Gun historians, collectors, researchers and black powder enthusiasts can now view historically important Colt presentation percussion firearms in a new video entitled, "With Compliments of Colonel Colt", produced by Marill Productions.
This video showcases 34 cased sets of Colt presentation arms that were auctioned to the public over a two year period by an antique arms auction house in San Francisco. Unfortunately, these guns are now in private collections that are rarely viewable by the general public.
These are not the type of guns you might get to examine in the average high-grade collection. These are one-of-a-kinds. These exotic and artistically- ornamented guns were those used for presentations by Samuel Colt himself -- hence the title, "With Compliments of Colonel Colt".
The Colt revolvers and longarms featured in this video are presented in a chronological and historic evolutionary frame. The video begins in 1836 with Colt's first revolving guns, the original Paterson models - one of which fetched the world's record auction price for a single gun at $775,000. The show continues with the Walker and later Dragoons and Baby Dragoon models. Of particular interest for me was a Colt Whitneyville Walker revolver with serial number 1010. This is one of a pair presented by Col. Colt to Capt. Samuel Hamilton Walker, a Texas Ranger captain then serving with U.S. forces in the Mexican War. Capt. Walker had helped design the gun with Colt of which only 1,100 were made. Unfortunately, Capt. Walker died in combat just before the presentation pair of revolvers arrived in Mexico.
The show continues with the 1849 Pocket models, 1851 Navys, 1855 Root revolvers and a special carbine, 1860 Armys, 1861 Navys, 1862 Police and a Thuer conversion model. As a finale is the only known Colt Factory display board from the 19th Century that was mounted with 40 guns for the firm of Schuyler, Hartley & Graham of New York City, a major distributor of Colt firearms.
The show's narrator tells about the guns, the details of their decoration, and the people and events with which they were involved. In between are guns selected and commissioned by Col. Colt, engraved and decorated as he specified, and presented to people like his nephew, H.A.G. Pomeroy, the architect of Colt's new Armory in Hartford, CT., the Earl of Cardigan, leader of the Crimean War "charge of the Light Brigade", presidents, kings, Civil War generals, and other military and government officials.
But fascinating as the history of the guns was, I was struck by the experience of being able to see these guns on a screen two to three times the size of the entire page of a comparable book such as R.L. Wilson's definitive Colt publications. And I was able to see each piece in a way that would be the next best thing to handling it, turning it, and closing in on a detail in person. For me, being able to get 360-degree close-ups of these historically significant specimens, to inspect in minute detail the serial numbers, engraving, inscriptions, gold inlay work -- to be able to freeze-frame and rewind and review any particular gun of the various Colt models made during the Colonel's lifetime, and frequently presented by him in person, was great.
In my opinion, anyone seriously interested in arms history, particularly devotees of early and formative Colt firearms, will find this VHS color video an excellent resource that can be shown to fellow collectors and friends over and over again. In fact I ordered two copies, one for myself and one for my dad for this Father's Day.