This beautifully engraved firearm, now a part of the Colt Memorial Collection in the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, Connecticut, was built in 1835. Sam Colt was, after all, as much a promoter as he was an inventor and this gun bridged those sides of his personality. It measured 7.25 inches length overall and had a rounded butt. The .40-cal., 3.25-inch barrel was octagonal and the straight round cylinder held five shots. Sights were a small front blade and rear notch at the intersection of the barrel and frame. It had a folding trigger without a trigger guard.
Baby Paterson
PRODUCTION GUNS
MODEL NO. 1 POCKET OR BABY PATERSON
Built beginning in 1837, the Baby Paterson was the first production revolver manufactured by Colt in Paterson. It was intended to serve the carriage trade or military officers who needed a deringer-size, concealable revolver. The single action Model 1 or Pocket Model with folding trigger is the most diminutive in the Paterson line. The standard model has no attached loading lever. Chambering is .28 cal. Percussion; cylinder capacity is five shots. Barrel lengths vary from 1.75 to 4.75 inches. The finish is all-blued, with varnished walnut or fancier grips. It has a roll-engraved centaur motif cylinder scene, and the barrel is stamped “PATENT ARMS MFG. CO. PATERSON N.J. COLT’S PT.” Serial numbers are not visible without dismantling, but each is numbered, #1 through #500.
Belt Model Paterson
MODEL NO. 2 BELT PATERSON
Manufactured from 1837 to 1840, the Belt Model Paterson is a larger revolver than the Model 1, with a straight grip and an octagonal barrel that is 2.5 to 5.5 inches in length. Chambered for .31 cal. percussion, the Belt Model holds five shots and has a folding, drop-down trigger. The finish is all-blued, with varnished walnut grips. There is no attached loading lever. It has a roll-engraved centaur motif cylinder scene, and the barrel is stamped “PATENT ARMS MFG. CO. PATERSON N.J. COLT’S PT.” Serial numbers, which are shared with the #3 Belt Model, range from #1 to #850.
Belt Model Paterson #3.
MODEL NO. 3 BELT PATERSON
revolver is similar to the Model #2 except that grips are curved or flared outward at the bottom to form a more hand-filling configuration. When cocked, the trigger dropped down automatically into firing position. It has a roll engraved centaur motif cylinder scene, and the barrel is stamped “PATENT ARMS MFG.” A few guns feature attached loading levers, but these are extremely rare and, when found, add approximately 35 percent to the base value. Cased, matched pairs are extremely rare and consequently, extremely valuable. The .31 cal. Model #3s were also serial numbered in the same #1 to #850 range.
Texas Paterson
MODEL NO. 5 TEXAS PATERSON
Also known as the Holster Model, this is the largest and most sought-after of the Paterson Colts. It saw use by both the military and civilians on the American frontier. Chambered for .36-cal. percussion, the Model 5 holds five shots; it has an octagonal barrel that varies from 4 to 12 inches in length. Rare models have an attached loading lever, which was retro-fitted after 1839. The finish is blued, with a case-colored hammer. Grips are varnished walnut although ivory and mother-of-pearl were popular options. Some models feature optional silver-band decorative inlays. The cylinder is roll engraved and the barrel is stamped “PATENT ARMS MFG. CO. PATERSON, N.J. COLT’S PT.” Most Texas Patersons are well used and have a worn appearance. One in Exc. or V.G. condition would be highly prized. A verified military model would be worth a great deal more than a standard model, so qualified appraisal would be essential. An attached loading lever brings approximately a 25 percent premium. Manufactured from 1838 to 1840, the serial number range is #1 to #1000.
Model #4 Ehler’s Pocket Paterson.
MODEL NO. 4 EHLERS POCKET PATERSON
John Ehlers was a major stockholder and treasurer of the Patent Arms Mfg. Co. When it went bankrupt, he seized the company’s assets and inventory. These .28 cal. five shot revolvers were Pocket Model Patersons that were not finished at the time. Ehlers had them finished, shortened the frame by 3/16 of an inch and then marketed them himself. Each featured an attached loading lever and the centaur scene on the cylinder. The abbreviation “MFG. CO.” was deleted from the barrel stamping. Produced from 1840 to 1843, a total of about 500 revolvers were involved in all of the Ehlers variations
MODEL NO. 5 EHLERS BELT PATERSON
This was the second of Ehlers efforts to recoup his losses from the Colt manufacturing bankruptcy and it derived from the No.2 Belt Pistol. The caliber was .31; the frame was shortened by 0.1875 inch and while cylinder lengths vary, cylinders feature the centaur scene. Attached loading levers were standard. The Ehlers Belt Models fall within the same 500 revolver lot and they are quite rare
WALKERS AND DRAGOONS
Struggling to refine his designs and begin manufacturing again, Samuel Colt was handed a gift in 1846 in the form of Captain Samuel H. Walker. A veteran of the frontier fighting with Mexico and Native Americans, particularly the fierce and combative Comanche in Texas, Walker attracted a great deal of attention in the national press … and he had become a Colt believer.
According to R.L. Wilson’s Colt: An American Legend, Captain Walker and the subsequent six-shot percussion revolvers Colt produced were the “key to the mint.” Although quite large, these handguns were immediately successful and by 1847, both orders and favorable publicity were flooding Sam Colt’s mailbox. It was this gun that allowed Colt to return in triumph to Hartford, the city of his birth, and begin an industrial enterprise that, before his early and untimely death in 1862, became an empire.
Although the Mexican War ended in 1848, Europe and the U.S.A. were beset by troubles that caused demand for Colt’s now operationally-correct revolvers to skyrocket: the Crimean War, the California Gold Rush and, as farmers, adventurers and pioneers pushed west, the escalating Indian Wars.
