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Colt Model 1862 Police Revolver, serial no. 38549

Designer Grip designed by John Quincy Adams Ward American
Engraver Engraving attributed to Georg H. Sterzing American
ca. 1868
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 372
The ornate brass grip of this pistol features a female figure representing Christianity and Justice. John Quincy Adams Ward created the original model of the grip for a pair of pistols presented by President Abraham Lincoln to the governor of Adrianople (present-day Edirne, Turkey) in 1864. The grip of the pistol displayed here was probably cast from the same mold shortly after that. Ward was relatively unknown at the time, but soon became one of America's most celebrated sculptors.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Colt Model 1862 Police Revolver, serial no. 38549
  • Manufacturer: Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company (American, Hartford, Connecticut, 1855–present)
  • Designer: Grip designed by John Quincy Adams Ward (American, Urbana, Ohio 1830–1910 New York)
  • Engraver: Engraving attributed to Georg H. Sterzing (American (born Germany), Saxony 1799 or 1800–probably ca. 1871/72 Hartford, Connecticut)
  • Date: ca. 1868
  • Geography: Hartford, Connecticut; New York, New York
  • Culture: American, Hartford, Connecticut and New York
  • Medium: Steel, gold, copper alloy (brass)
  • Dimensions: L. of pistol 11 in. (27.9 cm); Cal. .36 in. (9.1 mm)
  • Classification: Firearms-Pistols
  • Credit Line: Gift of W. C. Foxley, 2014
  • Object Number: 2014.699
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

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