Some rifles are known that are marked “H. Folsom & Co., St. Louis.” He is first listed in 1866 in the St. Louis City Directory and again in 1870 as a dealer and gunsmith. It is known that Folsom worked in Memphis at some time and it is possible and reasonable that he made deringers there and in St. Louis but with a different marking, leaving off the St. Louis in the case of the Memphis guns. A. WEISGERBER #256 Weisgerber was an authenticated maker according to newspapers of those days of derringers, shotguns, and rifles. To date, I know of one rifle and two derringer pistols, one of which is in my collection. Notice the heavy bag grip and the unusual shaped hammer. The forearm nose is fluted. All parts are German silver, not engraved, and the inlays are held in place with wood screws which is contrary to the vast majority of the others in my collection. Its caliber is .440. The only markings are on the top barrel flat as follows in two lines: A. Weisgerber & Co. Memphis, Tenn. J. F. MERRIMAN #219 Again we have a Memphis maker, whose name was Merriman, that little is known of but he is authenticated as a derringer maker by newspaper accounts. This gun has a rounded face European style hammer that appears to be original with the gun and all furniture is German silver. There is some engraving on the inlays. There is no provision for a ramrod. Its caliber is .410. The only markings are on the barrel in two lines as follows: J. F. Merriman & Co. Memphis LOUIS HOFFMAN As far as I know Hoffman was a derringer maker himself and did not use any Henry Deringer guns that were surcharged. I only know of two of these guns and I am sorry that I am not able to obtain them for photographing. I can tell you that they are highly ornate similar to the O’Dell manufactured guns. Hoffman was located in Vicksburg. Louis Ferdinand Alexander Hoffmann was born in Berlin, Prussia in 1823. His father was an officer in the Prussian army but died when Louis was 9. His mother died when he was 11, leaving five orphan children. Louis came to America in 1852 settling for a short time in Patterson, New Jersey, then moving to St. Louis, Missouri and on to Vicksburg in 1854. During his early years in Europe he was brought up in the machine shop of Borsig of Berlin, then the largest of its kind in Europe. This fact later may explain the heavy European influence on Mr. Hoffmann’s guns. From 1854 til 1857 he worked in Vicksburg at the Zimmerman and Reading Foundry, learning the art of metal craft. In 1857 at the age of 34 he had saved enough money to start his own business.