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revolver

Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company

Louis D. Nimschke

Hartford, CT

Single Action Army Model Revolver

1883

Steel body, blued finish, engraved decorations, ivory grips decorated with carvings in relief

13 in x 5 1/4 in x 1 1/2 in (33 cm x 13.5 cm x 3.8 cm)

Acquisition made possible in part by Paul S. and June A. Ebensteiner

85.5.6

Autry Museum of the American West

Art and Artifacts

Revolver, Colt Single Action Army Model, .44-.40 caliber, serial number 92248, made by Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company in Hartford, Connecticut, 1883. Engraved floral designs and carvings of initials TR and buffalo head on grips by Louis D. Nimschke. Used by President Theodore Roosevelt during his years in Dakota Territory, circa 1885. Theodore Roosevelt was the fanciest cowboy on the frontier. He carried with him, in his own words, “equipments finished in the most expensive style.” Two of his favorite Western firearms, a Winchester Model 1876 Carbine and a Colt Single Action Army Model Revolver, were custom made with special features and deluxe engraving.

Theodore Roosevelt spent several formative years on the American frontier working as a rancher and cowboy prior to becoming President of the United States in 1901. When he headed west in 1883, he brought with him, in his own words, "equipments finished in the most expensive style." That equipment included this Single Action Army, which Roosevelt described as his best Western revolver. It was custom-engraved and features a TR monogram on the left side of the recoil shield and on the right side of the ivory grips. Roosevelt carried the revolver in a hand-tooled leather holster, and it can be seen in many pictures from the period. Many of the issues Roosevelt championed as president, including the virtue of leading a strenuous life and the importance of conservation, were solidified during his tenure in the West.

firearms

engravings

presidents

buffalo

floral designs

Theodore Roosevelt

The rampant colt 2011, Winter, vol. 31, no. 4 / official magazine of the Colt Collectors Association, Inc. Page 45

Saddlemaker to the stars the leather and silver art of Edward H. Bohlin / James H. Nottage ; photography by Susan Einstein. page 80

Colt the revolver of the American West / Jeffrey Richardson. page 182

Autry Museum of Western Heritage.

How we got here. Colt makes all men equal.

GP.Gallery Gamble