THE CHRONOLOGICAL sequence of Colt’s cap-and-ball revolver production was as follows: 1837 – the Patterson Colt; 1847 – the Walker Colt; 1848 – the Dragoon Colt and a scaled-down version called the Baby Dragoon. The smaller revolver proved so popular it was followed in 1849 by the Pocket revolver that was to become Colt’s biggest seller. Then, in 1851, Sam Colt introduced his famous Navy Colt, being the ‘big brother’ of his Pocket revolver.
Next was Colt’s 1855 side-hammer model, also known as the Root revolver. The line of famous Colt cap-and-ball revolvers ended with the Colt Army model introduced in 1860. Small cosmetic changes were continually made during the production run of each model.
If a serious collector of today were showing a visitor his assemblage of, say, twenty Pocket Colt revolvers,
