has some distinctive design features patented by Allen. It is a five-shot .36 caliber weapon with samples including 3, 4 and 5 inch barrels. It is a bit of a throwback, without a loading lever and sporting a spur trigger. Known examples had a blue finish and wood grips. There are records indicating purchase by the Providence Rhode Island police department, hence the name commonly attributed to this model. It is possible that this was a specific contract, and the model was never marketed to the public. This may indicate production very late into the E Allen and Company era shortly before Allen's death. His sons-in-law Forehand and Wadsworth may have deemed an obsolescent percussion pistol unworthy of bringing into the inventory of the company now sporting their names, and discontinued the model after that initial run. Cartridge pistols Like many other arms makers, Ethan Allen saw the bored-through cylinder allowing for rear loading of self-contained metallic cartridges as the wave of the future. Unfortunately, the patent holder Rollin White, had sold exclusive rights to this innovation to Smith and Wesson, preventing other companies from making firearms leveraging the bored through cylinder. This legal constraint proved no barrier to Ethan Allen, who made two different rimfire revolvers that hit the market possibly as early as 1857—simultaneous to the Smith and Wesson model 1. As a holder of many patents, it is unlikely that Ethan Allen was ignorant of patent law—he simply chose to ignore it. Perhaps, he reckoned that he could outlast the upstart Smith and Wesson in legal maneuvering. He soon invented the 'lipfire' cartridge, a modified rimfire that only held the priming compound in approximately 1/8th of the circumference of the base of the cartridge. This made the cartridge base much stronger, as early rimfire cartridges had a tendency to split at the base, causing extraction malfunction. It was also more economical, as only 1/8th of the expensive fulminate was required. Ethan Allen then invented manufacturing equipment for metallic cartridges that far exceeded the competition in quality and efficiency. Allen was awarded a patent for the lipfire cartridge. Production of lipfire revolvers likely began around 1859. With the coming of the Civil War, Allen likely smelled immense profits for his 'better mousetrap'. However, the conservative procurement agents of the US Government awarded only small contracts—likely not trusting the technology or the supply of cartridges. By 1863, Rollin White