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The Colt Model 1849 Pocket Pistol.

The Model 1849 Colt Pocket 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 Model 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which had first been introduced in 1847 and remained in production through 1850, when the Model 1849 Pocket Revolver superseded it.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 3” to 6”, the compact 5-shot cylinder and the small .31 caliber chambering all combined to make a relatively light weight and compact revolver that could be carried covertly in a jacket or trouser pocket. The “Baby Dragoon” did have some drawbacks, the most obvious being the lack of an attached loading lever on the majority of the production run. 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 production 1848 revolvers 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 lead in groove that smoothed the action. This improvement, which had been patented by Colt in 1850, was incorporated in all their future percussion revolver designs and is still a feature found on nearly every revolver in production today. The 1849 Pocket also incorporated the iconic 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 simultaneously for some months and utilizing the same serial number range. This means that early production during 1850, which started around number 12,000, contained a mixture of “Baby Dragoon” and “Pocket” revolvers with the numbers overlapping within the same series. The “Pocket” finally became 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 the primary variants. Due to the wide variety of features available, a “standard” Model 1849 is hard to define, but in general a typical 1849 Pocket 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, and usually had an attached loading lever. During the latter part of production, particularly during the production of the “one-line New York address” guns, 4” appears 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.

Civil War Era Colt Model 1849 Pocket revolver.

The Colt Model 1849 Pocket Revolver described here is in very nice condition with a two-line New York address on a 5” barrel and a serial number indicating that it was produced in 1860, one year before the start of the American Civil War. It is probable that more Colt Pocket models went off to war with the average northern or southern solider during 1861 and 1862 than any other handgun of the era. In fact, by January of 1861 Colt had produced some 184,000 pocket models, including about 15,000 of the earlier Baby Dragoon revolvers, and Colt Pocket serial numbers had probably reached somewhere between 188,000 and 189,000 when Fort Sumter was fired upon on April 12, 1861. That production figure for a single series of pocket handguns exceeds many of the 19^th century American firearms manufactures total output during their entire time in business.

The revolver is in about Very fine + overall condition and has a five chambered cylinder. The serial number 175933 is clearly stamped on the bottom of the barrel lug, the frame, the triggerguard, the backstrap butt and the cylinder. The wedge has the last five digits 75933, and 5933 is stamped on the loading lever and arbor pin. The grip has the last four digits of the serial number 5933 written in the grip channel.

The revolver remains crisp and sharp throughout. The barrel is marked with the two-line bracketed New York address which reads:

{ ADDRESS SAM^Ḻ COLT }

NEW･YORK CITY

The cylinder has the usual COLTS PATENT panel box, over the box containing the serial number N^o 175933. The revolver is crisply and clearly marked on the lower left side of the frame: COLTS / PATENT in two lines and there is no caliber mark on the rear left web of the triggerguard, although a factory inspector 2 mark is present on the left of the barrel lug.

There are several inspector initials on the gun, “S” on the left side trigger-guard, “G” on the left side trigger-guard bolster, “R” and “S” on face of recoil-shield and a “star” and “S” cylinder face. The gun is in lovely, untouched condition. The barrel on the gun retains most of its original bright factory blue with some small spots of fading. The cylinder has a mix of blue and patina on it. The bore is excellent and has nice shiny lands and grooves with some minor pitting. The frame, loading lever & hammer retain nearly all their original bright factory case colors. The loading lever moves smoothly and operates correctly, locking tightly into place, as it should. The frame is smooth, with crisp edges and very clear markings. The cylinder is extremely sharp and crisp and retains the complete roll engraved scene. The Stagecoach Holdup scene roll engraved on the cylinder rates excellent and is extremely clear. All the nipples in the cylinder are original and in very fine condition. All the safety pins on the rear face of the cylinder are missing, with only the shadows of their bases remaining on the rear face of the cylinder. The backstrap and trigger guard are fine throughout, and has no silver left on them.  All screws are excellent with original color on them. The original factory grips are excellent to mint throughout and have a wonderful grain to them. They retain their original factory varnish on them.

Overall, this is an attractive example of an early Civil War production Colt Model 1849 Pocket Revolver with the desirable 5” barrel. The gun was manufactured in 1862, as the American Civil War was really heating up. This revolver would be a great addition to any collection of Colt revolvers or Civil War era pistols, and I am quite sure that you will be very pleased with this attractive, longer-barreled Colt Pocket revolver.

Early original cased Colt Model 1849 Pocket revolver with small trigger-guard.

The Cased Early Colt Model 1849 Pocket Revolver described here is in very nice condition with a two-line New York address on a 6” barrel and a serial number indicating that it was produced in 1854.

The revolver is in about Excellent overall condition and has a five chambered cylinder. The serial number 88570 is clearly stamped on the bottom of the barrel lug, the frame, the triggerguard, the backstrap butt and the cylinder. 8570 is stamped on the loading lever, arbor pin and written in the grip channel. The wedge is numbered 3242 and is an original Colt wedge, the same serial number die-stamp was used for the wedge and rest of the gun, between serial number 45000 and 100.000 they used the last for digits on the wedge.

The revolver remains crisp and sharp throughout. The barrel is marked with the two-line bracketed New York address which reads:

{ ADDRESS SAM^Ḻ COLT }

NEW･YORK CITY

The cylinder has the usual COLTS PATENT panel box, over the box containing the serial number N^o 88570. The revolver is crisply and clearly marked on the lower left side of the frame: COLTS / PATENT in two lines and there is no caliber mark on the rear left bolster of the triggerguard.
There are several inspector initials on the gun. ”H” on the barrel lug face, “2” above the serial number bottom of barrel lug, “E” on the left side trigger-guard, “X” on the left side trigger-guard bolster, “C” on face of recoil-shield and a “2” behind serial number box on the cylinder. The gun is in perfect, untouched condition. The barrel on the gun retains most of its original factory blue. The cylinder has a wonderful natural plum color from the original blue fading, with two of the safety pins still there. The bore is excellent and has nice shiny lands and grooves with some minor pitting. The frame, loading lever & hammer retain nearly all their original bright factory case colors. The loading lever moves smoothly and operates correctly, locking tightly into place, as it should. The frame is smooth, with crisp edges and very clear markings. The cylinder is extremely sharp and crisp and retains the complete roll engraved scene. The Stagecoach Holdup scene, with the “ENGRAVED BY W. L. ORMSBY NEW YORK” signature still there from “BY”, “ENGRAVED” is worn off. roll engraved on the cylinder rates excellent and is extremely clear. All the nipples in the cylinder are original and in very fine condition, two of the safety pins still there. The back-strap and trigger guard are fine throughout, the trigger guards retain almost all original silver, and the back-strap has some silver left at the back-strap apron and the butt. All screws are excellent with original color on them. The original factory grips are excellent throughout and have a wonderful grain to them. They retain their original factory varnish on them.

The case:

An original early Civil War factory Colt Model 1849 case for a Colt percussion pocket revolver with a 6-inch barrel and small trigger-guard. This case has a fine interior including partitions and beautiful dark lining, with no rips or tires in it. The outer wood shell of the case is very fine throughout with fine dark grain to it. There is no warping to the lid and there are no cracks in the pine bottom.

The Powder flask:

An original early Civil War Colts Patent marked powder flask for a Colt Model 1849 Pocket revolver in excellent untouched condition. This flask has an excellent body throughout with tight seamstress around. It has a very clear “COLTS PATENT” marking on it, the eagle, shield and stars above the “E PLURIBUS UNUM” banner are also clear. The flask has almost all lacquer on it, brass to and spout have a fine untouched patina on them, all screws and spring are original. This flask operates perfectly.

The bullet mold:

An early Pré Civil War “Colts Patent” brass bullet mold for a percussion .31 caliber Colt Model 1849 Pocket revolver in fine condition. The mold has fine brass throughout with crisp edges. The top is nice  with “COLTS PATENT” stamped on it. The inside of the mold is fine with perfect cavities in it. The mold opens and closes tightly.

The cartridge pack:

An early and scarce “Colt’s Cartridge Works” Civil War era pack of 6 combustible  envelope cartridges in excellent condition. The pack has an excellent body and is sealed all around, it has the wire still on it. The paper wrap around it is also in excellent condition and has a clear label from top to bottom on it. It’s marked:
“6 Combustible Envelope Cartridges, made of HAZARD’S powder expressly for, COL. COLT’S PATENT REVOLVING POCKET PISTOL. Address Colt’s Cartridge Works, Hartford, Conn. U.S. America.

The cap tin:

An early rare 500 Count Large Cap tin, Metallic Caps for Belt and Pocket Pistols. 1851 Navy and 1849 Pocket Models. Early label by W & C Eley, no number of caps on the label, in very good condition.

Overall, this is an attractive example of an early Civil War production Colt Model 1849 Pocket Revolver with the desirable 6” barrel. The gun was manufactured in 1854. This cased set would be a great addition to any collection of Colt revolvers or Civil War era pistols, and I am quite sure that you will be very pleased with this attractive, longer-barreled Colt Pocket revolver.