Page 157 - 4093-BOOK2

LOT 1170
Outstanding Presentation Cased Patent Arms Manufacturing
Company “Colt Baby Paterson” No.1 Pocket Model Percussion
Revolver with Full Set of Accessories - Serial no. 187, 28 cal., 4
inch octagon bbl., blue finish, varnished walnut grips. The “Baby
Paterson” is one of the most significant of all American firearms
as it was the very first of Samuel Colt’s revolving firearms to enter
production. While only around 500 were manufactured c. 1837-1838,
the rare and historic No. 1 Pocket Model set the stage for Colt’s
subsequent models, and it can be seen as essentially the “father” of
the Baby Dragoon and as the “grandfather” of the Model 1849 Pocket
which was the most widely owned Colt revolver of the 19th century.
While the larger “Texas Paterson,” Colt Walker, and subsequent larger
revolvers are famous for their use on the battlefield, they were too
cumbersome for daily carry by a gentleman walking along the
streets of America’s growing cities which remained largely unpoliced.
Thus, these smaller pocket models had a much larger potential
market as early concealed carry pistols. While the company was
officially the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company, advertisements
in newspapers such as those run in New York City’s Evening Post in
the fall and winter of 1839 were already headlined “Colt’s Repeating
Fire Arms” including “Pistols, from pocket to holster size,” and thus
helped set the stage for Samuel Colt’s later fame and success.
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