Hello, this item is a .31 caliber percussion revolver with a five-shot cylinder and a 3.25-inch octagonal barrel, manufactured in the mid-19th century by the Massachusetts Arms Company, Chicopee Falls, for Adams’ Patent Revolving Arms Co. of New York. The Adams-style revolver design was a British innovation that gained traction in the U.S. through licensed production. The presence of multiple patent dates (May 3, 1853; June 3, 1856; and April 7, 1857) indicates this was part of a series of transitional models. Its checkered grip and compact barrel suggest it was intended as a personal defense weapon, likely carried by civilians or possibly Civil War officers preferring privately purchased sidearms.

Although the revolver is noted to be in rough, non-working condition, it remains historically valuable due to its connection to the Adams patent lineage and early American revolver development. Collectors of antique firearms value these for their role in pre-Colt handgun evolution.