Mr Oury designed the 'novo' pistol which was then manufactured in several countries by several manufacturers. It was a true pocket pistol, and perhaps an inspiration for the modern NAA folding handle pistol. The patent presents the following information:

The handle pivots and locks in place in the shooting position when the handle is extended. To close the gun, depressing a small button on top of the receiver releases the handle lock enabling the handle to be folded under the receiver.

I will present several 'novo' pistols with this one sold in Liege by Ancion Marx.

As you can see, it follows a Galand pattern of revolver dismantling

The novo pistol appeared in various finishes and degree of decoration

This next pistol bearing an Oury trademark seem to be exactly like one bearing a Galand trademark. Oury and Galand seem to have inspired each other quite a bit. The Oury design above was copied by Galand a few years after Oury's pocket pistol appeared. Oury introduced yet a third variation of the Novo.

This same pistol, with an engraved receiver, was also sold as Le Novo

If Oury and Galand traded designs with each putting his own trademark of the Novo in production, the same was true of the pistol below which was Oury's version of Galand's TOU-TOU velodog revolver.

Manufacture Liegeoise d'Armes a Feu

Once again we can see in the following photographs how varied in shape velo dog pistols could be. Whether by company design or inclination on the part of individual artisans, receiver shapes could vary enormously, as might grips. Cylinders, triggers, retraction devices were fairly uniform.

This next ML gun has Pfund Revolver engraved across the receiver top strap. It was probably sold in Germany or elsewhere German was spoken and sold for 1 pound.

note the flat headed hammer on the pistol below.

 

 

    

Henrion, Dassy & Heuchen, HDH

This was another large company parenting several very original designs, such as this 20 shot velo dog revolver pictured in that company's catalogue. As you can see, the same design could shoot 20 velodogs mistaking 6.5 for 5.5mm, or, differently barreled and with a different cylinder, could hand 16 .32 center fire cartridges. The design of this gun is a great departure from other velo dog designs in having a break open receiver and a system of automatic shell extraction. This illustration comes courtesy of littlegun.be.

Another Bossu style velo dog. This one was called a Lincoln-bossu, a the name for a hunchback, or bossu, revolver chambered for .22 short cartridges. The logic escapes me but, contemporaries understood the nomenclature, I suppose.

 

 

   

    

Leopold Ancion Marx

Ancion Marx was a huge marketting firm comprising the manufactures of of several Marx brothers and relatives at different time, sometimes working together and often not. The following two illustrations from Ancion Marks catalogues, come courtesy of Alain at littlegun. com. The first exhibits some of their velo dog revolvers. The second, however, presents some of their very similar pistols in other calibers, including 6,35 and .320.

You should note the different hammer arrangements, including two hammerless [or enclosed hammer really] while two others have exhibited hammers but of two different styles; one a flat button with the other more conventional. These guns also exhibit different styles of grips. As I have noted earlier, one wonders if these differences were by design or whether these four guns simply dame from different workshops before receiving the triangular LAM trademark.

In this second illustration, also courtesy of littlegun. be, we see how the same designs were used to house both larger and smaller calibers.

Here again we notice different style guns, probably originating from different workshops.

Giovanni Zanardo

The Zanardo name and mark appears on several guns made in Liege. Yet, the name does not appear in the Liege registry of gun makers.

Pirlot & Fresart? or Pirlot & Fils

This pretty little 6,35 revolver with bone grips has full Liege proof marks with the trademark PF in a diamond. It is possible this is the trademark of the Liege gun maker Pirlot & Fresart??

SYNDICAT LIEGEOIS POUR LA FABRICATION DES ARMES DE GUERRE

at Herstal, consisting of Jules ANCION & Co, DRESSE - LALOUX & Co, Auguste FRANCOTTE and PIRLOT & FRESART.

Antoine Masereel

Jules Piret

Mr. Piret enjoyed a very rare destinction. not only did he furnish arms for the Belgian state run Congo State in Africa, but his velodogs were also sold in Budapest by the gun retailer, Zubek es Tarsa in Budapest, Hungary.

H. Sauveur

I do not know whether Mr. Sauvour actually manufactured velodog revolvers or whether he was a retailer of many small self defense pistols.

Ed Schroeder

I do not know whether Mr Schroeder manufactured velodogs or simply sold them at his retail establishment. The velodog pictured here, at the bottom of the advertisement, has the Ancion trademark. But Ancion was a Liege retailer as well.

Henri Pieper

Henri Pieper was a prolific gun Belgian designer with scores of patents registered in his name. Yet only one velo dog bears his name perhaps because he died in 1898. His trade mark, marely visible here, was a crown over the letter P in a circle. 

  

  

    

Franken & Lunenschloss

This small handgun, in 6.35, is the only known pistol of its type from this Liege manufacturer. F&L also maintained a manufacturing facility in Cologne, Germany for rifles. The company trademark are crossed swords with the initials F and L on each side. 

  

   

Beuret Freres ?

  

  

                                    

                                 France

Charles Francois Galand

Manufacture francais d'Armes

A. Gobin

Phuet, Lille

J. Lefebvre, Paris

L. Chobert, Paris

Charles Francois Galand

Galand of Paris, France, is credited with over 150 design patents, the velodog among them. His primary model, the first two guns, in silver and black, with his signature cylinder tear down. The next three pictures represent a departure, to a swing out cylinder design which was easier to use. Finally, Galand's own version of the Novo folding grip pistol. Galand also maintained a workshop and manufacturing assembly plant in Liege.

---

---

Galand also made a novo style pistol, copying that of Oury from Liege.

Manufacture francaise d' Armes

Despite the obvious maker's mark indicating French manufacture, the proof marks on the barrel beneath the company name indicate that this gun was made in Liege, and the barrel and components were tested in Liege but sent abroad for sale. This was quite common as retailers in foreign countries often bought Liege products for sale abroad.

A. Gobin

This next gun was made in Liege and looks identical to a gun listed above bearing the trade mark of Manufacture Liegeois d' Armes a feu. The name A. Gobin appears on the top strap, along with a Paris address which leads me to believe Mr. Gobin was a retailer of Belgian guns.

Phuet, Lille

I believe Mr. Phuet [ or P. Huet?] of Lille France, was a retailer of this next small pistol. The gun has no trademarks or French proof marks though the rear face of the cylinder indicates Liege proof marks. The name Phuet and Lille are engraved on the sides of the barrel.

                              

                                J. Lefebvre

The name J.Lefebvre from rue St. Lazare in Paris, stamped on this next pistol's top strap indicates the name of the Paris retailer. The gun itself bears standard Liege stamps indicating it was made in Belgium, but bears no company trademark. As such, we do not know who made it but we know who sold it. In design it is a standard 6,35 Bossu hunchback. 

  

  

  

L. Chobert, Paris

This next pistol, marked L. Chobert, like the one above, would seem to be marked with the vendor's name rather than its manufacturer. It displays several hall marks of French manufacture, however, such as the round hammer. Moreover, it lacks Belgian markings on the receiver nor the cylinder. It is nicely made, though it lacks a safety.   

  

  

French Advertisements

                        French Unknown

This pistol is unique in having a very different style grip. Unfortunately, its manufacturer is unknown, though the lower receiver is marked EF.

  

  

                                   

                                     Spain

Arizmendi y Goenaga

Francisco Arizmendi

Arizmendi Exports

Garat, Antua y Cie

Retolaza Hermanos

Ojanguren y Vidosa

Antonio Errasti

Salvatore Arostagui

Juan Jose Larranaga

Felix Gabilondo

Crucelegui Hermanos 

While velodog pistols were first made in Liege Belgium, a casual shopper for velodog pistols might come to the conclusion that most velodogs were made in Spain. The reasons for this are various, including Spain's peculiar patent laws. In general, patent protection was weak in the early 20th century because so many guns were hand made by private artisans. Still, larger gun makers honored patents registered in other countries even if they avoided the issue by making just enough changes to present a somewhat different gun. In this regard, Spain was in a class of its own. Spain recognized only those patents actually registered in Spain and then actually manufactured in Spain within three years. This meant that only those guns actually manufactured in Spain stood any chance of retaining their design copywrite. Hence, a Spanish gun maker might copy a Winchester rifle and then patent the design in Spain under his own name. Should Winchester then attempt to sell their own original design in Spain, that would be in violation of Spain's patent laws and Winchester would be forced to leave the Spanish market. I use this example because this indeed occurred. Other guns were also duplicated by Spanish manufacturers and if foreign gun makers were concerned, their only option was to secure their own patent in Spain. 

One result of Spanish patent laws was that the area of Spain around Eibar, in the Basque region, became a major gun making center and in the case of velodogs, virtually all Belgian designs were duplicated in Spain. Some have claimed that Spanish guns were cheap knock-offs and were not very good and often counterfeited Liege proof marks and registration codes to create a 'better' product. I have not found this to be the case. Spanish manufactured velodogs were as good as those made in Liege. If some Spanish manufacturers duplicated Belgian markings, I have yet to discover ample evidence this was the case. I believe Belgian ill will toward Spanish work was not in the area of velodog design but because copying the Baby Browning semi-automatic 6,35 pistol became a cottage industry in Spain, but this was also the case in Germany and elsewhere. The Browning was an epoch making design and not all foreign copies were as good but that was true of Belgian copies of the Baby Browning as well.

The best book to introduce Spanish handgun manufacturing is Gene Gangarosa Jr.'s fine volume Spanish Handguns, the History of Spanish Pistols and Revolvers. Gangarosa describes several Spanish velodog manufacturers as well as those who made the transition from velodog to 6.35 semi-automatic revolver. 

Arizmendi y Goenaga

The company Arizmendi y Goenaga was established as early as 1886 and manufactured many revolvers, many semi automatic handguns and also produced several velodog revolvers, chambered in 6,35 as well. About 1914 Arizmendi formed his own company, Francisco Arizmendi which would specialize in velodogs in all shapes. The maker's mark are the letters AG over a crescent or FAG on the receiver or the grips. As we will see in the next listing, once he established his own firm, Francisco Arizmendi's trade mark were the letters FA under a crown and over a crescent. This first gun design which has a trigger guard, was  a copy of the original Galand velodog but with a different way to remove the cylinder. The first two guns are essentially this same design though the first  has grips marked FAG and is listed as Arizmendi, where the second version has plain wood grips but is listed as Arizmendi and Goenaga.  In short, things were pretty fluid. 

The last three guns are different. The first uses a hunchback velodog design to house 6,35 cartridges while the last is a tiny revolver, about 3 inches in length, chambered in .22short. The very last pistol is a hunchback design housing the standard velo dog cartridge. 

  

 

  

 

This following pistol houses the standard velo dog cartridge. 

Francisco Arizmendi

Arizmendi was the single largest manufacturer of velodogs in Spain and possibly in all of Europe. His designs chambered the velodog as well as the 6,35 cartridge when that became popular and include many innovations. His pistols were of decent quality though export models were distinctly better made. Arizmendi guns seem to have no fixed pattern or shape probably because many were outsourced to small shops or artisans. More than other gun makers, Arizmendi borrowed and mixed features from his designs. I doubt there is not a single style of velodog he did not produce. His maker's mark usually included the letters FA in a shield above a crescent but could change to just a shield above a crescent or even just a crescent. And sometimes one finds the letters AF under a crown or even the picture of a policeman for guns manufactured for sale in Germany. If you find an velodog for sale online, chances are strong it is an Arizmendi.

Arizmendi Exports

The following gun is known as a Geco, a mark that appears in a circle on the side of the barrel, because it was manufactured for the German retailer, Gustav Genchov & Co, and sold by him.

Similarly, Albrecht Kind sold Arizmendi guns in Germany. It may be happenstance, but Aizmendi's German exports seem better quality than his Spanish domestic sales pistols.

The following three pistols were manufactured by Arizmendi for sale in Germany by Albrecht Kind. The all have a special maker's mark, the figure of a policeman holding a gun. These pistols were chambered in either velodog 5.5 or 6,35.

This last pistol is a direct copy of Oury's novo pistol, presented earlier.

This next Arizmendi export pistol is unusual in having Viennese proof marks as well as Arizmendi's trade mark.

Garat, Anitua y Cie

The picture below is of a small size revolver common in the day, but which is chambered for 5.5 velodog cartridges. It is named L' Eclair in the receiver top strap, a name which was used Garat. The pistol has no identifying stamp maker's mark, but the logo on the grips also identify the manufacturer. The gun has a concealed hammer and a pivoting cylinder. The safety is the tiny button on the revolver backstrap and is quite common for Spanish velodogs. It is an altogether very well made pistol.

Retolaza Hermanos

Retolaza Brothers produced a variety of velodog pistols under the names Brompetier, Puppy, Velo-Brom, and Velo-Mith, many intended for sale in France. The term 'velo-mith' refers to many velodog revolvers with a Smith and Wesson break open action, especially after 1910. These pistols were usually heavier and better made with some, chambered in larger calibers, used by the military. The Retolaza Velomith Excelsior is a very significant velodog in so many ways. It is larger and heavier than most velodogs and it is probably among the best velodog shooters. If one wanted to shoot a velodog today, this would be the gun to use. It is innovative in being a top break model and it chambers 8 cartridges. This is how the gun works. In order to open, one pulls back just slightly on what looks like a hammer but isn't. It permits the top strap to lift slightly so that one can pull down on the barrel which opens the gun. If one pushes the small button on the fore-end of the receiver, right under the barrel muzzle, the extractor jumps out very powerfully and lifts empty shells for extraction. After reloading, simply lifting the muzzle locks the gun back into shooting position. Essentially, this is a very fine handgun that is chambered for the velodog cartridge. The gun is adequately stout to chamber a 7,65 or .320 round just as well.

The next pistol looks like a Retolaza product though it does not have clear markings. Markings on the barrel are very faint, indicating Belgian manufacture. However, the barrel and the cylinder have no proof marks at all, indicating it was probably made in Spain. It has the same action as the marked pistol above and is also chambered for 8 velodog cartridges.

Ojanguren y Vidosa

Other manufacturers produced similar velomith pistols. This one was manufactured by Ojanguren y Vidosa. This is an interesting pistol in several ways. First, it is designed to look like a Browning semi-automatic because that latter gun was extremely popular. The 'hammer' is actually a lock which released the break open cylinder mechanism and the small pin at the bottom end of the muzzel when depressed, activates the extractor. Like the Retolaza pistols, this is well made and chambered in 7,65.

Another pistol of the same design bears no obvious marking but is either an OV design or a close copy. This is also a top break design

  

  

The same company also manufactured more standard shaped velodog pistols.

Antonio Errasti

This velodog is very typical of what came to the standard shape and features. There is nothing special about this pistol other than the trade mark of an A and an E in a circle. Still, it is better made than many others.

Salvatore Arostegui

Arostegui showed how a bossu hunchback velodog might have softened lines to produce a prettier gun.

Juan Jose Larranaga ?

Some vellodogs are imprinted with just recognizable trade marks, or, trade marks one thinks are just recognizable but may not be. This nicely made velodog is one such case. The initials JJL are sufficiently poorly engraved but then, very few Basque gun makers had these initials. so....? And if instead the trade mark is JAL, the gun maker is unknown. This is frustrating, but the next category is even worse.

Felix Gabilondo

The following information is provided courtesy of Juan Calvo's excellent work, Catalogacion de Armas. Chapter 14 of Spanish Arms from Eibar, explains that the Velo Extra employed a system of shell ejection. Once all the cartridges were shot, the force of the trigger provided adequate power to expel cartridge shells one by one.

                                                           Crucelgui Hermanos

This firm manufactured velodog pistols under the names Bron-Sport, Bron Petit, c.h. le Brong, Puppy, and Velo-Mith from as early as 1900.Their guns were similar to those made by Retolaza Hermanos with the name 'bron' referring to guns chambered in 6.35 rather than the velodog cartridge. Unlike other manufacturers, this company never made the transition to semi-automatic pistols. 

                              Germany

Frederich Pickert

Burgsmuller & Sohn

                                    Friedrich Pickert

"Arminius" marked pistols were manufactured by Friedrich Pickert in Germany. Their different shapes, in different calibers, are all modeled after velodogs from Belgium and Spain with several differences. They were chambered in .22short, .320 and "Browning" 7,65. None were chambered in 5.5 velodog because no arms maker manufactured the cartridge while these others were readily available. All Arminius pistols, and not all made my Pickert, have grips with the face of Arminius, the Germanic folk hero, though two different images were used, as indicated below. This probably means that Arminius guns were made by different makers. All Arminius guns were either 6,35 or 7,65. All have the gun's caliber engraved on the top strap but while some say "hammerless" others have "Deutsche- Industrie" with no "hammerless" engraved . Some Arminius guns were very well made and incorporated several improvements such as a much easier to use cylinder removal system. Instead of the effective but cumbersome Spanish method involving a rod, a collar and a pivot, some Arminius guns employed a simple button and central post, such as the first gun here, while others employ a a pivoting rod and collar but much simplified. This first two guns was chambered for 6,35.

Two different images of Aeminius appear on pistol grips. The first, the most common is

On at least one gun, one finds the following, younger version of what looks like a Greek or Roman hero.

                                  Burgsmuller & Sohn

This velodog is very uncommon, sold by the German gun maker Burgsmuller and Son of Kreiensen Harz in Germany. The gun maker is unknown though the proof marks clearly indicate it was from Liege. Unlike Arminius guns, this one was chammbered for the velodog cartridge. This is the only velodog sold by this retailer that I have ever seen.

                               Great Britain

To the best of my knowledge, Great Britain manufactured no velodog revolvers, though it did produce a great many other small guns, not least of which was the English Bulldog. It seems likely, however that the following gun was produced for sale in England as the top strap is engraved with the name "Little Dog". This very well gun has a full array of Liege proof marks but the receiver lacks any trade marks at all. Beneath the grip one finds the letter J PP but this may only indicate the artisan making the gun. The gun also lacks any retailer's markings.

                           South America

South America produced at least one velodog revolver and, according to good sources, until quite recently, sold many others. These are the only two velodog pistols sold in South America that I am aware of.

Emile Laport

the Emile Laport company originated in Liege but moved to Brazil near the end of the 19th century. The one velodog we know the company sold was a faithful and very well made copy of Galand's original design. The cylinder indicates that it has Liege proof marks and Laport evidently bought the gun for export and sides of the barrel indicate the company's name and Rio de Janiero

Ameria Cimino

The small 6,35 velodog bearing the name Ameria Cimino has Belgian proofmarks of the cylinder but bears no trade marks. It seems obvious that Cimino was the retailer of this gun. The gun differs from others in having a slightly more pronounced hunchback design and bears the inscription SMA 350385 on the rear grip strap. You might notice a curious engraving on the toe of the grip in picture 2. I have no idea what it indicated but have enlarged it for viewing. Any information would be appreciated.

Unknown Manufacturers

The following guns are impossible to identify because they have no manufacturer's trade marks at all. Some were clearly made in Belgium because they do have Liege proof marks. Others might be Spanish because they lack Belgian marks but still have no trade marks, proof marks or any sign of where they were made. Some are chambered for 5.5 velodog while others are in 6,35. A few are ordinary and look much like pistols whose manufacturers we already know. Several are very different, even innovative. I assume these gun makers left off any marks because they could not sell them to a manufacturer such as Arizmendi, nor to a retailer like Ancion Marks, or he wanted to sell them himself. These pistols are in no way of lesser quality. The first, for instance, is exceptionally well crafted and employs a more expensive pivoting cylinder for loading and unloading. Another, from Spain, was gold plated.

Belgian Unknown

Spanish Unknown

This must have been lovely when new. It is quite small, chambered for 6,35 and is gold plated. It appears to have been shot a great deal.

This next 6,35 velodog pistol has an unusual sloping shoulder. It is Spanish but little more is obvious.

more listings coming.......

                               Section 2:

The Historical Background

 D. Concealed Weapons, Crime and the Gilded Age

The Belle Epoque, or the Gilded Age, from 1870 though 1914, was a time of peace, mechanical innovation, material progress and great social change. Many factors brought this about but foremost was the harnessing of steam power of the industrial revolution. Wind mills and the use of water power for grinding grains went back centuries but steam power enabled the creation of significantly larger scale manufacturing, and, more important, could be located anywhere one could produce vast amounts of steam. The new textile industry revolutionized how cloth was manufactured as power looms replaced hand looms. England of 1803 had 2400 looms. By 1857, that number increased to 250,000 looms. Workers at these looms, previously rural subsistence farm workers, eagerly traded back breaking and unrewarding agricultural labor for workshops, however great the latter's limitations. The same was true after the American Civil War.

As urban centers grew, so too did exports. Steam powered railroads crossed Europe carrying good and people. And in 1848, a steam powered ship crossed the Atlantic, bringing goods and people, opening up the American west. Nor was this only a north American or European phenomenon; railroads in India and in South America had much the same effect. By the end of the 19th century, a host of other inventions further swelled the ranks of both manufacturers as well as the people they employed. In the 1870 alone, the telephone and the typewriter appeared in 1873; the dental drill and the mimeograph machine in 1875; the phonograph in 1877 and the incandescent light bulb two years later. So many of these inventions made for more organized business offices and required a capable work force. But other inventions mechanized hand made piecework in the factory. The sewing machine, powered by a foot pedal connected via a long rubber drive belt to the machine's central drive wheel, created a variety of off the shelf clothing for urban dwellers. Many machines were also in private hands and can still be found throughout rural Asia. Power was supplied by foot pedals, but steam powered foundries made the metal for the machines and their parts. Slowly, Europe and the US turned from being primarily rural and agricultural to manufacturing, where workers were producers, and, for the first time, also consumers.

E.   The Bicycle

Of all the inventions characterizing the new social change of the times, none equaled the 'velocipede' or bicycle. The first velocipede were hobby horses with a low slung seat enabling riders to 'fast foot' across distances. It was invented in France but quickly spread all over Europe and the US. It was quickly mechanized by adapting pedals on each side of the front wheel, like a tricycle, but quickly improved with a chain linking pedals to the rear wheel, which remains to this day. This was an instant success because it provided a rapid means of personal transportation for those unable to own expensive horses or very expensive carriages and more horses. The bicycle was the first means of personal transportation available to middle class and some lower class people.

Bicycle manufacturing spread all over the globe and continues to provide transportation in many European countries and throughout Asia. In the US the growth in manufacturing was very rapid. In 1885 only six manufacturers produced 11,000 bicycles. By 1890, 17 manufacturers produced 40,000 units. Five years later in 1895, 126 manufacturers produced 500,00 bicycles. ONE year later, in 1896, 300 manufacturers produced 1 million bicycles that single year. Many tens of thousands, perhaps a hundred thousand or more workers manufactured these 'mechanical horses' with many tens of thousands more working in repair shops, customizing shops, and companies producing tires, locks, lamps, and hand pumps. Just bicycle clothing became an industry, especially for women. The New York Times reported, "Never before in the history of manufactures in this country has there arisen such a demand for an article as noe exists in relation to velocipedes." In 1896, American spent $300,000,000 dollars purchasing bicycles with an additional $200,000,000 spend for accessories such as tires, lamps, foot pumps. as well as the slacks and 'bloomers' gathered st the knee when they found their skirts caught up in bicycle chains. Additionally, the advertising of bicycles grew. Cosmopolitan magazine in 1898 contained ads from 38 bicycle manufacturers. In that same year, advertisements for bicycles constituted 10% of all national advertising. Frank Presbry, the authority on commercial advertisement, wrote "the bicycle gave the magazine a measure of recognition as a medium."

The social impact of the bicycle was as great as its economic impact and not everyone thought this a good development. An author in Century magazine noted how the bicycle "puts the poor man on the level with the rich, enabling him to sing the song of the open road as freely as the millionaire, and to widen his knowledge by visiting regions near or far from his home, observing how other men live." Indeed, bicycles were advertised as agencies of freedom, and riders as cowboys taming the wild west.

As women developed a passion for riding, and " in possession of her bicycle, the daughter of the 19th century feels that declaration of her independence has been proclaimed." Bicycles were identified with female sexual liberation and freedom.

With women riders being unchaperoned, moral depravity would soon follow. This popular sentiment was aggravated by the appearance of female bike racers wearing tight fitting pantaloons and.....smoking cigarettes!!

Even Charlotte Smith, an advocate for women's rights, wrote, "the bicycle is the devil's advance agent morally and physically in thousands of instances." People of color also took to the road though they were not, not surprisingly, admitted in men's white racing clubs or female racing clubs either.

While historians emphasize the technical innovations of the age and subsequent social change, few, if any write about the connection between bicycles and guns. This is surprising since so many gun manufacturers, such as Browning, Birmingham Small Arms and British Enfield produced fine bicycles. Indeed, Enfield advertised that its bikes were as well made as their guns. The history of the bicycle is extremely well told by David V. Herlihy in Bicycle, from Yale University Press, and Margaret Guroff's volume, The Mechanical Horse, from the University of Texas Press. I would add Sue Macy's thin volume for the National Geographic, entitled, Wheels of Change, which describes how the bicycle helped bring about gender equality. The issue of bicycles and guns eludes these authors, but several websites treat this subject very well. The place to start is Kurt Bauer's excellent Guns and Bicycles [www.violetcrown.org/blog/guns and bicycles]. The site, www.oldbike.eu is a museum of pictures and information regarding everything to do with vintage bikes and includes the connections with guns [www.oldebikes.eu/museum/guns] I am indebted to this site for many of the pictures below. Another good site is Carlton Reid's blog Roads were Not Built for Cars. The connection between guns and bikes is still current. Indeed, as the first picture indicates, the Browning gun company continues to sell bicycles, this one made in Japan.

In general, bicycle manufacturers and gun manufacturers were closely tied together for several reasons. The skills involved with both were similar, gun manufacturers had an existing network of retail sales which helped them advertise bicycles as well and, most important of all, manufacturing both guns and bicycles diversified their market and helped shield against slow periods in one or the other industry. Not all bicycle manufacturers made guns, but the leading gun makers made bicycles.

In addition to Browning, one finds FN, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium, an enormous enterprise, which innovated in both areas of design.

In Great Britain, several gun companies manufactured bicycles, including Birmingham Small Arms and British Enfield

In France the 19th century French firm, Manufacture Francaise d’ Armes et Cycles de St. Etienne indicated quite clearly that it manufactured both.

It was a wise policy as it tapped into the same civilian market twice. Similarly, the current Austrian Voere Gun manufacturing company started life manufacturing bicycle pumps and expanded into both high quality target guns and in the United States Iver Johnson, known so well for its small handguns, was actually called in 1915 Iver Johnson Arms and Cycle Works and only dropped cycles from the company name during the Great Depression when demand for small guns for personal protection increased greatly.

By 1916, the weapons market surpassed the bicycle market and the company turned to gun making and sales. The company’s products must have pleased buyers as attempts at the lives of both Presidents McKinley and F.D. Roosevelt were made with small Iver Johnson products. Indeed, Sirhan Sirhan assassinated Robert Kennedy with a small Iver Johnson revolver as well. Far from being ‘mouse guns’ small revolvers were deadly and more than adequate for personal protection. Indeed, Iver Johnson claimed it manufactured the very best bicycle pistol. Bicycles and gun manufacturing went hand in hand and several factors, other than compatibility of skills and workers help explain this.

One single advertisement in an English newspaper gives a clear answer:

The simply fact was that bicycles were thief magnets, both because they were valuable and easily resold, but also because cyclists, especially women, were very vulnerable. The thief knocked the rider down, stole his or her wallet or purse and then made off with the bicycle. Indeed, even when not riding, both men and women were targets of street crime because along with urbanism, new urban employment and a freer urban social life and, of course, that terrific phonograph, came enormous amounts of street crime. And this was not simply an English problem.

The local English press described many bicycle related thefts as was the case elsewhere in Europe as well as the United States. The problem of theft was greater than bicycles, however. The new urbanism meant a great deal of poverty and crime while the transition from town to city also had the effect of loosening social bonds and standard rules of ethics. Additionally, the extreme individualistic social values of the magnate class did little to inspire feelings of responsibility in anyone. Housing was dreadful, sanitation non-existent, and the ready availability of alcohol. Hence, all this plus unemployment and alcohol created a very undisciplined urban unemployed population resulting in street crime. And the new police forces created early in the 19th century caused even more dismay.

G. The Rise of Crime

Urban illegal activity was increasingly ‘organized’ into crime syndicates, gangs of pick-pockets and even burglars and thieves. As more was invented, more was worthy of being stolen and quickly resold. Pawn shops had always existed but they became standard conduits for more goods. And the moneyed economy meant that people carried more money to be stolen. City dwellers were not sanguine about street crime, despite the creation of new police forces largely equipped with very professional uniforms and rattles. Largely ill trained and ill equipped, police were often recruited from the prisons themselves or from barroom toughs and bullies. Among other authors, Charles Dickens described this hard life which brought wealth to some and poverty to so many others and crime to everyone. The police were so ill equipped to handle street crime and certainly not the likes of a Moriarity, as Sherlock Holmes made clear. At best, the police could keep riots to a minimum and defend factories against civil unrest. One does not have to look far to see many of the same conditions in the third world today where wealth can be enormous, along with the poverty and rampant street crime, often with police cooperation....or is that only the case in Mexico?

England’s first police, known as Bobbies or Peelers, were organized by Robert Peel, after the Metropolitan Police Act of 1929. They wore long blue coats and tall top hats and as they were not trusted to possess arms, were issued truncheons and a rattle which was eventually replaced by a whistle. Of the first 2,800 new policemen, only 600 kept their jobs because many were falling down drunkards or spent their working hours selling protection to shop owners and robbing the civilians they were hired to protect. This was the usual pattern in Europe. In France the first police were created in 1667 in Paris but their job was to serve the absolutist monarchy from rioting against the regime. After the French Revolution, Napoléon I reorganized the police in Paris and other cities with more than 5,000 inhabitants on February 17, 1800 as the Prefecture of Police. Again, the police were formed to keep the peace for a tyrannical dictator.

In the United States the Marshals Service was established as early as 1789 but their job was to protect the new government. In 1791 the US Parks Police was established and the US Mint police in 1792. Many individual states created their own police forces but most of the country, especially the west, remained mostly without police through the end of the 19th century. Any manufacturers fearing strikes or civil unrest hired private police, such as the Pinkertons, to keep the peace. Indeed, regard for the police was so low that ordinary outlaws such as Jesse James or Billy the Kid, and many others became popular figures whose thrilling escapades filled the tabloid press from coast to coast.

When bicycle manufacturers sold their products to ordinary citizens, they were happy to provide a 'bicycle gun' as well. Curiously, the genre of weapons called bicycle guns consisted or more than just small handguns because so many standard gun makers hoped to cash in on this new market of bicycle accessories even if they did not produce bicycles. Indeed, in the US, almost every major gun maker marketed a bicycle gun of some sort.

Iver johnson, a company making both bicycles and guns, thought their hand gun was the best available.

Harrington and Richardson, the maker of a great many revolvers advertised

Smith & Wesson went one step further, arguing that their very fine revolvers were also the safest for a rider accidentally falling off of his/her bicycle.

Other major gun makers also advertised their guns as 'bicycle guns.' Stevens, for instance, the largest gun manufacturer at the turn of the century produced an enormous variety of handguns, rifles and 'pocket rifles' or, handguns which could use a skeletal stock attached to the guns rear strap.

Similarly, the Quackenbush Gun Company, major innovator in air gun design and manufacturer of a variety of .22lr caliber rifles also manufactured a special bicycle gun.

While one would think a small rifle would be cumbersome, Marlin demonstrated how their rifle might be attached to bicycle

Similarly, Stevens was quick to point out they had the same idea.

While these attempts to satisfy the needs of bicyclers are noteworthy, the fact is that rifles were not what the public had in mind for protection. Rifles such as these might have served the needs of the hunter biking along a rural trail in search of small game but bicyclists needed some smaller and more easily concealed. Surely the best design was Joubert's French handle bar pistol.

The pistol itself was very well made with a drop down trigger and a manually revolving cylinder.

In France, too, companies advertised their pistols made especially for cyclists.

In the United States, gun manufacturers were less innovative and produced a series of small handguns easily concealed in jacket pockets.

The bicycle also promised to change the military. The concept was simple; the bicycle could provide a platform for weaponry while also enabling infantry greater mobility. The bicycle could even revolutionize police work since bobbies riding bikes could be almost everywhere. Postmen would be able to liver more mail, more quickly.

Bicycles and guns went together. The same companies produced both and bikes were understood as a positive development advancing both the goals of the individual as well as the good of the public. Indeed, as Iver Johnson advertised to young boys, what could be better??

The New Arms Manufacturing Industry

Until recently, arms manufacturing remained a labor intensive endeavor because so many parts required hand fitting and hand polishing in order to produce a fine well working weapon. Smith & Wesson revolvers of a generation or two ago still command a premium because they were hand fitted by skilled gun smiths whose "only" function was to assemble excellent revolvers from mass produced parts. This required enormous skill because the mass produced parts, however good, would not automatically fit together and function as they should. Part of the problem was the importance of springs in the process and even the best springs were individual. Hence, a handgun was more than the sum of its parts and assembling a handgun required understanding how each part effected every other part. Computer/laser manufacturing has permitted greater manufacturing precision which, in turn, has permitted a less labor intensive product.

In the 19th century, however, conditions were totally different. Every part was made by hand and assembly was a long tedious process through which each part was virtually reworked so that the total product functioned as it should. Hence, guns may have followed a central design, that is, they have had a generally similar outward appearance, but were hand manufactured products. This meant that some guns of the same design were simply better than others.

Most gun manufacturing was carried out in individual workshops on a piecemeal basis. One of the great innovations of the middle 19th century lay in the first step in creating a more uniform gun manufacturing industry because of the growth of iron foundries. The shifts in agriculture from hand tools to early tractors and mechanized agriculture not only increased agricultural production, but required the manufacture of iron and steel as well as the factories required to produce these tools. Similarly, new bridge construction and new designs such as the structural steel bridge of 1874 required large amounts of foundry space and the growth of a gun industry was one product of the new foundry. In Belgium, for instance, Liege sat at the foundation of a huge and growing arms manufacturing industry. The numbers seem to tell it all. As late as the turn of the twentieth century, the Belgian registry of corporations indicated that ¾ of all gun workers worked from home. As an example, in 1816, 35 gun manufacturing companies were registered by the Liege Association of Arms and Gun Makers. By 1856, after the invention of machinery to produce uniform gun parts, that number increased to 97 and further increased to 174 in 1884 and to almost 200 by the year 1900. This increase was fueled by increased consumer demand but mostly because it was now possible to produce guns by machine more cheaply than previously. Much gun making remained by skilled artisans but most gun parts could be manufactured more quickly and more cheaply by machine. Even so, before 1914 and the ensuing carnival of weapon manufacturing, Belgium had only two ‘full function’ gun manufacturers; FN and Pieper, which produced all parts of the gun themselves. Even today, however, small companies with relatively few workers still produce a good share of the commercial consumer market. Indeed, handgun manufacturing has more small companies playing important roles in industry development than any other industry, except for bicycle manufacturing, which is why gun manufacturing and bicycle manufacturing went hand in hand.

                                                           Section 3

Other Small Guns Available to Consumers

Guns, largely for military or hunting purposes were readily available, but were large and expensive. The times called for the creation of a small, easily concealed handgun and designers rose to the challenge. Derringers were popular and easily demonstrated their effectiveness. The "deringer" derives its name from Henry Deringer, a Philadelphia manufacturer, who became famous for his pocket pistol designs. His original pistol of 1825 was a single-shot muzzle loading weapon with a flintlock firing mechanism, the predominantly common firing mechanism of that time.

While the deringer was an easily concealed small single shot weapon, its large caliber assured deadliness. Deringers earned their keep as the vest pocket gun of choice for gamblers and card sharks, and the capabilities of a very small gun were brought home to Americans when Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln in 1864 with a small single shot deringer. The gun was streamlined and by 1866 took it modern shape, hardly changing since then and remains a popular concealed weapon. Modern 'derringers' are spelled with a double r to avoid patent infringement.

Other designs included boot guns and muff guns, popular with merchants and female travellers.





Cane guns were popular because so many men used canes as a sign of distinction. Many were very fancy and very expensive but others were more ordinary and within reach of most middle class persons.The shaft was essentially the barrel with the hand grip providing for a single shot trigger.

The Palm Pistol invented by the Frenchman Jacques Turbiaux in 1882, was designed to be concealed within one's fist and was fired by squeezing the spring loaded lever in the back of the gun. Turbiaux obtained an US patent in 1883 and the Minneapolis Firearms Company produced a licensed version that fired 7 shots in .32 caliber. The Chicago Firearms Company purchased patent rights in 1892 in order to manufacture several thousand Protective Palm Pistol, pictured below.

The French palm pistol, subsequently called the "Galois" was even easier to use.

The Shattuck palm pistol was yet another simple design for a simple personal defense weapon. It had four chambers in the barrel, for .22short, along with a rotating trigger. The small gun flipped open for loading and was discharged by squeezing the bottom plates in the grip.

The need for civilian small guns was evident in the United States even before the Civil War when Smith & Wesson created the .22 short cartridge along with a smaller gun to use it in 1852. This led to an avalanche of small pistols such as the two pictured below. The first is an elaborate and expensive Colt pistol with an open top.

  

 The second, with a closed top.  is a Smith & Wesson design. Both were copied by a large number of smaller gun companies in what was probably the first attempts to create concealed weapons for self protection. 

Such guns provided adequate personal protection at close range and were easier to use than larger more complex, if more powerful, guns. While it was reasonably small, its long barrel made it difficult to slip in a pocket and some felt it was also too low powered to offer protection.

Small and more powerful; I have already discussed the English bull dog and the baby bull, but something smaller was required and this led in two different directions; one was the truly tiny .22short revolver and the other was the velodog.

Tiny revolvers were easily concealed by woman and were certainly easier to handle than flint lock weapons. It is not surprising, therefore, how many were manufactured. Women could hide them in purses, but men, too, found they fit nicely in vest pockets. And while the .22short was not very powerful, it was very effective at close range as a 'get off me gun.'

The variety of small pistols was very great. Simple flobert type single shot pistols were easily concealed and very easy to shoot. The smallest was under four inches while other had very long barrels to use as boot guns.

The great disadvantage of these tiny flobert guns was that they were single shot and not very powerful. They were best used in very close quarters. Despite the limitations posed by single shot derringers, they became very fashionable. Among other manufacturers, Colt issued small pistols in his and her models.

Another option was the small pepperbox, such as the Sharps pistol, which had four separate barrels with a rotating fire pin. Each pull of the trigger rotated the fire pin once and fired a cartridge. Standard pepperbox design consisted of a manually rotated barrel consisting of up to 8 or 10 different barrels. After each shot, the shooter rotated the the large multi-chamber barrel one notch and fired again. The new improvement was a pepperbox with a rotating firing pin and stationary barrels. Each pull of the trigger fired a shot and rotated the firing pin to the next chamber.

Other companies copied this design. Remington, for instance, was a leading manufacturer of small derringers type pistols. The one below was a tiny single shot.

Remington also produced two shot derringers

And also their own 4 shot pepperbox in several different calibers.

A multi-shot revolver design was the best solution but the most expensive to build. Revolvers just as small had the advantage of providing 5 or 6 shots. They were often engraved and were quite pretty, such as the two guns below, probably intended for women. Pretty as they were, they were very fiddly to use. I have shot these guns and it is almost impossible to get a good grip on them, though, smaller hands might have had better luck.

One solution was the Sable revolver made in Belgium. This Smith & Wesson-style break-open design was sleek and much easier to use. They handle nicely though they were still limited by the weak .22short round. These guns had the advantage of being hammerless and as a result, they did not catch or snag in a pocket for easy concealment.

The Sable is actually a very nice gun and sold well in Europe.

The Spanish copied this Belgian design. The pistol pictured below was manufactured by Orbea Hermanos and it is essentially a duplicate of the Sable, though just a little bit smaller and yet chambered in 6,35.

Other Spanish manufacturers also made a smaller version of the Belgian Sable, but with an exposed hammer. They called this gun the Baby Sable.

All of these tiny pistols were convenient, if of limited effectiveness, which is why Galand's small but more powerful velodog was so successful. The velodog charge was more powerful, longer and therefore easier to load, and burned cleaner than the .22short. It was almost as powerful as the .22long rifle just becoming popular in the States but still unknown in Europe.

By the turn of the 20th century, developments in the United States took a somewhat different turn. The velodog cartridge never caught on here, probably because the .22short was so popular, and because Stevens Company introduced the .22 long rifle at about the same time the velodog was introduced in Europe. The .22lr was slightly more powerful than the 5.5mm velodog. Some gun owners wanted a yet more powerful round and this led to the introduction of the .22 Balard extra long cartridge. In the end, the .22short and the .22lr have retained their popularity.

One early design was even smaller, the Little All Right Palm Pistol of 1876. Very small, it did fit into the palm but was a traditional revolver in how the pistol loaded and unloaded. The central pin running through the cylinder was removed and the cylinder removed for loading. The trigger, however sat on top of the barrel and when flipped up could be depressed by the index finger. Less than a thousand were manufactured and they are rare today. Chambered in .22short.

The Kolb Baby Hammerless was much more successful

The very first edition of this tiny pistol sold more than 50,000 copies which is one reason they are plentiful for collectors. The Baby Hammerless was heavily advertised as a fine all purpose self defense pistol, especially for women, who could, as the advertisement indicates, holster the gun in a special garter belt made by the Kolb company.

Kolb and Sedgely pistols are cute and once one gets used to their size, can be effective. The best treatment of these small revolvers is Frank M. Sellers, Baby Hammerless Revolvers, which details the various models. For our purposes, we can look at the models indicating the most significant changes.

The two major changes in the .22short revolvers concerned the construction of the hammer and firing pin and the method used for removing the cylinder for loading. Most Kolb Baby Hammerless pistols used a central shaft to hold the cylinder in place but how it locked into the gun varied. The first and by far the most common method was an adaptation taker from the Columbian Hammerless, the precursor to the rest. In this case, the central shaft can be removed once the lever in front of the cylinder is depressed. Conversely, the same lever locks the pin in place after reloading.

The first Kolb model, of 1910, has a different method. The locking pin is part of the central shaft itself.

Another variation consists of a central pin on a spring. Extending the pin unlocks the cylinder which can be removed. To make unloading more convenient, the central pin is attached to the cylinder. So, extending the pin and pushing to the side permits the entire cylinder unit to come out. This was probably more convenient.

The most convenient system was a break open system copied from Smith and Wesson. This is the easiest loading and unloading system of all. The previous methods were traditional and worked well enough but a break open system is a joy. I have shot the pistol below extensively and it is also the best Kolb pistol to hold.

In order to expand their market, Kolb/Sedgely introduced another Baby Hammerless similar to the above but which used .22lr. It should have been a great success but their earlier guns may have already exploited the market. The .22lr pistol is very rare.

The company also introduced a .32 caliber pistol and a large frame pistol for 8 cartridges of .22 short. Both models, the .32 below and the 8 shot .22short following, are rare today.

One reason the company continually updated their pistols was to encourage sales. Their problem was that the first model sold like gang busters and most users were satisfied with their guns. No doubt, subsequent buyers felt they were purchasing improved models.

Eventually, the Kolb went out of production after 1930 and this led to the importation of the Sable, discussed above, until then available only in Europe. Not surprisingly, the Sable sold well. J.L. Galef, the importer of the Sable, also imported small Beretta pistols.

In the end, the velodog was unable to compete with the Baby Browning, a semi-automatic hand gun using center fired 6,35 or .25acp cartridges. The 6,35 cartridge was not the challenge as many velodog revolvers used this cartridge. The Browning Baby offered the allure of a rapid firing semi-automatic action in a thin and small package.

Personally, for self protection, i would choose a revolver over a semi automatic pistol. Semi autos often jammed, stove piped or committed other failure to load or failure to eject 'infelicities'. In such instances, the gun owner would need to remove the magazine [another source of grief] extract the shell by hand, reload the gun. Moreover, the gun demanded being carried with the safety set so that the charged pistol did not go off in one's pocket. Or, if uncharged, one had to charge the gun before using. In actual use, one had to check the safety and pull back the slide before operating and hope everything worked. Some will a argue that these infelicities result from using the wrong brand or type of ammunition but most owners of semi-automatic pistols have no idea which type is better and which will not work at all. That is true, except for magazine malfunctions which were legion. Indeed, most pistols are rarely fired and most owners have little experience in shooting their guns, knowing if a magazine is faulty or whether they are employing the proper ammunition. This is a problem for owners of all types of handguns but especially so for semi-automatics.

What was this compared to a velodog revolver which was always ready for shooting, used no magazines, required no safety as the folding trigger made the pistol intrinsically safe, and could use the same 6,35 cartridge as a semi-automatic pistol. In rare instances when a cartridge failed to fire, one only need pull the trigger again, and there are no failures to load or failures to eject. Most casual pistol owners were far better served by easy to use, failure free velodog revolvers. But, new is always better and buyers found the allure--if not the actual use-- of rapid firing semi automatic weapon too attractive to pass up. One result was the great success of the Baby Browning and the overnight copies of the gun that soon appeared. Small semi-automatics appeared everywhere and soon almost every gun manufacturing company, especially in Belgium and Spain, was marketing their own version of the Baby. The market for tiny .25acp semi automatic pistols was very active until the last generation when lighter alloys and polycarbonite bodies permitted making much more higher powered guns in about the same size. Today it is possible to purchase the same size pistol chambered for .380 or even 9mm.

More than one critic has observed that the only reason more people do not shoot themselves regularly with semi-automatic weapons is that most puchased pistols are mostly stored unloaded, in bedroom closets where, in case of an emergency, the owner will have to check the magazine, check the safety and pull the slide, hopefully, in time. Perhaps this explains the continued popularity of the tiny revolvers such as the pre-war Mossberg Brownie and the post-war EIG Italian copy of the Brownie. These 22lr pistols were designed to look like semi-automatic weapons but were actually copies of the Sharp pistol above, with a four shot barrel with a rotating trigger.

The continuing desire for a small revolver also explains the popularity of the small, easily concealed stainless steel pistols made by North American Arms. This first pistol, chambered in .22lr, has a one inch barrel and is about 3.5 inches long. The second pistol, chambered in .22 magnum, far more powerful, is a modern version of the old Novo design where the pistol is housed in its own handle which is surely easily concealed. And the third, well, the third pistol is attached to a belt buckle with a small snap latch, and is always in the right place at the right time. The belt buckle gun was originally designed by Freedom Arms, a forerunner of North American Arms.

And yet, at the end of the road, the velodog returned and came back to life chambered in .22lr. The Casull company, maker of very expensive but beautifully made handguns introduced the Casull 2000 CA pistol which is, simply stated, a new velodog. It is a beautifully functioning handgun that is very rare because it was simply too expensive to produce. And one did not need to own a bicycle nor a dog.

  

Perhaps other .22lr velodogs will follow though it is unlikely given the high cost of manufacturing.  But, is it possible to convert 5.5mm velodog pistols to .22 rimfire?

                                                     Section Four

                                                         Velodog Modifications

As velodog collectors know, 5.5mm velodog catridges are often difficult to find and are very expensive when available. Considering how nicely the velodog fits the hand, it is a shame that the pistols remain just collector's pieces and can not be used to discharge modern ammunition. Hunchback  6,35 models  are still usable as 25acp ammunition remains readily available. Of course, only those pistols in the best condition, with tight and accurate cylinder timing should be considered for discharging any ammunition because modern ammunition is more powerful that that used before the first World War.  

Is it possible to convert centerfire 5.5mm velodogs to .22 rimfire cartridges?  The chamber will house rimfire 22 cartridges but can the hammer and firing pin be modified to discharge a rimfire charge?  I have tried to fire rimfire cartridges only to find that it will not work. 

First, can the pistol be modified? Until recently, i would have thought not, but I came across a pistol that had actually been successfully modified.  I don't know who did the work, only that this gun appeared for sale on gunbrokers. 

In this first image, the standard center fire firing pin has been shortened so that it can fire. It probably should have been removed by hacksaw or filed down completely if only for neatness. Above that,  a new firing pin was bored into a hole, welded into place and bent so that the pin struck at the right angle and is long enough.  

  

In this next picture we can see the new firing pin and how the chamber in the receiver has been elongated by being bored out or filed out so that the new rimfire firing pin can hit the top of the cartridge rim. 

  

This last picture shows how the new firing pin fit into the receiver in order to hit the rim of the cartridge. Once finished, the length of the firing pin probably shorted slightly to strike properly.

  

Best Modern Ammunition to Use:

If we assume the pistol is in good shape, the hand moving properly to revolve the cylinder and the timing and lockup accurate, the choice of ammunition is critical. High velocity cartridges are too powerful for the metalwork and I would hesitate to use even standard velocity cartridges simply because the gun was not designed to handle that much power, as little as that might seem in modern pistols. Low velocity subsonic 22lr might work, and 22 short should work well.  Aguila .22lr  Colibri or Super Colibri would be perfect. This Aguila ammunition contains no gun powder and only a small amount of primer for initial ignition. Consequently, not only are Colibri and the slightly faster Super Colibri  very quiet but very weak. They are accurate up to 20 meters and because they are a modern form of CB cap, they will not put too much pressure on the metal work or the barrel. They are a great deal of fun!! 

One final consideration remains; is there adequate space at the rear of the cylinder for the new rimfire cartridges so that it rotates freely? Some velodogs had recessed chambers because 5.5mm velodog charges were rimmed despite being center fired. Modern rim cartridges may extend past this recessing and the cylinder may not have adequate room to more freely. Certainly, non recessed chambers would pose a greater challenge but it is possible the manufacturer left adequate room for cartridge rims. 

'nuff said.