The Colt Model 1849 Pocket Revolver was the most successful percussion handgun ever produced by Colt, with more than 325,000 being manufactured in the United States between 1850 and 1873, and another 11,000 or so being produced at Colt’s short-lived London manufactory. The 1849 Pocket was an improved version of the Model 1848 Pocket Revolver, better known to collectors as the “Baby Dragoon”, which had first been introduced in 1847 and remained in production through 1850, when the Model 1849 Pocket Revolver superseded it. The “Baby Dragoon” had found a ready market among those who were taking part in the rapid westward expansion of the United States and were prized possessions in the California gold fields of the 1849 Gold Rush. The relatively short barrel (typically 3” to 6”), the compact five-shot cylinder (later production guns offered a six-shot cylinder) and the small .31 caliber chambering all combined to make a relatively light weight (around 22 ounces or 1 pound 6 ounces with a 5” barrel) and compact revolver that could be carried covertly in a jacket or trouser pocket. The “Baby” did have some drawbacks, the most obvious being the lack of an attached loading lever on the majority of the production. The other issue was the square backed triggerguard, which could be caught on the edge of a pocket when the gun was pulled from hiding. The improved version, the Model 1849 Pocket included a loading lever on all but the shortest barreled versions and a rounded trigger guard. Other changes from the early production “Baby Dragoons” that were standard on the 1849 had appeared as improvements on later Model 1848s and included an improved action with a roller on the bottom of the hammer, grease grooves on the cylinder arbor pin, and rectangular cylinder stop slots with a rounded concave profile along their leading edge. This improvement, which had been patented by Colt in 1850, was incorporated in all of their future percussion revolver designs and is still a feature found on nearly every revolver in production today. The 1849 Pocket also incorporated the roll engraved “Stagecoach Hold Up” cylinder scene that had been introduced during the latter part of Baby Dragoon production. 

The Colt Pocket went into production in 1850, concurrently with the Baby Dragoon, and both models continued in production for some months utilizing the same serial number range. This means that early 1850 revolver production (which started around serial number 12,000) contained a mixture of “Baby” and “Pocket” revolver numbers overlapping within the same series, with the “Pocket” finally becoming the only handgun in that serial number range towards the end of 1850 (somewhere in serial number range of 14,000-15,000). The Colt Model 1849 Pocket was produced in more variations than any other Colt revolver and it is generally estimated that a collection of about two hundred Model 1849s would be necessary to cover all of the primary variants. 

Due to the wide variety of features available, a “standard” Model 1849 is hard to define, but in general a typical Colt Pocket Revolver was a 5 or 6 shot .31 caliber single action percussion revolver with an octagonal barrel that was typically 3”, 4”, 5” or 6” in length, usually with an attached loading lever. During the latter part of production, particularly during the production of the “one-line New York address” guns, 4” barrels appear to have been standard with 5” and 6” guns less common and 3” guns no longer offered. The backstrap, gripstrap and triggerguard were usually of silver-plated brass, although this went away towards the end of production. The revolver was typically blued with a color case hardened frame, hammer and loading lever. Standard grips were varnished one-piece walnut. The revolvers were, however, available with a dizzying array of finishes, barrel lengths, grip options, and engraving. A dovetailed blade front sight was even a factory available option.

The London produced guns that were manufactured circa 1853 to 1856. Slightly less than 11,000 guns were “produced” at the London manufactory, with at least one reliable source citing a total of 10,755 guns being produced. The earliest “London” Colt Pockets were produced in the Hartford factory, however very quickly the London factory started to assemble guns from American made parts, and then eventually London made parts. Research indicates that the first London Colt Pockets that were completely produced in London, from parts made in the London factory, were not available until February of 1854. During the ramp up to full English production, some of the guns were produced with a mixture of English and American made parts, making for some interesting variants in the lower serial number range of London Colt Pockets. These guns typically appear below serial number 250, although some American made parts do appear in guns as high as serial number 1,000. Interestingly, towards the end of London production, some American made parts do appear in the manufacture of guns, typically in guns above the 8,900 serial number range through the end of production. 

The London produced guns did have some differences from the Hartford produced guns. Most of the London guns were produced with iron triggerguards and backstraps rather than brass, and with screws that had more rounded and domed heads than their American counterparts. While the American pistols were available with a large number of finish and grip options, their London counterparts were almost universally produced with blued barrels and color case hardened frames and with varnished walnut grips. Many of the iron backstraps and triggerguards were silver plated, however the silver did not adhere well to the metal, so the silver is rarely encountered on pistols today. In some cases, these iron parts were simply blued. Most researchers feel that the market pressures in Great Britain forced Colt to produce his London made guns to a higher level of fit and finish than he did in America. This was necessary to compete with the large English handgun makers like Adams, Tranter and Webley, who typically produced revolvers of exceptional quality. The quality of the blued finish on the London guns was clearly superior to that on the American made guns, with the case hardening having a much bluer appearance than the American made guns and with less vivid coloration in the mottling. 

Although the Colt London Manufactory closed in 1856, that did not bring an end to Colt selling his guns in England. He maintained his London Agency where orders could still be placed by retailers and even European buyers, and where an inventory of American-made guns was usually available for sale to the public. These were typically the standard American version of whichever gun the customer wanted, but in the case of guns like the Model 1849, the guns sent to London tended to retain what collectors think of as “London” features, like iron backstraps and triggerguards. Early on these were left over London-made parts from the old London Manufactory, but later (particularly after the Colt factory fire), the parts were typically American-made versions of “London” parts. It is likely for this reason that the letters “L” for London and in some cases “E” for “England” started to be added above or below the serial numbers on many of the parts of these guns destined for export to England, so that the correct parts would be used. The barrel addresses of these latter-day London percussion guns were inevitably the standard barrel address in use at the time at the Hartford factory.

Offered here is a lovely Cased London Retailed, Hartford Colt Model 1849 Pocket Revolver. It is a classic example of post-Civil War gun made in Hartford and destined for the London Agency. The 4” revolver has a six-chambered cylinder and has the serial number 297012, indicating it was produced circa late-1867. The letter “L” appears above and below most of the serial numbers, as would be expected for a London Agency gun produced in Hartford during this period. The gun has the one-line New York barrel address that is standard in the serial number range of nominally 187,000 through 333,000. 

ADDRESS COL SAML COLT NEW-YORK U.S. AMERICA

The revolver remains in about FINE condition and is all matching, including the wedge and the grip. Only the loading lever is unnumbered, which is typical of guns made during this period. The cylinder has the usual COLT’S PATENTmark over the No 7012. The lower left of the frame has the usual small COLT’S/PATENT mark, and the left rear bolster of the triggerguard is stamped 31 CAL. As would be expected of a gun imported to England, the revolver has London commercial proof marks on the left side of the barrel web, as well as between the six chambers of the cylinder. The gun has the usual London iron backstrap and triggerguard and these parts are blued and not silver plated, as the silver did not adhere as well to the iron as it did to brass parts.

This London Agency gun is in about FINE condition and retains about 30% of the blue on the barrel, which shows flaking and loss as well as some scattered oxidized spotting. Much of the bright surface blue flaked away, leaving a dull blue color on the metal that actually make the gun appear to have more finish than it really does. The flaked areas have a dull, bluish gray and plum patina. The metal is smooth with clear markings and shows no real pitting other than at the face of the muzzle. The metal shows only some scattered, lightly freckled surface oxidation and some tiny areas of pinpricking here and there. The backstrap and triggerguard retain much of their richly blued finish with about 80%+ of the bright blue remaining. The frame retains about 50%+ of its color casehardened finish. The majority of the finish is present on the right side of the frame, where the case colors have dulled, but still retain lovely, mottled blues and purples. The left side of the frame retains streaky brownish gray traces of finish and is mostly a silvery gray color. The loading lever retains about 50%+ of its case coloring as well, mostly on the web with the balance having dulled and faded to a smooth bluish-gray patina. Some of the small parts like the trigger and some of the screws retain at least some traces of their nearly luminescent niter blued finish. The hammer screw is replaced, and the frame screws retain no real finish. The triggerguard screws and butt screw show some moderate slot wear. The revolver retains nearly all of its roll engraved cylinder scene, which is vividly apparent and deeply cut. The cylinder has a mostly dull bluish-gray patina with some hints and traces of faded blue, but no vibrant blue to speak of. The revolver is mechanically excellent and tight with a good bore with strong rifling that shows moderate amounts of oxidation and evenly distributed light to moderate pitting. Three of the safety pins on the rear face of the cylinder remain in very good condition and the other three show heavy battering and wear, leaving only traces of the pins present. The one-piece varnished walnut grip is in about FINE condition as well. It retains most of the finish and shows some light handling wear, some finish loss and scattered bumps, dings and mars. The grip is solid and free of any breaks or repairs.

The revolver is contained in a VERY GOOD condition English Colt retailer oak casing that is fully compartmentalized and lined with a dark red baize cloth. The original paper instructions are present inside the lid and remain fully legible. Like many of the cases of the period, it is designed to accept a 5” revolver, but these same cases were regularly used for 4” guns as well. The wear indicates that a 4” gun has been in the casing for a very long time. The casing contains a number of accessories and accoutrements for the guns. These include a flask, mold, L-tool, pewter oiler, cap tin, lead bullets, and the cleaning rod. All of these accessories are in very good to fine condition. 

The flask is an English-made pocket-sized flask that is marked on the top in three lines James Dixon/& Sons/Sheffieldand more importantly is also marked on the top COLT’S POCKET FLASK indicating was intended for use with a Colt Pocket revolver. The flask has an adjustable charging spout and remains in about FINE condition with some wear and scattered finish loss. The mold is an original .31 caliber blued iron dual cavity mold that is marked Colt’s/Patenton the sprue cutter. The mold is also in FINE condition and retains some of its blued finish with very nice cavities. The L-shaped Colt tool is in about FINE condition as well. It is a correct, period Colt combination nipple wrench and screwdriver. A pewter oiler is included and is clearly marked on the bottom James Dixon/& Sons/Sheffield in three lines. The oiler is in FINE condition and has a medium dull gray patina and shows a moderate number of surface scuffs and handling marks. A correct large sized, 250 count empty japanned steel cap tin with a green paper Eley Brothers label is included in the case as well. This remains in about VERY GOOD condition with moderate wear and loss to the finish and the paper label, which has been wet at some point in time, so it has faded as well. A number of round lead balls are present in the lidded compartment of the case. Finally, a correct style London cleaning rod is in the casing along the rear edge, with a steel head. The rod is in VERY GOOD condition and shows moderate oxidation. 

As noted, the oak casing remains in about VERY GOOD+ condition. The exterior shows moderate wear with scattered bumps, dings and mars. There are a couple of minor separations at the corners of the lid, but they are not major and do not really detract from the overall appearance. There is a brass escutcheon plate in the top of the lid which has not been engraved. The oak case has somewhat more figure to the wood than some of the other English cases of the period and is very attractive, with a lovely honey color. The original “bible” hinges remain in place and are still sturdy, although the hinge screws are probably more recent replacements. The red baize lining shows some moderate wear and minor loss, as well as some fading and staining but remains in overall good condition for its age.

Overall, this is a really nice and very attractive Cased Hartford-Made London Retailed Colt Model 1849 Pocket Revolver. The casing is complete with correct accessories and displays very nicely with the gun. The gun is quite nice as well, but the casing is good enough for a better gun if you have one. This will be a nice addition to any collection of percussion Colts, particularly one that centers around the London retailed guns. It would also be a nice addition to a mid-19^th century collection of English revolvers and would be right at home displayed with cased Adams, Tranter and Webley revolvers.