#deringer

The Shattuck Unique

The Unique is a late example of the concealable pocket and palm pistols which had become popular in the 19th century. Produced by the Shattuck company of Hattfield, Massachusetts, the Unique was essentially a four shot palm derringer. 

Notably, it was actually designed by Oscar F. Mossberg, later founder of O.F. Mossberg and Sons. He patented the genesis of the gun in 1905, and licensed the design to the Shattuck Company, for whom he worked at the time. The pistol has a double action only trigger with a hinged barrel assembly with a latch at the 12 o’clock position on top of the pistol. 

The weapon was designed specifically for pocket carry with Mossberg’s patent even explaining that “the arm may be fired while held in the pocket, there being no parts extending beyond the frame to interfere with this operation.” 

Mossberg’s 1905 patent, not the trigger at the bottom of the gun marked ‘c’ (source)

The Unique’s ergonomics are particularly interesting with its trigger comprising of a large block on the underside of the pistol which was pulled up, so the firearms had to be held in a horizontal rather than vertical fashion. There is no mechanical means of extraction. 

The Unique was in production from 1907 to 1915 and was offered in .22, .30 and .32 calibre chamberings, all had a Nickel finish. Interestingly, all of the production Uniques have C.S. Shattuck’s name misspelled, missing a ‘t’. The example pictured above is the larger .32 example. Oscar Mossberg would eventually leave Shattuck and in 1919 established his own company Mossberg & Sons and initially sold another pocket pistol, the Mossberg Brownie.

Sources:

Images: 1 2 3.

‘Pistol’, O.F. Mossberg, US Patent #837867, 20/04/1905, (source)

C.S. Shattuck, Unique Palm Pistol, Littlegun.be, (source)

Shattuck Unique, Forgotten Weapons, (source)