Selected Handgun Detail

Manufacturer
	American Derringer Corporation More Info

About the Gun

Compact Remington-style single-action over/under derringer on the Model 1 platform, finished in high-polish stainless steel and fitted with synthetic ivory grips, often scrimshawed. It was sold as a presentation pocket pistol, typically in a French-fitted leatherette case, rather than as a workaday satin-and-wood Model 1.

Production

Production ran from 1989 through 2012.

Market value

MSRP at production was around $300–$450. Current used market value for examples in good to very good condition ranges $300–$400.

Cartridge Specifications
Cartridge:	.32 H&R Magnum
Alias:	.32 Harrington & Richardson Magnum
More Info

Analysis

American Derringer introduced the Lady Derringer in 1989 as Elizabeth Saunders’ presentation version of the stainless Model 1. The lockwork stayed the familiar top-break single-action over/under with automatic barrel selection and a hammer-block safety; the change was finish, grips, and packaging aimed at gift and personal-protection buyers. Factory literature treated .38 Special and .32 Mag as the stock chamberings and listed .357 Magnum, .45 Colt, and .45/.410 as well. The advertising campaign that used Saunders as the face of the line coincided with a sharp rise in company sales in the early 1990s; by the late 1990s the Lady accounted for a large share of annual output. Engraved and cameo-grip guns were catalog options on the same frame. It is not the later Lady Derringer II, a short-run aluminum double-action pistol. Regular manufacture ended with the rest of the Waco line, and examples now trade on the used market, often still with the display case.