Browning 1900 (brevette)

1896 by John Browning for Fabrique Nationale de Herstal (FN) and  produced in Belgium at the turn of the century. It was the first  production handgun to use a slide. Presented to arms manufacturer FN  Herstal in 1898, with production commencing the following year (then  under the designation Modele 1899). In 1900, an improved design  featuring primarily a shorter barrel and wider grips was introduced as  the M1900. These designations were applied retroactively after FN began  manufacture of other Browning pistol designs; initially the M1900 was  marketed as simply the "Pistolet Browning" (Browning Pistol). Production  ceased only 11 years later, with a total of about 700,000+ units having  been produced. The example is marked Brevet SGDG The term stands for  "Breveté Sans Garantie Du Gouvernement" and means: "Patent without  guarantee of the government".  This suggests that it may be a  manufacture outside the FN factory