The story of this gun starts with a boy born in Norway in 1841. Educated as a gun smith he emigrated to the United States in 1863, at the age of 21. In 1863, as you may remember, the United States was deep in the Civil War and during war time, gunsmiths are in high demand.
Iver landed in Worcester, MA working as a gunsmith including a stint improving a pepperbox pistol design for the Allen & Wheelock Company.
In 1871 Johnson partnered up with a fellow inventor and gunsmith Martin Bye to form the Johnson & Bye Company.
In 1883 Johnson purchased the interest Bye held in the company and renamed the venture Johnson & Co. Iver again changed the name of his company in 1891 to Iver Johnson Arms and Cycle Works, showing the diversification the company had undergone (bicycles were also gaining in popularity at the time).
That same year the company relocated to Fitchburg, Massachusetts (the building still stands, see my post about it here)
In 1895 Iver died of tuberculosis, but not before hiring a machinist from Sweden named Oscar Frederick Mossberg, who later started O.F. Mossberg and Sons to build pistols and eventually shotguns.
In the year before his death, Iver introduced a double action, top break, cartridge revolver which was later nicknamed the "safety automatic".
The gun did not have a manual safety nor was the action automatic. The "safety" referred to the transfer bar safety system, the word "automatic" referred to the automatic ejection of the shells upon unhinging the cylinder from the frame. The system was designed by Andrew Fryberg, who, like Mossberg, went on to start his own company.
The patent drawing for Fryberg's safety transfer bar
The 1895 price of $4 as seen in the ad above would calculate to approximately $107.50 in 2017 quid.
The revolver evolved as time went on, adding two locking lugs to the top break mechanism, changing the hammer spring from flat to coiled, adding nickel plated options and a concealed hammer/double action only option. Even the direction the owl on the grip is facing changed, helping collectors identify the vintage of the grips. All in all there were five different models each with several variants.
Specs:
Caliber: .22LR, .32 S&W, .38 S&W
Capacity: 5 Rounds
Finish: Blued or nickel plated carbon steel
Height: 3.25"
Weight: 13.5 oz
Length: 4.12"
This particular gun is a Model 2, first variation, made in 1896. It has the double top latch, serial number prefix of "C" and the owl on the grips is looking at the barrel.
On the top rib of the barrel is the stamp:
IVER JOHNSON'S ARMS & CYCLE WORKS FITCHBURG. MASS.U.S.A.
PAT'D.APR.6.86.FEB.15.87.MAY 10.87.DEC.26.93 PAT'S PENDING
The gun was originally made for black powder .38 S&W cartridges. The five round cylinder spins freely when the hammer is at rest. It has about 50% of its original finish remaining and seems to function properly, although I have not fired it.
I had purchased this grip frame for $1 at a gun show, thinking it might help with the building of a homemade break open .22 pistol. I didn't know at the time that it was from an Iver Johnson, a later model with a coiled hammer spring
Here is what the coiled hammer spring looks like:
I also owned this nickel plated .32 S&W revolver that was also made by Iver Johnson, but sold under the name "United States Revolver Co."
As usual I provide some additional pictures of the subject gun
Sources
Wikipedia
American Firearms
Cryptic Punk
Gun Auction
Guns
Gun Values Board
The Truth About Guns