Eben T. Starr’s company had been a major Civil War contractor, cranking out 47,952 revolvers for the Union Army. But by 1864, with the war winding down, Starr needed new products for the civilian market. His derringer was a radical departure from the company’s military focus—a tiny pocket pistol for post-war self-defense.
The design featured a tip-up barrel with thumb-activated cartridge ejector and a button trigger, with checkered walnut grips and a silver-plated brass frame. The left side plate bears Starr’s patent date of May 10, 1864, marking this as one of his final firearm innovations. What killed this derringer wasn’t poor design but timing and economics. The post-war market was flooded with surplus military weapons selling at rock-bottom prices. Starr’s expensive, precision-made pocket pistol couldn’t compete with cheap surplus or established competitors like Remington’s successful over-under derringer.
The civilian market wanted bargains, not quality. Why pay premium prices for a new Starr derringer when you could buy a surplus Army Colt for half the money? Starr’s manufacturing costs reflected military contract standards—tight tolerances, quality materials, hand-fitting. Great for government contracts, terrible for price-conscious civilians. The Starr Arms Company folded around 1869, making these derringers among the last products of a once-prominent firearms manufacturer. The company’s brief transition from military contractor to civilian manufacturer ended in failure, leaving behind only 800 of these elegant pocket pistols as evidence of their attempt to adapt to peacetime markets. This derringer represents the harsh economic reality facing Civil War firearms manufacturers—adapt or disappear. Starr chose poorly and vanished.
“Scarce Eben T. Starr Single Shot Derringer.” Rock Island Auction Company, https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/5012/71/scarce-eben-t-starr-single-shot-derringer. Accessed 23 June 2025.
