Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Herb Houze
Government purchase Carbines with WAT inspector mark on the left side of the stocks; fitted with attached loading levers. 360 pieces purchased by U.S. Government (in four orders). Extreme care should be exercised in the acquisition of this piece:
| 5B-015 | Values—Good $25,000 | Fine $90,000 |
Long cylinder variant. 3-1/4" cylinder with proportionately longer frame to accommodate. Estimated quantity made 25 to accept the larger musket size charge. Approximately half of these burst on firing. Extremely rare:
| 5B-016 | Values—Good $15,000 | Fine $40,000 |
Colt Model 1839 Shotgun
Model 1839 Shotgun. Manufactured c. 1839-41; in a total run of about 225. The mechanism is the same as on the Model 1839 Carbine, with an exposed hammer.
16 gauge. 6-shot cylinder. Standard barrel lengths of 24" and 32"; round shape (without bevels at the breech) and made without attached loading levers.
Varnished walnut stocks. Metal parts blued; the barrel browned in a Damascus decor.
Produced in an individual serial range, numbered from 1 on up through about 225. On right side of the barrel lug: Patent Arms M’g. Co. Paterson, N·J.-Colt’s Pt. Serial markings on various parts, but most of these visible when gun has been taken apart. Dramatic and sizable cylinder roll scene, of scrolls, Colt markings, and three panels depicting the American eagle, a deer-hunting sequence, and an Indian with bird hunters.
The quite limited total production proves the Model 1839 Shotgun to have been of little popularity in its day. The type did have some potential as a repeating military musket, but the failure of the Paterson enterprise early in the 1840s cut short such possibilities for success. The Model 1839 Shotgun is one of the greater rarities in Colt’s longarm production, and specimens seldom appear on the market. For quick identification measure the cylinder length—3-1/2" (as compared to the 2-1/2" of the Model 1839 Carbine):
5B-017
| 5B-017 | Values—Good $8,500 | Fine $27,500 |
Colt Walker Model Revolver
Walker Model Revolver. Manufactured in 1847, with a total production of approximately 1,100.
44 caliber. 6-shot cylinder. 9" part round, part octagonal barrel. A massive 4 lbs. 9 oz. in weight.
One piece walnut grips. Casehardened frame, hammer, and lever; balance blued; excepting plain brass trigger guard, and the cylinder “in the white”.
Serial numbering in five companies, A, B, C, D, and E, beginning with the number 1 in each grouping. The five company series combined totaled 1,000 revolvers.
Barrel marked: ADDRESS SAML COLT NEW-YORK CITY. On the right side of the lug: US/1847. Cylinder roll engraved with a Texas Ranger and Indian fight scene; but this is frequently missing on surviving specimens due to years of service and neglect. Government inspector markings were applied to the grips and various metal parts, but these too are often worn or rusted off.
The Walker is the greatest prize of any Colt collection. Slightly more than 10 percent of the original total manufactured have survived to appear in modern day collections and museums. A great many reproductions and fakes have been made, and a number of badly mutilated specimens have been heavily restored.
The buyer should exercise extreme caution in acquiring a Walker.
Standard Walker, A, B, C, D, E Company serial ranges:
5B-018
| 5B-018 | Values—Fair $42,500 | Very Good (no finish) $125,000 |
The special group of an additional 100 Walkers in the so-called “Civilian Range”; these had no U.S. inspector markings, bore numbers from 1001 through about 1100, and were otherwise like the military Walker pistols. Valuewise this is a “gray” area. This model is scarcer and will bring a premium to advanced Colt collectors, while others prefer martially marked specimens and pay more for them. This group of 100 tends to be found in better average condition:
| 5B-019 | Values—Fair $37,500 | Very Good (no finish) $110,000 |
Colt Whitneyville Hartford Dragoon Revolver
Whitneyville Hartford Dragoon Revolver (also known as the “Transition Walker”). Made late in 1847, in a total quantity of about 240.
44 caliber. 6-shot cylinder. 7-1/2" part round, part octagonal barrel.
One piece walnut grips. Casehardened frame, hammer, and lever; the balance blued. Gripstraps have been noted in varying finishes; trigger guards of brass and backstraps either steel or brass.
Serial numbered from about 1100 through 1340, picking up from where the Civilian Series Walker pistols left off.
Barrel marked: - ADDRESS SAML COLT NEW YORK-CITY -; some variation noted, including a few barrels unmarked. Variations also appear in the COLTS/PATENT mark on left side (and sometimes right) of the frame. Cylinder bearing the roll engraved scene of a Texas Ranger and Indian fight. However, as the cylinder is slightly shorter/narrower than that used on the Walker revolver a very narrow section of that cylinder scene is lacking.
Actually of greater rarity than the Walker Model, the Whitneyville Hartford Dragoons are sometimes called the “Transition Walker,” since some of the production parts were left over from the predecessor model. The two major frame variations in the Whitneyville Hartford are: 1. Cutout at the rear of the frame, into which fits a curved portion of the grips, and 2. Straight-back frame. The trigger guard on both variants slants back into the grips, rather than being in a vertical juncture as would be standard on later Dragoon pistols. Among other distinctive details to note are the very slender, or “Slim Jim,” appearance of the grips, and the short trigger and cylinder stop screws of early frames (thus not passing completely through).
One of the great Colt rarities, the Whitneyville Hartford Dragoon has been an attractive challenge to fakers; caveat emptor! Cut-out Frame Type:
5B-020 Cut-out Frame Type
| 5B-020 | Values—Fair $20,000 | Very Good (without finish) $65,000 |
Straight Back Frame Type: