Colt Navy - Serial No. 36691
Clear roll stamping.. not refinished.
The Cylinder Scene is not refreshed
As with 17089, 36691 is clean and crisp.
There is no refinishing
Under microscopic inspection this is un touched roll stamp engraving
Original Factory Nipples carry the same COLT PATENT stampi
Stamped " COLT'S "
Stamped " PATENT "
Colt NAVY Revolvers
Almost identical
Both Revolvers are almost 100% identical in their engravings and patterns and the only way to tell them apart without checking the Serial No.s is by the difference in the case hardening colours.
It was helpful to discover the deformed No. 9 stamping on 17089 and confirming to find it on 3 other high profile documented Navy revolvers.
But I could find nothing on 36691 that confirmed 100% that it was genuine London Factory production.
I discussed this with Australia's leading Antique Colt expert and he asked what was the Serial No.
I told him 36691.
He said that the London factory barrel rolling tool used on late serial numbers on Navy Colts, had been damaged.
He told me to check the barrel rolling because, if it was genuine London production with the 36691 serial number, there would be a gap in the ' O ' in COLT at 9 o'clock.
Naturally I checked....... and there was the 'fault' in factory tooling that was needed needed.
The barrel stamp tool became broken
The barrel stamp tool became broken
The barrel stamp tool became broken
The barrel markings, like the cylinder engraving, was engraved with roll stamping.
Colt produced around 40,000 pistols in London and towards the end of his production run, the barrel rolling tool became defective resulting in a part of the 'O' in the word COLT was broken and lost to be missing at the 9 o'clock position.
Like a fingerprint.
The barrel stamp tool became broken
The barrel stamp tool became broken
The serial number on 36691 was within the range of the London Navy Revolvers produced with this fault.
This 'Gap at 9 O'clock ' can be seen clearly on the left image ...and even more so on the microscopic image above.
I now believe, that his Colt No. 36691 was also made in the London Colt Factory.
Who was 'R C Parry M A ' ?
I mentioned there were two reasons why I doubted these Colts were 'LaterEngraved'. One was the way COLTS PATENT was engraved in Gothic on the frame and the other reason was the Engraving Style of "R. C. Parry M.A."
R C Parry M A is engraved into the back strap of 36691.
From the image above compared to the factory engraved Colt presented to General Pellissier by Samual Colt, I recognised there is a remarkable resemblance that does suggest that both revolvers were engraved during the same 1850s period.
The same style with fine to heavy and back to fine in the down strokes, the similarity of the spacing of letters.
Most notable is the letter " r " . This seems almost an exact copy on both the Parry and General Plissier's Revolver .
This similar engraving does not really answer any questions or prove any fact...
What it did do was raise the question, why would somebody, obviously in America, copy London Colts and make one with a name engraved on it and one without...... and case them together, in a non standard Colt Case. It did not make sense.
What it does do, is add to the mystery of their provenance about R. C. Parry.
R C Parry
General Pelissier
The London Colt Factory 1853
R C Parry M A
What we have found so far is that an R C Parry joined the Dublin City Milita, founded in 1852 and was promoted to a rather senior position of Adjutant in 1875
He retired as a Lt. Col. R C Parry of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers ", which was renamed from the Dublin City Militia to the Royal Dublin Militia and then to the Queens Own Regiment and later the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.
M. A. was a naval term, not typical of the army, but could have been used as the new Dublin City Militia was formed by volunteers.
A Master of Arms was the person who had awareness and reported to his superior of where and what men and munitions were placed , so these could be coordinated in the event of an attack.
Interestingly, Adjutant, which is what Parry was promoted to in 1875 is a similar but more senior roll of the officer who handled the desk work of the commanding officer.
The fact that R C Parry became a Lt. Col. could well be the climax of his full career.
The research on R C Parry M A is ongoing and any information on this would be greatly appreciated.
Why would Colt be interested in the " Dublin City Militia "
The Dublin City Militia was no small contingent.
It had 25,000 soldiers and it's initial insignia featured the three castles which were the symbol of Dublin City.
At first militia units experienced difficulty in obtaining arms and recourse was had to buying up private arms ‘from the owners in the province of Ulster’.
This meant that units were armed with a motley collection of firearms initially until standardisation could be achieved.
It was much easier to obtain uniforms, the production of which had a positive effect on the Irish woollen trade, bringing employment for those in the trade as well as to the tailors and hatters who produced the garments.
Obviously Colt would have seen this and hoped to be successful in supplying the standardised arms.
Queen Victoria visited Dublin 3 times in the 1800s.
First in 1849, then in 1853 and again in 1861 all around Colt's London Factory manufacturing period.
Colt would have been very aware of her visits and the Dublin City Militia.
Queen Victoria obviously had some association and special security attraction to the Dublin City Militia as it then became renamed the Royal Dublin City Militia (Queen's Own Royal Regiment), still bearing the 3 x castle insignia topped by a crown and was reserved for home protection.
After 1861 it became the Royal Dublin Fusiliers of which R.C.Parry became an Adjutant in 1875 and a Lieutenant Colonel before retirement.
Colt was renowned for presenting engraved revolvers to people who could influence orders and with the newly revived Dublin City Militia by the Militia Act 1852, Colt would have seen an opportunity here.
The Militia Act of 1852 was a UK parliamentary act that revived and reformed the militia, right at the time of Colt's London factory production.
Dublin City erected the very impressive statue of Queen Victoria in appreciation in 1908 and this was paid for by subscription.
In 1948, due to a souring of relations between Ireland and England the statue was removed.
The statue now, commemorates Queen Victoria and the 200th anniversary of Sydney. It was originally erected in Dublin, Ireland on February 15, 1908 and re-erected and recommemorated in Sydney in 1987.
The Queen Victoria Statue originally stood outside Leinster House, Dublin, Ireland (The Seat of The Irish Parliament) until 1947.