Invention and History of the Colt Revolver

Invention and History of the Colt Revolver Samuel Colt invented the first revolver, a gun named after its inventor Colt, and after its revolving cylinder revolver. In 1836, Samuel Colt was granted a U.S. patent for the Colt revolver, which was equipped with a revolving cylinder containing five or six bullets and an innovative cocking device. The History of the Colt Revolver Before the Colt revolver, only one and two-barrel flintlock pistols had been invented for handheld use. Colt revolvers were all based on cap-and-ball technology until the Smith and Wesson license on the bored-through cylinder (bought from Rollin White) expired around 1869. According to www.midwestgunshows.com: Horace Smith Daniel Wesson formed their second partnership (SW) in 1856 for the development and manufacture of a revolver chambered for a self-contained metallic cartridge. During this development period, while researching existing patents, it was found that a Rollin White had patented a bored through cylinder for a paper cartridge sometime earlier. A licensing agreement was arranged between Smith and Wesson and Rollin White. In 1855, Rollin White patented the bored-through cylinder. According to www.armchairgunshow.com: The Rollin White patent covered the right to make a revolver cylinder bored-through end to end - an obvious requirement for an effective cartridge revolver. This fact didnt slow down some firms, who proceeded to make the highly popular cartridge style revolvers. Some used their own designs, and some just produced outright copies of the Smith and Wesson pattern. Smith and Wesson pursued redress in court, resulting in several US makers being required to mark Made for SW or words to that effect on their revolvers.