Page 252 - 4095-BOOK1

250
LOT 260
Desirable Patent Arms Mfg. Co. Colt Paterson Model 1839 Percussion Revolving Carbine - Serial no. 804,
32 gauge, 24 inch part round bbl., brown/blue finish, walnut stock. Reportedly, less than 950 of Samuel Colt’s
Model 1839 Paterson revolving carbines were manufactured at the Patent Arms Manufacturing Co.’s Paterson,
New Jersey factory circa 1838-1841, according to page 47 of “The Book of Colt Firearms” (1971) by R.L. Wilson.
There are far less surviving today, and this is a solid representative example of one of these rare and desirable
Colts. They were considered to be the most successful of the Paterson firearms, with known use during the
Mexican-American War. The War Department purchased a reported 360, with 300 issued for U.S. Navy service
and 60 for use with the Dragoons of the U.S. Army, and the State of Texas purchased 300, with 180 going to
the Navy and 120 to the Texas Rangers and the Texas Army, with the State of Rhode Island purchasing 46 more,
which leaves fewer than 250 of the total production to have found their way to the civilian markets, per page
217 of “The Colt Paterson Book” by Wilson. R.L. Wilson wrote this model was “The most practical and popular of
all Colts longarms from the Paterson period,” and also indicated that Samuel Colt continued to sell and display
this model into the 1850s. The Model 1839 is featured in multiple paintings by famous frontier artist George
Catlin that were used to promote Colt’s early firearms. On top of being the best of the Paterson long guns, this
model is also significant as one of the first practical repeating long gun designs. There had been other repeating
firearms in the past, but none of these were remotely as useful and many were unsuited to production on a large
scale. This carbine has a .525 caliber (32 gauge) smoothbore part-round/part-beveled barrel with brazed lug.
The right side of the barrel lug has a loading lever and has a flat, two-groove wedge, a dovetail mounted period
blade front sight, and a
dovetail mounted notch
rear sight (one broken ear).
The left side of the barrel lug has a partly visible roll-stamped
“*Patent-Arms M’g. Co. Paterson, NJ.-Colt’s Pt.*” with wavy lines at the
ends. The cylinder measures 2 1/2 inches long, with traces of roll-
engraved scenery, and visible patent and address markings. The wedge
is unnumbered, with the serial number “804” visible on the rear face
of the barrel lug, rear of the cylinder, cylinder turning ring, lower tang
screw, and buttplate screws.
CONDITION: Fair, exhibits antiqued brown and gray patina on the iron surfaces,
light to moderate pitting, and faint markings. Professionally made replacement loading lever.
Stock is also fair, with dings and scratches, a few small minor chips at some of the edges, and a few small minor
cracks behind both the upper tang and lower tang. Mechanically functions. This rare Paterson Model 1839
carbine is an important piece necessary for any complete Colt percussion collection.
Provenance: The Charles Marx Collection.
Estimate: 12,000 - 20,000
According to "The Book of Colt Firearms" by
R.L. Wilson, fewer than 950 Colt Paterson Model
1839 revolving carbines were manufactured at the
Patent Arms Manufacturing Co.'s Paterson,
New Jersey factory circa 1838-1841.