Samuel Colt (1814–1862) was one of the most famous and
successful American inventors and entrepreneurs of the early
industrial age. By patenting the first mass-produced multishot
revolving firearms, Colt achieved worldwide fame and a vast
personal fortune. His introduction of precise machine-made
weapons and his promotion of the interchangeability of parts
were innovations that transformed the arms industry. Colt
actively promoted sales through advertising and displays at
international fairs, and by presenting deluxe arms to men of
influence, including heads of state. His precise and reliable
standard-model revolvers were highly valued by soldiers and
frontiersmen. His more elaborately embellished exhibition and
presentation arms appealed as functional objects of beauty.The
Museum’s revolver is considered one of Colt’s finest.
Apparently, it was created as part of a set of three pairs of
gold-inlaid revolvers that Colt took with him to Europe in 1854.
That year saw the outbreak of the Crimean War, which pitte