Ian at Forgotten Weapons takes an in-depth look at the Volcanic pistol, or rather several of them. In the mid-1850s the company manufactured a ten shot pistol that was not a revolver (and thus had no patent worries from Colt). It also brought together three men who would become giants in the firearms field, whose names are still heard today—Horace Smith, D.B. Wesson, and Oliver Winchester.
As he points out, the toggle link feeding mechanism was subsequently used in the Henry repeater and in later Winchesters. Volcanic also made a carbine that resembled the Henry.
A commenter requested a photo of a Volcanic pistol. It’s from a recent article in American Rifleman.
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