"THE GUN THAT WON THE WEST": 1866 FIRST EDITION OF ARMSMEAR, A TRIBUTE TO SAMUEL COLT, INSCRIBED BY COLT'S WIFE

(COLT, Samuel) BARNARD, Henry, editor. Armsmear: The Home, the Arm, and the Armory of Samuel Colt. A Memorial. New York: [Alvord, printer], 1866. Quarto, publisher's full green morocco gilt, raised bands, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. $5800.

First edition of this handsome volume on the influence and inventive brilliance of Samuel Colt, whose Colt .45—the "Peacemaker"—is known as the gun that tamed the West, profusely illustrated with steel-engraved frontispiece portrait and over 80 steel-engraved maps and illustrations, presentation copy inscribed by Mrs. Samuel Colt—the dedicatee—on the front flyleaf: "Rv. J. F. Young DD. with the sincere regard of Mrs. Samuel Colt / Armsmear–Jan. 10th 1867."

The name of Samuel Colt is most famous for his Colt .45, popularly known as the "Peacemaker… the gun that won the West." It was Colt who "introduced the concept of interchangeable parts to large-scale gun manufacturing." His Armory, built in 1855, was "the first large-scale industrialized weapons plant in the world." While the Colt .45 remains the revolver most associated with his name, "Colt had been dead for about ten years by the time the Colt .45 was taming the West. Probably the most important revolver Colt did live to see bear his name was the one he developed for use in Texas… The Walker Colt revolver resulted from the collaboration between Colt and Captain Samuel Walker of the Texas Rangers… the largest and most powerful black powder handgun ever created" (Schellinger in Inventors and Inventions, 302-11). Armsmear, published posthumously, pays tribute to this "daring and successful entrepreneur… More than anyone, Colt created international markets for American machine tools and made the world aware of the remarkable accomplishments of the Yankee innovators who created the American system of manufactures" (ANB). Howes B618(b).

Spine rubbed in two places; foxing and light dampstaining to first 50 pages. A very good copy, inscribed and presented by the wife of this remarkable inventor, who was also the dedicatee of this work. Scarce.