Colt: The Revolver of the American West

Review
"If you love old Colts, this book will be a welcome addition to your bookshelf." - Guns Magazine
"Unlike a lot of coffee table books, Colt: The Revolver of the American West includes a lot of information about the 100 guns chosen and includes great professional photographs. The book is an extremely good blend of entertainment as well as in-depth research." - Jim Wilson, Senior Field Editor/NRA Publications
"Through my outdoor series Gun Stories, I have the privilege of meeting a lot of people and handling a lot of guns. The Colt revolver is a most important gun, and Jeffrey Richardson's participation on my show has been invaluable. His knowledge and style are apparent in his great new book. It is a fitting honor for the great Colt collection at the Autry Museum, here in Los Angeles, and a must read for firearms aficionados, collectors, and fans of the West." - Joe Mantegna, host of Gun Stories
"Colt is ideal for the historian and scholar, the collector, and anyone who is fascinated by the great American West and its captivating culture. The text offers not only reliable and interesting facts, but is accompanied by many legends of the Colt. Not the least of those legends - Sam Colt himself. It is exciting to welcome such a landmark publication to the pantheon of works on the American West, and on firearms." - author R. L. Wilson
"Hundreds of books have been written about Samuel Colt and his guns, and hundreds more about historical episodes in which they were involved. Now, Jeffrey Richardson has combined both aspects of Colt history in his magnificent book Colt: The Revolver of the American West. Richardson, curator of the Autry collection in Los Angeles, has chosen one hundred of the finest Colts in the collection and presented them with a combination of superb photography and detailed information about each particular gun, where it was, and what it did. Richardson presents Colt history in a manner that will appeal to collectors, historians, and anyone with an interest in fine guns." - Terry Wieland, Shooting Editor, Gray's Sporting Journal
From the world's finest collection, the 100 most significant Colt revolvers are presented for the first time in this handsome volume.
The Colt revolver "won the West" by being the handgun of choice on the American frontier, used by everyone from settlers and Native Americans to law-enforcement officers and outlaws. As a result of their shared history, the Colt revolver and the American West will forever be connected.
The Autry Museum of the American West has compiled the finest assemblage of Colt revolvers in the world, amassing over 500 in its twenty-five year history, including the entire Colt Industries corporate collection and donations from the most prestigious private collectors. The Autry's curator has selected the 100 most important examples to document and celebrate the history of Samuel Colt's revolutionary invention. The revolvers include pieces of historical significance, opulently engraved specimens, and extremely rare models.
Featured are an early prototype revolver, the first Single Action Army, Wyatt Earp's and Theodore Roosevelt's favorite guns, and modern revolvers designed by Tiffany & Co. Each gun is described in a detailed essay, and additional artifacts--historical photographs and art, patent documents, advertisements, and memorabilia--are featured to place the revolvers in their proper historical context.
This handsome volume is ideal for the collector or enthusiast of the American West.