Samuel Colt went to sea as a 16-year-old boy after a number of escapades left him without options.

As the brig `Corvo’ crossed the equator to Calcutta, India, and then on to England, Colt, an observant young man intrigued by the workings of machines, watched the ship’s windlass and how it rotated and locked in place with a ratchet and pawl.

At night as the ship swayed and creaked, Colt used a jackknife to carve away at what would be a wooden model of his revolver. When he returned home, he convinced his father to give him enough money to have a revolving pistol and similar rifle made.

The pistol failed and Colt’s father withdrew his backing and urged his son to sign on to another 26-30 months at sea. The young inventor declined, choosing rather to chase his dream of a revolving handgun. During his career, Colt dabbled in underwater telegraph and coastal defense systems but was never as successful as he was with his revolver.

As the struggling businessman became a successful industrialist, he had plenty of opportunities to return to the sea. He traveled often between Hartford, Conn., and New York City by steamship, and he and his wife Elizabeth sailed to Europe aboard the U.S. Steamship `Baltic’ in 1856.

This cased Colt Model 1849 Pocket revolver was presented to steamship captain Joseph King "by the inventor" Samuel Colt. It is one of at least three guns that Colt presented to steamship captains during his career.

Colt is known to have presented his revolvers to a trio of steamboat captains, including Capt. J.J. Comstock of the Baltic who received a Colt Model 1851 revolver. Rock Island Auction Company sold the Comstock gun in 2021 for $276,000. In RIAC’s upcoming Premier Auction, Aug. 25-27, the cased presentation deluxe factory engraved Colt Model 1849 Pocket inscribed to steamboat Captain Joseph King “from the inventor” along with accessories will be offered.

From the Greg Lampe Collection, this Colt Model 1849 Pocket, made in 1854, was engraved at the factory, likely by legendary Master Engraver Gustave Young early in his career with Colt. The finely detailed engraving consists of punched backgrounds, floral blooms, rayed accents, finely beaded backgrounds, crosshatched panels, and border designs. The barrel features an ornate “Saml Colt” inscription while the cylinder displays the classic Colt stagecoach robbery scene. The backstrap is inscribed “Capt Jos. H. King/Steamer Granite State/From the Inventor.”

This Colt Model 1849 Pocket is likely engraved by Master Engraver Gustave Young early in his career with Colt. It was presented to Joseph King, the captain of the `Granite City' steamship, by Samuel Colt.

Steamship Travel Reforms

In 1815, the steamboat `Fulton’ began regular service on Long Island Sound, traveling between New Haven, Conn., to New York City, an eight to 12-hour trip. The ticket was $6.

The Supreme Court ended Robert Fulton’s monopoly in New York waters in 1824, opening the market for what would quickly be six new steamboat lines, sailing from the Connecticut ports of Bridgeport, Norwalk, New Haven, Hartford, Norwich, and Stamford. Competition over rates, routes, schedules, and fares abounded. At one time, travel from Hartford to New York cost 25 cents and included meals.

Steamboats proved to be an efficient way to ship freight and for personal travel, but steam travel could be dangerous in its early years. The steamer `New England’s’ boiler blew up late at night Oct. 8, 1833, killing 15 passengers. The Steamboat Act of 1852 required stricter construction standards, inspections, and safety measures to prevent fire and collisions.

Samuel Colt presented guns to a number of people mostly for business reasons, but for Joseph King and his fellow steamship captains the guns presented to them, like this Colt Model 1849 Pocket seemed to be simply out of respect for their work.

Other Presentation Colts for Steamship Captains

Leaving the sea behind and needing money to make his revolver, Samuel Colt cut his teeth as a promoter through his alter ego, Dr. S. Coult of New York, London, and Calcutta. He would lecture on the medical benefits and provide samples of nitrous oxide – laughing gas.

After earning enough through his sideshow performances, Colt left Dr. Coult behind and started producing revolvers. His first effort failed but with an order from Capt. Samuel Walker in hand for the Texas Rangers, Colt’s business would begin to flourish.

The backstrap of the Colt Model 1849 Pocket revolver presented to Joseph King by Samuel Colt reads, “Capt Jos. H. King/Steamer Granite State/From the Inventor.”

The steamers `City of Hartford’ and `Granite State’ plied the route between Hartford and New York City, and Colt likely frequently traveled back and forth from the factory to the sales office at 155 Broadway in New York City. These steamboats likely also carried Colt products to start their journey west or across the Atlantic to Europe as Samuel Colt took aim at the European market.

Captain Daniel A. Mills was presented with an inscribed Colt Model 1849 Pocket in 1854. About that time, during flooding of the Connecticut River, Mills helped rescue Colt’s workers and their families that were stranded.

Mills was held in high esteem by the businessmen of Hartford who presented him with a gold watch and chain in July 1858, according to the Hartford Courant newspaper. Among the comments in a report on the presentation was a letter from “Thos. C. Acton and others” stating “The undersigned, your personal friends, and passengers upon various occasions on board the steamer you command desire to bear testimony to their high appreciation of your qualities as a man and as a sailor."

A closeup of the Colt Model 1849 Pocket presented to steamship captain Joseph King has engraving likely by Master Engraver Gustave Young and features floral engraving that flows across the frame to the barrel, finely beaded backgrounds and border designs.

Mills responded a few days later, writing “If I cannot adequately express my obligations for your kind letter and present, I can fully appreciate your friendship and good will. It will not be expected that a sailor should express himself in the courteous language of diplomatist, but I assure you my heart is touched in its tenderest sensibilities on reading your flattering letter. I thank you from my heart, and it is a source of the highest comfort to me that you think me deserving of this distinction.”

Also in 1854, Comstock, who captained the U.S. Mail Steamship `Baltic’, received a Model 1851 Navy from Colt. The `Baltic,’ a sidewheeler that carried passengers and cargo, was one of the fastest ships of its time and set records for the fastest trips between New York and Liverpool as part of the Collins Line.

The engraving work of Gustave Young on this presentation Colt Model 1849 Pocket revolver, likely done early in his career, already shows off the amazing floral work, punch backgrounds, cross-hatching and border work shows the depth of his talent.

Captain Joseph King's Colt 1849 Pocket

The third and final of the Samuel Colt presentations for steamship captains comes to Rock Island Auction Company from the extraordinary Greg Lampe Collection, and will be offered in the August 25-27 Premier Firearms Auction.

Joseph King worked on steamships starting in the 1840s and by the end of the decade commanded the steamboat `Hero’ on the Connecticut River between New York and Hartford as Colt’s business was building. He commanded both the `Granite State’, built in 1853 and the `City of Hartford,’ built in 1852. He didn’t command the `City of Hartford’ until after Colt’s untimely death in January 1862.

The `Granite State’ was a sidewheeler that could achieve 16 knots and had 40 finished state rooms, including two bridal suites, as well as a saloon. It could carry 900 passengers and as much as 1,400 tons of freight. The `Granite State’ is known to have carried Colt revolvers. August 1864 reports show that the steamer arrived in New York with 42 boxes of revolvers and ammunition labeled “Sunday school books” that were destined for Copperheads in Indiana as part of an order of 30,000 revolvers. Copperheads favored a negotiated end to the Civil War.

The steamer `Granite City' sits at anchor. It was commanded by Joseph King at a time when Samuel Colt was regularly visiting his company's New York City sales office, often traveling via steamship.

King was promoted to the command of the steamer `Continental’ in April 1866, according to the Hartford Courant that described him as one of the most experienced, capable, intelligent, and successful commanders on Long Island Sound.

“Better discipline, greater watchfulness and care, and more general efficiency cannot be desired than `Captain Joe’ always secures his unceasing and untiring personal supervision,” the newspaper states.

Colt 1849 Pocket for a Sailing King

Joseph King commanded the Granite State at a time when Samuel Colt traveled on it between Hartford and New York, befriending its captain. This stunning Colt Navy with its fine engraving by Gustave Young has matching visible serial numbers. From the Greg Lampe Collection, this Model 1849 Pocket was presented to the captain of the Granite State by Samuel Colt (“From the Inventor”) and still bears 95 percent of its original blue finish and 90 percent of its casehardened finish. The highly figured, deluxe factory walnut grips bear their factory high polish varnish finish.

In an exciting twist for collectors, this cased Samuel Colt presentation was unknown to the collector world prior to 2017, when it was sold from a private collection in Massachusetts. Like many items after entering Mr. Lampe's Collection, King's 1849 Pocket now comes with enough extensive documentation to fill a its own binder, including information on Captain King, his vessels, family, and even an original freight receipt from King's steamer 'Granite State.'

The stage coach robbery scene on the Colt Model 1849 Pocket cylinder is classic Colt engraving. The floral scrolling can be seen at the back of the frame and at the top of the backstrap. The top of the barrel features an ornate "Saml Colt."

Tragic Epilogue

In March 1876 when the Connecticut River was in flood, the pilot for the City of Hartford made a mistake on the fast-moving river and hit the span of a railroad bridge, badly damaging the steamer. The bridge span crumpled the steamer and took days to get the ship removed. The City of Hartford was rebuilt in 1883 and renamed Capitol City.

In May 1883, the same year that the City of Hartford was re-christened, the Granite State caught fire and the bride of a recently married couple returning from the wedding drowned after they leaped into the river to escape the fire. She was one of four who died in the tragedy. A year later, the steamboat company raised the Granite State with hopes of salvaging the boiler and other machinery but the damage was too great. The remains of the old steamer that had been in service since 1853 was towed to the mouth of North Cove in Old Saybrook. Its ghostly outline can be seen on Google Maps near the opening to the cove perpendicular to a sea wall.

Samuel Colt's love for the sea never faded, for a time working at underwater inventions, traveling by water with some regularity between Hartford and New York City, and also a trip to Europe. His love of the water is what he shared with these three men whom he presented with revolvers, offering them as a sign of respect for their profession and hard work. The Colt Model 1849 Pocket presented to Joseph King is an opportunity to own one of these finely engraved and inscribed guns that weren’t given in hopes of earning a contract or getting business but simply in recognition for the work they did. This amazing piece of Long Island Sound maritime history is available in Rock Island Auction Company’s Aug. 25-27 Premier Auction.

This Colt Model 1849 Pocket given to steamboat captain Joseph Young by "the inventor" Samuel Colt. Colt likely traveled on the steamship `Granite State' as he went back and forth between Hartford and New York City.

Sources:

Full Steam Ahead: Steamboat Travel in Connecticut, by Brenda Milkofsky, Connecticut Explored

A Night to Remember: When the Steamboat Took on the Railroad and Lost, by Richard C. Malley, connecticuthistory.com