Colt Third Model Dragoon Percussion Revolver, serial no. 12406
Early American arms usually were plain, serviceable weapons intended for hunting and self-defense. By the mid-nineteenth century, however, the increasing wealth and sophistication of the middle class created a new demand for decorated arms. English and German designs initially served as models for American arms decoration. A new era of creativity began with the arrival of German-born gun engravers and die-cutters, who joined Colt's engraving staff at the Hartford, Connecticut factory beginning in about 1853. In addition to embellishing standard models, these engravers created some of Colt's most lavish and ambitious gold-inlaid arms, which were intended for promotional display or for presentation to influential citizens, politicians, and heads of state. The finest decorated Colt revolvers typically have blued steel surfaces deeply engraved with dense foliate scrollwork, with motifs such as human figures, animals and birds, and invariably, Colt's name inlaid in gold set flush with the surface. On the most luxurious examples, some of the gold was modeled in relief, resembling sculpture in miniature.
This Dragoon model revolver and its mate (presented to the Czar of Russia) are considered among Colt's masterpieces. Apparently, they were created as part of a set of three pairs of gold-inlaid revolvers that Colt took with him to Europe in 1854. That year saw the outbreak of the Crimean War, which pitted Russia against Turkey and her allies, Great Britain and France. Colt aggressively marketed arms to both sides. In November 1854, he presented three gold-inlaid revolvers, one example from each pair, to Czar Nicholas I of Russia. Of these, the Third Model Dragoon serial number 12407 (now in The Hermitage, Saint Petersburg) is actually the mate to the Museum’s pistol, serial number 12406. The gift clearly demonstrated the technical and artistic aspects of Colt’s product, while its patriotic motifs proudly proclaimed its American origin. The museum's pistol features a portrait of George Washington and the Arms of the United States, while on the Czar's pistol there are a view of America's capitol building and a personification of American industry.
Artwork Details
- Title: Colt Third Model Dragoon Percussion Revolver, serial no. 12406
- Manufacturer: Samuel Colt (American, Hartford, Connecticut 1814–1862)
- Date: ca. 1853
- Geography: Hartford, Connecticut
- Culture: American, Hartford, Connecticut
- Medium: Steel, brass, gold, wood (walnut)
- Dimensions: L. 14 in. (35.6 cm); L. of barrel 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm); Cal. .44 in. (11.2 mm); case; H. 3 in. (7.6 cm); W. 16 3/16 in. (41.1 cm); D. 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm); Wt. 3 lb. 9.8 oz. (224 g)
- Classification: Firearms-Pistols-Revolvers
- Credit Line: Gift of George and Butonne Repaire, 1995
- Object Number: 1995.336
- Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor
Audio
4414. Colt Third Model Dragoon Percussion Revolver, Serial Number 12406
LAROCCA: The Colt revolver is what people think of as sort of the gun that won the West.
NARRATOR: Donald LaRocca.
LAROCCA: And Samuel Colt certainly was very famous for his inventions, and he’s the first one to really patent a functional type of revolver that could be mass-produced. We take for granted the fact that things that we have machines and so on all have interchangeable parts, but that was a radical notion in the early nineteenth century. Colt revolvers were really the first weapons to have fully interchangeable parts. So, Colt was a real pioneer in that sense.
He was also a great showman and a great businessman, and one of the things he did to drum up business was to have these very elaborate, very beautifully decorated pistols made by a specialized group of craftsmen in his factory in Hartford Connecticut, and then present them to various heads of state or to other important people, politicians, and so on. This particular pistol is one of a set that Colt had made during the Crimean war. And as a good businessman he tried to drum up business from both sides in that conflict, so he presented pistols to the King of England, he presented pistols to the Czar of Russia, and pieces to the Sultan of Turkey—all the major powers that were involved in that particular conflict.
This particular gun was the one that was presented to the Sultan of Turkey, and it’s very patriotic, very American decoration on it of a bust of George Washington, the American flag, the American eagle—all beautifully inlaid in gold on a blued background. The decorator was Gustav Young who was a German craftsman who, at that period, was responsible for the most elaborate guns coming out of the Colt factory. Colt would show off not only the beauty of the mechanism and the way the gun functioned, but by making them very attractive to the eye, he then hoped to get commissions from the various heads of state that he gave them to, and it frequently worked.
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