The Volcanic repeating pistol was the first direct step along the development path of the lever-action rifle that became an icon of the American West. Introduced before the advent of modern brass-cased cartridges, the Volcanic was notable for both its repeating action and the self-contained ammunition that made it practical. Volcanic pistols (and rifles) are quite rare today, but they are a pretty cool corner of firearms history. Well, Edmund Lewis and Stephen Rutter wrote a gorgeous book on the history of the Volcanic, with more than 340 glossy color photos of some really impressive specimens:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWaO7GXr1W0
Happily it is still in print, and you can get a copy at Amazon:
I’ve always been interested in Volcanic pistols but it makes complete sense that they never got on. They had high capacity but the rounds were extremely anemic and I imagine the action in pistol form was much less convenient than even a single-action revolver. In any case it still looks neat.