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LOT 3225
Rare, Historically Significant Colt Competitor
Master Gunsmith Orison Blunt’s Metropolitan Arms Co. Prototype Percussion Revolver
- NSN, 36 cal., 6 1/8 inch round bbl., brown finish, varnished walnut
grips. Perhaps no other name is more synonymous with the American revolver than Samuel Colt. He was, after all, the
pioneer American inventor and industrialist who revolutionized mass production and mass marketing of revolvers. In the first 25 years, for instance, Colt’s company manufactured more than 400,000 revolvers. Colt’s guns virtually participated in every major event in American history whether in war or in peace since the company was founded in 1837. To retain his dominance over the revolver market, Colt filed a historic patent infringement lawsuit against the Massachusetts Arms Company. Won by Colt, the court ruling limited Massachusetts
Arms to the production of the relatively unpopular revolver designs by Edward Maynard until Colt’s patent expired in 1857. The expiration of Colt’s
master patent for the revolver signaled the end to Colt’s unyielding domination over the revolver market. Competitive firearms manufacturers quickly flooded the market with Colt imitations. One such competitor was Metropolitan Arms Company. As cited in Sellers and Smith’s “American Percussion Revolvers,”“Founded on February 24, 1864, the Metropolitan Arms Co. was formed
to make revolvers of the Colt pattern, to fill the gap left by the fire which destroyed much of the Colt factory on February 4th. Three types of revolvers were made by Metropolitan, copies of the Colt Models 1851 and 1861 navies and the Colt 1862 police” (page 98). The founder of Metropolitan Arms Co. was Orison Blunt (1815-1879). A friend of Samuel Colt since 1837, Blunt
hand built the prototype Walker revolver for Colt (see Wilson’s “The Paterson Colt Book” on pages 45-47). The Colt Walker has long been the single most essential and necessary piece for many, if not all, of the iconic, important and influential 19th century fine American arms collections over the last century. Blunt even testified during the landmark Colt vs Massachusetts Arms Co. trail in 1851. “Throughout his testimony,” writes Colt historian R.L Wilson, “Blunt convincingly demonstrated his extensive knowledge and experience on firearms and the principles involved in their design and manufacture.
His comments reflected an impressive experience in the actual manufacture of guns.” It is now 1864, and Blunt is ready to go head to head with his old friend Samuel Colt with a line of his own revolvers. Offered here is Blunt’s historic hand built prototype revolver for the Metropolitan Arms Co. of which he founded. This revolver is a physical reminder of the ingenuity and inventiveness of those who dared take on Colt,
the goliath of 19th century American firearms manufacturing. In the accompanying letter R.L. Wilson compares this prototype to Blunt’s other historic test revolver, the Walker prototype, and finds interesting similarities. Wilson writes, “Although several years separate the Walker prototype of 1846 from the Colt-type prototype revolver of c. 1864, certain distinct similarities are common to both revolvers. First of these
is the finely formed, and graceful hammer and its nearly identically contoured hammer spur. Other common features: Cylinder configuration, lacking roll-engraved scene. Knurling on cylinder periphery...Capping
cutout on right side of recoil shield without a guide groove to assist in applying caps. Cylinder stop slots without guide grooves. Relatively small size to the frame screws. All steel construction of grip straps. Oval configuration to trigger guard.” Wilson also notes that some of the listed common features are also shared with guns manufactured by Blunt & Syms, a company Blunt co-founded that was among the firms accused of violating Colt patents in Colt vs Massachusetts Arms Co. The revolver is unmarked, but so too were the early production Metropolitan Navies up to estimated serial number 1800. Another shared featured with Metropolitans are the safety notches on the back of the cylinder for the hammer nose to rest in, unlike the protruding pins found on Colt. Wilson found that the internal parts are copies of designs found on the Models 1860, 1861, and 1862. The finish appears to be brown, as was common with a number of Blunt & Syms pepperboxes, and the varnished grip features decorative silver inlays. CONDITION: Fine. The revolver has an attractive smooth brown patina with darker appearance on the frame and a few areas of pitting. The grip is also fine with a couple chips on the bottom, five notches towards the top (left side), some absent silver inlay and minor dings and scratches. Mechanically functions although the cylinder does not lock and the hammer does not hold at the half cock position. A historically significant, high quality prototype revolver by master gunsmith Orison Blunt made for Metropolitan Arms Co. in the effort to take full advantage of Colt’s disastrous 1864 fire. This prototype is central to the Colt story and its competitors during the mid-19th century. Estimate: 4,500 - 7,500
LOT 3226
Colt Third Model Dragoon Percussion Revolver with Holster - Serial no. 19211, 44 cal., 8 inch round bbl., blue/casehardened
finish, walnut grips. The Colt Dragoon revolvers were the successors to the famous Colt Walker revolver and remained Colt’s “holster” model
until the introduction of the smaller Model 1860 Army. This Third Model Dragoon was manufactured in 1860 and likely saw use in the American Civil
War. It features a dovetailed blade front sight, a small dovetailed notch rear sight towards the breech, the one-line New York City barrel address,
“COLTS/PATENT” on the left side of the frame, and matching serial numbers visible on the cylinder, loading lever, barrel, frame, trigger guard and back
strap. Includes an unmarked dark leather flap holster.
CONDITION: Good. The revolver has a hard worn appearance and overall dark aged patina and mild pitting typical of guns that saw heavy use in the Civil War and in the Old West. The front sight has solder, the trigger guard is bent in at the middle, and some of the small parts are replacements. The grip is also fair and has heavy wear at the butt including some chips and is generally worn from handling and use. Mechanically fine. The holster is fair with heavy overall wear, including flaking and absent stitching.
Estimate: 4,000 - 6,000
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