W W Greener in "The Gun & Its Development" mentioned that Matthews was the first to use a side swinging top lever, but stated it was rather crude. He indicated it preceded 1860, though Mr Crawford gives its patent date as 1863. Some could well have been made prior to the patent being issued. He does not state on what gun it was first used.
I do not see it as being overly strong, though on the Scott workmanship is far from being "Crude". It is a center pivot lever as opposed to the side pivot of the early Westley Richards guns. It does not have the vertical spindle as does the Scott Spindle which was patented in 1865.
