It was on this date in 1874 that Doc Holiday was arrested for gambling in Dallas, Texas. During his arrest a double-barreled derringer was found in his vest pocket.
You may wonder what is note worthy about this. Well, two things make this worth the effort to write about it.
First, just about everyone would have believed that gambling was wide open in the Old West and no one was ever arrested for it. Gambling was in fact out-of-vogue as much as it was in. Towns used such arrests as a means of collecting a fee for allowing gambling. They did the same for those involved in the oldest profession on earth. Once the fine was paid the gambler or the gal went right back to what he/she did best.
The second point is that in most towns it was illegal to carry a gun so many and in particular gamblers tended to carry concealed. If caught, it meant arrest, loss of gun and a fine. Most towns preferred to fine and release verses lockup. Reason being, if they locked someone up they had to feed and care for them. Town fathers did not won't or couldn't afford such an expense.
One last point, Henry Deringer invented the Deringer pistol. His name was misspelled by the press and his invention forever became known as the Derringer (with two r's) pistol. Over time all small framed guns were lumped into the Derringer category. Today when someone refers to a Derringer it is not limited to Henry's gun.
At Old West Antiques we have a genuine Henry Deringer along with many other derringers. Stop by and take a look.
We at Old West Antiques enjoy talking about collectibles and in particular Old West items so don't hesitate to email us or give us a call.
P.S. keep in mind that Old West Antiques would love to talk to you about listing your items.
P.P.S. we can also provide a seasoned group of Old West Reenactors for your upcoming events
tag: Guns of the Old West
