Harrington & Richardson (H&R) Model Identification

[JH1951]

I am trying to identify a model name or number for a Harrington & Richardson top-break pistol that I recently picked up. I thought it would be an easy task, but have been striking out on the Internet. I guess I have not yet landed at the right place. They certainly are not well documented like our Smith & Wesson pieces are.
It is:
- a top-break
- 32 S&W Ctge
- five shot
- 3" barrel (just shy)
- nickel finish
- marked: HARRINGTON & RICHARDSON ARMS COMPANY
WORCESTER, MASS, USA PAT OCT. 8, 1895
Any assistance with a positive identification will be greatly appreciated. Pictures are attached. Thanks!

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[fiasconva]

There is a book out there that was written recently on the H&R's. I think the author's name was Goforth. You could google it and find out where to find it. It should answer your question. Good luck.

[CZU]

You could read through here and maybe come up with some sort of ID.

H&R .32 top break revolver | The Firearms Forum - The Buying, Selling or Trading Firearm Forum

[Absalom]

Originally Posted by fiasconva

There is a book out there that was written recently on the H&R's. I think the author's name was Goforth. You could google it and find out where to find it. It should answer your question. Good luck.

That book is indeed the “bible”. Bill Goforth, who also wrote the best book on Iver Johnson, actually passed away about 10 years ago before it was published.

Unfortunately, I don’t have it, and far as I know, it’s out of print and you pay collector prices nowadays. But I think some others here do have a copy and may join in.

The other forum suggestion is worth a try otherwise. They have an “Ask questions about guns” section where these pop up regularly.

[hardknocks]

I have one but not as nice.
Serial number 337XXX
I think 1915 bit not sure.

[nutsforsmiths]

Well, I DO own Mr. Goforth's H&R book. By the markings on the barrel, you have an H&R Premier, 3rd Model. but the serial number falls into the 6th variation of the Premier. According to Bill's book, that is not uncommon, as there seem to be a lot of barrels of that type made and they seem to fall in with a lot of different serial number ranges.

If the serial number is correct to the pistol, then it would have been made between 1916-1924, I'd say around 1921 or so.

Also, the serial number for the barrel is on the underside of the top strap. Remove the cylinder you will be able to see the number there. One last thing, H&R started putting the caliber markings on their pistols around 1908 for use with smokeless powder. Earlier black powder pistols had no caliber markings.

I like H&R 22 revolvers. The nickel one in the middle is a Premier, but not as nice as the one you have!



That looks like an excellent example of the Premier model. Nice find.

[JH1951]

Thank you all for the responses, leads, and identification information!
What a crew! It seems like the answer to almost anything is available within this forum.