Anyone know anything about these "parlor" rifles?? History, Value etc.?





The proof marks:















Is this .32 short rimfire?

Best,
Charles

That style of breech is known as the Warrented Style, also nicknamed the Trapdoor for is vague similarity to the Springfield.

The other common style is a Rolling Block style.

Most you run into are Belgian mfg though the origins are French design.
I've seen German and Austrian marked ones too.
Usually made in Parlor or Saloon gun styles for indoor shooting,,Shooting for Drinks was common!
22CB cap and other low pressure cals are the norm. 32RF smoothbore and rifled is common too. Check the face of the breech and you can quickly see if the firing pin is set up for a RF or CF cartridge.

I think I can see Belgian proofs on yours.
Most are very plain guns though some get very ornate w/ DSTriggers, very high grade Euro Walnut stocks, carving & checkering, fancy sights, engraving, ect.
A friend just sold a German proofed/ mfg double SxS Flobert with the Warrented action. Right bbl was 9mmRF shot, left .22rf. The Left bbl trigger was a single set trigger to boot.

These still don't get much attention though it does seem to be changing. That SxS sold quickly, and the more fancy ones will gain respect and $$.
The pistols generally have the more compact rollingblock type action on them and they sell better and for more $$ than the rifles. Many of the pistols are more ornate than the rifles too.

The plain, well used long guns still seem to languish at shows and shops in the $100 +/- range from what I've seen.
Your is in much better condition than most I see,,most look like they just came in from the barn after 80yrs of holding the door closed.

They draw attention and questions from people at shows when they are out on a table but usually little interest to buy.

This had been in a LGS for many months with a lot of lookers and no takers very similar to your description of the reaction to them at gun shows. The clerk was considering it for himself too. But, he said he just couldn't "pull the trigger " for some reason. A lot of folks ( including me!) had handled it.
He seemed genuinely happy that I was removing his temptation!! I remember when I first saw it, he actually called me off to side to show it to me saying " I'll bet you have never seen one of these ". I should have known I was eventually going to own it then!!



$275 plus tax after a little haggling. Not the best negotiation I have ever done..... but I really like it! It is very elegant and refined! I may have to settle for just hanging it in my den and not shooting it there like it was originally intended.

I just finished reading a biography of Guy Bradley, the Audubon warden killed near Flamingo in the early 1900's. He was enforcing the new laws against killing plume birds. The Flobert was mentioned several times as being a favorite of the plume hunters; they were quiet and easy to shoot.
Regards,
turnerriver

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turnerriver

Are you sure it's in .32 RF?? Here's one I have in 9mm RF Shot. One of the neat things about it is the Straight rifled barrel!






Only the .22 CB and BB cap guns were called Parlor Guns. The larger .32 and 9mm shot were "Garden Guns" and used for varmint control. (The 9MM RF Shot is still loaded by Fiocchi and isn't even very expensive.)

__________________
Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

There is a member of our local Legion who has similar if not the
same rifle. Was passed down through family, origins unknown.
His father had the gun converted to fire 32 Colt, short I think.
Marlin made a lever gun that had firing pin for RF or CF, in 32.
The Colt had a heel type bullet making it same as RF chamber.
Have never seen gun fired but they claim they shoot squirrels
with it.

I think you will find that your Flobert is in 9mm Long RF. (.32 RF will be too small)
Does it have a smoothbore or rifled barrel? If it's smooth bore or straight rifled it should handle either shot or ball. Regular spiral rifling will not work well with shot. (AFAIK, only shot cartridges are currently available for these guns......)

BTW, it's called a Warnant Breech.

__________________
Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

Matter of fact, I have one, and know nothing at all about it. Other than it's been mine for over fifty years....
and we established, through the proof marks, that it was made --as I recall-in Germany. It's rimfire .22

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Halfway and one more step

Quite possible. They were made Belgium, France, Germany and who knows where else, around the turn of the century. The majority were Belgian.

__________________
Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

The action is properly called a WARNANT type, which is a stronger improvement on the Flobert. On the original, the mainspring was the only thing keeping the breechblock forward upon firing. It was not strong enough, I found out, to hold the action closed when firing 22LR in a gun designed for shorts or BB caps.
I have been tempted to buy one of the Flobert muskets, which seem to have been made only in the .32 caliber (8mm?) rimfire.
I love that trigger guard design, which is common on that type rifle and pistol.

Bob

I had an identical one.Caliber was 32 RF.
Low cost import of its era.Interesting to note that while these were offered in the Sears catalog,a notation was added for the potential buyer to buy a good gun,meaning something else.
Mine had a worn sear and bad bore.Too dangerous to use,though I snapped off a few rounds(as a kid,50 years ago) Sold it a few decades ago at yard sale,as a cheap wallhanger.

I started a thread awhile back regarding this pistol I had acquired which turned out to be French and in 9mm rimfire. It functions perfectly so I will get some ammo for it and have at it!
Jim



As you can see the lever underneath unlocks the barrel allowing it to slide forward for loaading. IMO An ingenious design!

The French seemed to like sliding the barrel forward to load (see Darne shotguns). Here is another pistol similar to Italiansports', also French (Galand), but in .44 Russian:


Bob

Well........not quite. The Darne barrel is stationary and the breech slides to the rear. This is a Charlin, but operates like the Darne. Very pretty pistol, by the way.

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