The Charola y Anitúa Pistol
Part I: Historical Background
and the 5mm Charola

by Ed Buffaloe

Historical Background

The Charola y Anitúa pistol is the first automatic pistol that was commercially produced in Spain. A slightly earlier automatic pistol design was patented in Spain in 1897 by Enrique Losada, but never got beyond the prototype stage. H. B. Pollard, in his 1920 book Automatic Pistols, asserts that the Charola y Anitúa is the smallest caliber locked breech self loading pistol ever made—an assertion which has been repeated by many later writers.

Juan Calvó explains that: “The company Anitúa y Charola was formed by Miguel Anitúa Echeverría and Ignacio Charola Achucarro. In the Industrial Registry of Eibar, it appears in the financial year 1880-81, declaring one worker on staff...,” but over the following twenty years the staff at their workshop on Calle Estación in Eibar fluctuated from between 10 to as many as 39 workers. In 1888 it had the largest staff of any factory in Eibar, though it was overtaken the following year by Larranaga, Garate y Cia.

Anitúa y Charola made revolvers—primarily copies of the Merwin & Hulbert design, but also of the 1872 Colt and a British Bull-Dog style revolver. Dr. Leonardo Antaris summarizes: “After absorbing a number of smaller firms, the company reorganized in 1898, reversed its name to Charola y Anitúa, and patented its well recognized C96-type semiautomatic pistol.”

Spanish Patent 23164 - 1898

Spanish patent № 23164 was filed by Ignacio Charola, in the company name, on 5 October 1898, and granted on 13 October 1898.¹ Calvó published part of the patent drawing in his 1992 book, including figures 2, 4, 6, 10, 11, 13, and 16, plus a part of 15, but the full patent drawing with all the figures and the text is not publicly available at the time of this writing. Based on the patent date, commercial production of the Charola pistol may have begun as early as October of 1898, though there there were certainly earlier prototypes. However, James Stewart states: “Production began, apparently, late in 1897 or early in 1898.” Calvó relates that a trademark for the new company was registered on 13 June 1899 which consists of a winged bullet with the initials “Ch. y A” above a banner which reads either “MARCA REGIST^DA” or “TRADE MARK.” The patent date late in 1898 and the trademark in 1899 both argue for a later production date than indicated by Stewart.

Early Charola y Anitúa Winged Bullet Trademarks

No one knows for certain why the owner names of the company were reversed, but Juan Calvó seems to imply it may have been because it was Ignacio Charola who was the inventor of the automatic pistol. Whatever the reason, the Charola y Anitúa company only lasted for about two years. In 1900 Miguel Anitúa founded his own firm under the name Miguel Anitúa y Hijos. Charola bought out the trademark and patent and changed the company name to Ignacio Charola. Calvó says: “During the period 1901-08, Ignacio Charola’s workshop declared an average of six workers on staff.” Ignacio Charola died in 1908. Miguel Anitúa died in 1910. Soon afterward, their sons formed a new Anitúa y Charola company to sell industrial machinery, which lasted into the 1930s.

Despite the Charola patent date in late 1898, virtually every source states that the 5mm cartridge for the Charola y Anitúa pistol was designed in 1897 and, if we assume that pistol and cartridge were designed in tandem, we can place the origin of the Charola pistol in 1897. Unfortunately, most documentation from the era was lost in the bombing of Eibar during the Spanish civil war.

The Design of the Charola Pistol

While the Charola y Anitúa clearly resembles the C96 Mauser, with its magazine in front of the trigger, a recoiling barrel, receiver, and bolt, and a recoil spring and firing pin that run the length of the bolt, the pistol also has roots in the revolvers which the company had manufactured for twenty years prior. The grip frame is more ergonomic than the Mauser, and almost identical to that of a Merwin & Hulbert small frame .32 or a Smith & Wesson .32 Hand Ejector.

The Charola lockwork is also similar to a single action revolver but with the hammer set further back, requiring a transfer bar to activate the sear. After release of the hammer, the transfer bar moves past the sear and only resets when the trigger moves forward again; this may be called an interrupter but not a true disconnector—there is no mechanism in the Charola pistol that positively prevents the gun from firing when the bolt and receiver are out of battery. The lockwork is almost entirely tensioned by flat springs.

Early Charola Pistol Internal Mechanism - from Génova’s Pistolas Automaticas.

The barrel is screwed into the receiver. A small block with a dovetail lug depends from the front of the receiver and runs in a cut in the front of the frame. The frame forms a ring at the rear, just in front of the hammer, into which the receiver is inserted. The bolt fits into the rear of the receiver, behind the frame ring, secured by a transverse key (Génova calls it the “bolt retaining pin”; Stewart calls it a “transverse retaining block”) which is normally covered by the frame ring.

Like the C96 Mauser, the recoil spring of the Charola pistol runs the full length of the bolt, surrounding the firing pin. The recoil spring is compressed against the transverse key (bolt retaining pin) that secures the bolt; the key (or pin) has a hole in the middle to accommodate the firing pin (see Figure 13 in the patent). In 5mm Charola pistols the firing pin is retained in the bolt by a screw through the top of the bolt crosspiece. In the 7mm pistols the firing pin is secured by a bayonet-style lug.

Type I Charola Lockwork - SN 817 - Bill Chase Note the two teeth on the locking lever.

The bolt locking mechanism consists of a spring-tensioned pivoting lever with two lugs or teeth which engage two slots in the bottom of the bolt. The two locking teeth are shown in the patent, and Juan Génova also describes the lever as having two teeth and the bolt as having two slots on the bottom. Later Charola pistols, however, only have a single tooth—the rear tooth becomes a rounded lobe—and the bolt has a single locking slot. So the Charola followed a reverse pattern when compared to the C96 Mauser, which began with a single locking lug in the first few hundred pistols but was quickly altered to a double-lug locking mechanism in all subsequent production.

Type II Charola Disassembled - SN 2007 - Bill Chase Note there is only one tooth on the locking lever.

Upon ignition of the cartridge, the barrel and receiver recoil about 5 millimeters. When they have recoiled only about 2 mm, the locking lever begins to pivot downward to allow the bolt to continue to the rear. A spring steel extractor in the front of the bolt extracts the empty cartridge case which is then ejected by the ejector at the top front of the grip frame. The locking lever for the bolt is tensioned by a stiff flat spring which also serves to help absorb the recoil energy of the bolt.

The magazine well in front of the trigger guard contains a folded leaf spring with a heavy machined follower and a grooved baseplate. The baseplate is retained by a sliding button at the front of the magazine well. Cartridges are loaded via a stripper clip which fits into grooves on either side of the ejection port on top of the receiver. By releasing the magazine baseplate and removing the magazine follower and spring, individual cartridges may be loaded by hand from the bottom of the gun. The bolt locks open on the rear of the magazine follower after the last round is fired, and the gun is then ready for insertion of a new cartridge stripper clip.

Type I - 5mm - Charola y Anitúa

Charola y Anitúa Type I - SN 129 - Rock Island Auction

The first variant Charola y Anitúa pistol has a long, sharply tapered barrel with a tall integral blade front sight and no muzzle band. The rear sight is a rounded projection centered on top of the frame ring, with a V-notch. The safety lever extends well beyond the uncocked hammer, and can lock the hammer either in a half-cock or a full-cock position. The uncocked hammer spur extends above the top of the bolt crosspiece and blocks the sight picture.

Charola y Anitúa Type I  Rear Sight & Firing Pin Retaining Screw

Stewart says the gun has a 4.09 inch barrel; Steven Fox says about 4-1/8 inch; Paolo Conti says about 105 millimeters. The left side panel of the frame is stamped with the Charola y Anitúa winged bullet trademark. The top of the barrel is stamped in upper case serif characters:

PISTOLA AUTOMATICA PATENTE CHAROLA Y ANITUA EIBAR

and above the chamber is stamped “CAL. 5 M/M”.

The bolt crosspiece is grooved at each end to improve grip, and the firing pin is retained by a screw inserted from the top. The serial number is stamped on the bottom of the bolt crosspiece, with the last three digits on the base of the grip beneath the left stock, beneath the chamber of the barrel, and at the front of the frame. Partial serial numbers are also stamped on small parts such as the locking lever, safety lever, trigger, and hammer. The Charola pistols are almost certainly hand fitted, with limited parts interchangeability.

Based on changes in blue color, which sometimes takes place as a gun ages, it appears that the barrel and receiver are machined from stock whereas the frame and grip frame are machined from castings.

Grip stocks are of checked hard rubber with a five-pointed star at the top. A stylized belt surrounds the grip screw ferrule, with the words “SISTEMA CHAROLA Y ANITUA” on it. Mother of pearl stocks are not uncommon. The finish is either blued or nickel plated, with a number of (especially early) two-tone guns having a blued body with a nickeled barrel and receiver. Stewart says: “Early examples have silver-plated hammers and triggers and heat blued safeties and extractors. Intermediate issues have polished hammers and triggers.”

Stewart estimates there are approximately 750 Type I guns, whereas Fox estimates there are approximately 950. We conclude there is crossover in the serial number range between 750 and 950 (see below).

Type II - 5 mm - Ignacio Charola

Charola Type II - SN 1322 - Rock Island Auction

When Ignacio Charola bought out his partner in 1900, he made several minor changes to the design of his pistol. The length of the barrel was reduced to 3.73 inches (Stewart), 3-5/8 inches (Fox), or about 95 mm (Conti). Stewart says: “During the transition between the first and second types the frame dimensions were reduced...” The front sight becomes a beaded blade with a muzzle band, with a triangular look from front or rear, but having a rectangular profile from the side. The rear sight is simplified to two raised areas on the frame ring through which to sight.

Charola Type II Rear Sight

The safety lever is reduced in length and usually does not extend past the uncocked hammer, but there is some variation in length. The hammer spur may be slightly shortened, but still extends above the bolt crosspiece. The front lug of the receiver is in a T-shape instead of a dovetail. The teeth on the internal locking lever are reduced from two to one, and the bolt has only a single locking slot. The stocks remain the same.

Front Receiver Lugs - SN 80 on Left - SN 895 on Right - Steven B. Fox Early frames had a dovetail slot (left) whereas later frames had a tee slot (right).

The top of the barrel is stamped in upper case sans-serif characters:

I. CHAROLA - EIBAR CAL. 5 m/m

Some guns still carry the “CAL. 5 M/M” stamp above the chamber, though most are blank. All second variant 5mm Charolas retain the trademark stamp on the left panel of the frame.

Stewart estimates that Type II serial numbers run up to about 1750; Fox says 1800.² However, the author has observed second variant pistols as high as 2007, so there is likely some crossover between Types II and III, as there is between Types I and II (see below).

Type III - 5mm - Some with Belgian Proofs

Charola 5mm Type III - SN 2259 - Steven B. Fox

In the third variation the barrel is shortened again to about 3.38 inches (Stewart), 3¼ inches (Fox) or about 85 millimeters (Conti). The front sight maintains the same shape, but the bead on top is eliminated. The checked hard rubber stocks lack the stylized belt and inscription, retaining only the star at the top. The hammer spur is shortened so it no longer extends above the top of the bolt crosspiece. The safety lever only locks the hammer in one position, which is just beyond full cock. The winged bullet trademark no longer appears on the left side of the frame, with the left side panel usually blank, though some guns are marked “STANDART” (see Ian Hogg’s Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World’s Firearms, p. 110). Later production Type IIIs have what Stewart describes as “inverse knurling” on the bolt crosspiece instead of grooves. The top of the barrel is stamped, in all capital sans-serif characters:

BEST SHOOTING PISTOL

with the top of the chamber marked “PATENT”.

Late 5mm Type III Charola pistols may also be found with Belgian proofs and lacking a barrel inscription.

Calvó says: “It is claimed that...their sales in Russia were more successful than in other countries,” which may be the origin of the belief that pistols with the “STANDART” inscription were intended for sale in Russia, though there is no further evidence to support this. Jesús Madriñán echoes this, saying: “Its sales in Russia were more successful than in other countries, undoubtedly due to the Russo-Japanese war that took place in 1904 and 1905.”

Calvó notes: “It is claimed that the Garate, Anitua y Ca. factory played an important role in their manufacture...,” but he does not specify who makes this claim. The author has not found any evidence of Garate, Anitua y Ca. involvement in Charola manufacture, though a number of authors repeat Calvo’s assertion which seems to be based on the name similarity rather than any known link between the companies. However, a connection cannot be entirely ruled out, as Spanish gunmakers often outsourced certain parts.

James B. Stewart comments that the Type III and IV, “...carry no reference to Charola or Anitua, and all bear Belgian manufacture, not import, proofing. This proofing, however, while being of the definitive type for finished pistols, is carried only on the barrels and receivers. According to Belgian proof law it should also appear on the frames. The significance of this is not clear.” Steven B. Fox comments: “Either some pistols and/or parts were made in Belgium, or Belgian proofs were put on Spanish-made Charolas imported into Belgium.”

Belgian Proof Marks on Chamber and Barrel of a Charola Pistol.

Anthony Vanderlinden (in private correspondence with the author) comments: “...there was no way of distinguishing Belgian manufacture from import proofing in those years; that was only changed after 1924. So it is possible that these parts were made in Belgium but not likely. What was common in the day was for manufacturers from all over to ship parts to Belgium just for proofing... This can often be seen in early production and was eliminated once production was standardized. This is a typical example here, as the Belgian proof house cannot proof the barrel to this level by itself and needs the receiver to finalize proofing, but not the frame. Some manufacturers did it for particular export markets or dealers who wanted to show that the guns were quality. Additionally, it was done for military sales, domestic or export, in order to prove that the pieces could withstand overcharge and abuse. It was often done in markets or countries where such a level of proofing was not available.”

Finally, Robert Adair weighs in: “Some people believe that production of the later Charola y Anitua pistols shifted to Belgium. It has been repeated in several sources and is based on the fact that some of the last pistols made have Belgian proof marks. This simply means that they were sent to Belgium and proofed there before being sold. ...if they did more research, writers would know that many other Spanish pistols, all clearly made in Spain, also bear Belgian proofs...”

The lack of any indication of the gun’s Spanish origin, in combination with Belgian proofs on many examples and an English language barrel inscription, clearly indicate that Charola was trying to expand the market for the gun beyond the Spanish-speaking world. Juan Calvó puts it thus: “Undoubtedly in order to facilitate its commercialization, the Charola y Anitúa stopped recording its Spanish names on its surface, and the manufacturers, following the usual practice of many Basque gunsmiths, decided to mark it in English with the presumptuous inscription BEST SHOOTING PISTOL...”

Stewart indicates that: “Serial numbers for this third type range from below 2000 to above 2500.” Fox says: “The third type 5mm Charola started at approximately serial number 1800 and continued to somewhere between 2600 and 2700.” (See below.)

Type IV - 5 mm - Belgian Proofs - Bolt Lock Lever

Charola 5mm Type IV - SN 2909 - Live Auctioneers from the Collection of James B. Stewart

The fourth variant Charola, which is otherwise identical to the third variant, is distinguished by having a lever on the right side of the hammer which is used to lock the bolt to the rear, independent of the magazine follower. This allows individual cartridges to be inserted and fired if a stripper clip is not available. Type IV guns are completely unmarked except for Belgian proofs. Fox indicates that: “The Type IV Charolas are all found in the high 2000 serial range, from 2600 - 3000.”

^{Typology and Production Figures for the Charola Pistol}

So far as the author can determine, James B. Stewart was the first writer to offer a typology for the Charola pistols, which has been accepted by everyone who has written since. Fox revealed more detail about variations, and tweaked Stewart’s estimates for numbers made, increasing the numbers for the first and second variations. Conti appears to have relied on Fox’s figures, and Calvó relies on Conti. Everyone agrees that approximately 3000 pistols were made in 5mm, and approximately 2000 in 7mm.

Evidence suggests that Ignacio Charola may have introduced the Type II while there were still some Type I barrels, frames, and other parts left over, producing some crossover types between serial numbers 750 and 950. Serial number 799, which has a beaded front sight with barrel ring, small rear sight, a short safety lever, and the “I. Charola” barrel inscription, is clearly a Type II, though it retains the tall hammer spur of the early guns. This gun was once in James B. Stewart’s collection, so it is understandable that he suggested only about 750 Type I guns were made.

Charola Type II - SN 799 Charola Type I - SN 895

Serial number 895, currently in the collection of Steven B. Fox, has the early long barrel with the “Charola y Anitua” inscription, the tall hammer spur, and the large rear sight, though it has a shortened safety lever. It is clearly a Type I. Serial number 939, also in Steven B. Fox’s collection, is also clearly a Type I, and even features a long safety lever, so it is understandable why he suggests that the Type I extends up to approximately serial number 950.

There is almost certainly some crossover between second and third, and third and fourth, types as well. The author has observed Type II pistols above serial number 2000, and Conti shows a gun with the serial number 2752 on the grip frame which does not have the lock lever of a Type IV.

The following chart is based on Conti, but modified with current serial number information showing the overlap between types. However, it is intended only to serve as a general guide.

Footnotes:

1. Every written source reports the patent date as 13 October 1898, but both German and European patent databases list patent № 23164 as published on 16 October. Since the full patent is not available, we cannot explain this discrepancy.
2. Please write to the author and share photographs and information about your Charola pistol.
 

^{Part II: the 7mm Charola, Evaluation, Disassembly}

References Adair, Robert. Spanish Semi-Automatic Pistols, 1900 to 1940, Volume III, Original Design and Non-Eibar Style Pistols. Unpublished manuscript. Antaris, Leonardo M. Astra Firearms and Selected Competitors, Firac, Davenport, Iowa: 2009. Breathed, John W. Jr & Schroeder, Joseph J. Jr. System Mauser. CJA Publications, Cincinnati, Ohio: 1967/2009. Calvó, Juan. “La «Charola y Anitúa»”. Armas, Nº 57, February 1987. Calvó, Juan Luis & Sánchez-Malo, Eduardo Jiménez. 1840-1940: Cien Años de Pistolas y Revólveres Españoles. Artes Graficas Portela, Pontevedra: 1993. Calvó, Juan. Las Pistolas “Charola y Anitua” Calvó, Juan. Los Revólveres “Merwin”, de la Firma “Anitua y Charola” Conti, Paolo. “Charola y Anitua,” Diana Armi, 5 May 1992. Erlmeier, Hans A. & Brandt, Jokob H. Manual of Pistol and Revolver Cartridges, Vol. I. Journal-Verlag Schwend, Wiesbaden, Germany: 1967. Fox, Steven B. “The Charola y Anitua”, Gun Collector’s Digest, 4th Edition. DBI Books, Inc., Northbrook, IL: 1985. Génova, Juan. Armas Automáticas: Pistolas, Fusiles y Ametralladoras. Sucesores de Manuel Solar, Barcelona: 1903. Hogg, Ian V. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World’s Firearms. A&W Publishers, Inc., New York: 1978 Hogg, Ian V. & Weeks, John. Pistols of the World. Arms and Armour Press, London: 1978. Hogg, Ian V. & Walter, John. Pistols of the World. Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin: 2004. Madriñán, Jesús. https://www.jmfirearmscollection.com/pistolas/charola-y-anitua/ Pollard, Hugh B. C. Automatic Pistols. W E, Old Greenwich, Connecticut. Reprint of the 1920 edition. Stewart, James B. “The Pistol Named Charola-Anitua,” Guns magazine, April 1968. Unknown & Castellano, Antonio Álvarez. “Hace mas de un siglo: Charola y Anitúa,” Armas Internacional, Nº 49, October 2016. White, Henry P. and Munhall, Burton D.  Pistol and Revolver Cartridges. A.S. Barnes & Co., N.Y.: 1967.

A note on the sources:

Since the author only has direct access to two 7mm pistols, this article is based on information from previously published materials, which requires assessment. The earliest mention of the Charola is in Juan Génova’s 1903 book Armas Automáticas. It only covers the 5mm pistol, but he provides perhaps the best and most detailed information about the functioning of the pistol, plus early data on the 5mm cartridge. Juan Calvó clearly had access to this book, but does not reference it. H. B. Pollard merely mentions the Charola in his 1920 book, whereas R. K. Wilson does not (in his Textbook of Automatic Pistols). W. H. B. Smith (in his book Pistols & Revolvers) mentions the Charola, only to incorrectly state that it somehow derived from the Bergmann. Ian Hogg lists the gun under Garate y Anitua in both of his 1978 books, but corrects this in his 2004 Pistols of the World—his technical information is good, but the historical information is not always accurate. The first modern article with detailed information about the mechanism, and a typology, was written by James B. Stewart in 1968, and it remains the best source available. Steven Fox’s 1985 article contains some new information about variations and the number of each variant produced. Juan Calvó is the first to provide accurate historical information and a partial copy of the patent drawing. The full patent drawing and the text of the patent have never been published. Paolo Conti’s 1992 article, while not entirely accurate historically, is among the best for technical information. Conti probably had access to Fox’s article. The most recent (2016) article in Armas Internacional provides nothing new but has some nice photographs.
 

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Bill Chase and Steven B. Fox for photographs, information, and discussion of the Charola pistol; and to Michael Carrick for providing the author with copies of two of Calvó’s books. Thanks also to Al Gerth for helping verify features, and to Robert Adair for information, discussion, and sharing the portion of his unpublished book which relates to the Charola pistol.

Copyright 2025 by Ed Buffaloe.  All rights reserved.

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