In 1851, Samuel Colt traveled to England for the London Exhibition held at the Crystal Palace.  His Percussion Revolvers received such strong interest that he later opened a new London factory in 1853.  Most collectors are familiar with the Colt 1851 produced in London but he also produced some 1849 Pocket revolvers there too and assembled an even smaller number of 3rd Model Dragoons.  This particular example was manufactured in 1854.  Its in .31 Caliber with 4" octagon barrel.  Barrel is marked "ADDRESS COL. COLT LONDON".  Left side of frame marked "COLT'S PATENT".  True to London-made guns, each cylinder and the barrel has been proved and cleared All numbers are matching throughout. True to all but the earliest Londons, it departs from from most of its brass mounted American Colt cousins with iron an iron trigger guard and backstrap.  The screws are also somewhat more round or "domed" on the heads than American-made guns.  Another unique feature on these London Colts are the grips which are made of high quality English walnut, somewhat slimmer in profile, and were well-finished. 

Overall condition is NRA Antique Good+.  The metal has worn to grey  with some slight traces of original blue in protected areas on the barrel.  The frame has about 35% washed out original case colors which have turned to a nickel-silver coloration.,,,balance is grey metal.  Traces of fire blue on the trigger.  Cylinder shows a strong roll-engraved Stagecoach hold-up scene that is mixed with some light corrosion...probably from black powder residue many years ago.  Scene overall is still a good 75-80% with the balance hard to see due to light pitting...but not wear.  Good screws throughout.  Grips are in Good+ condition.  Solid with no cracks or repairs.  Right side has a couple of small gouges and some varnish loss...but solid.  Butt is nice and free of tack marks.  This gun is a pretty good example of the quality Colt's English workers put into these guns...as the metal has been essentially worn to grey metal and yet, there is 65% original varnish remaining on the grips.  Very Good mechanics.  Barrel-to-frame lock-up is tight with no play....we found that one of the little guide pins on the front of the frame is missing (these two pins fit into the lower part of the barrel).  Nonetheless, this has no affected the tightness of the barrel to frame lockup.  Bore is surprisingly good...still fairly bright with strong rifling and minimal pitting...quite impressive for 154 year old black powder weapon.  A nice solid example of a Colt London Pocket Revolver.

Item# 0914

SOLD