Hartford (Connecticut) native Samuel Colt is known worldwide as the inventor of the first functional revolver, which changed the history of modern firearms design. Although his early revolvers were engineered in the United Kingdom, the United States were where he tried to establish his manufacturing ventures, unsuccessfully at first, then with increasing fortune and fame; Samuel Colt was one of America's first industrialists to implement the methods of the Industrial Revolution to manufacture the huge quantities of revolvers that the American and global markets were eager to receive, and while he died in 1862 (aged 47!) as one of America's wealthiest men, his establishments lived on to become the glorious realities they are now.
Now, the history of a largely neglected part of Colt's struggle to make his revolvers available to a broader range of shooters, lawmen and soldiers worldwide − the struggle to make the company and its products known with what we today call "advertisement" − is for everybody to be read on The Book of Colt Paper 1834-2011, written by John Ogle and published by the Blue Book Publications house. True to the idea that a brand's history can't be really understood without knowing how its ads changed as the years and decades went by, The Book of Colt Paper 1834-2011 focuses historical images, product catalogs and brochures, and other important Colt ephemera spanning over 175 years. With 472 pages, 22 chapters, thousands of color images with identifying text, and two indexes, this publication is a virtual one-stop shopping center for identifying the vast amount of advertising and marketing materials Colt has produced over the centuries.
Included in this landmark publication is a chapter dedicated to some of the oldest surviving images of Samuel Colt himself – only five are known, and all are included, along with Colt's signature and business cards. The book also includes pictures of the "Colt Armory", the first incarnation of the modern Colt Manufacturing Company, and of Colt's palatial estate, Armsmear, along with the Church of the Good Shepherd, funded by Elizabeth Colt at Armsmear to eulogize her late husband. The book also provides insighs on Caldwell Colt’s unusual memorial building, designed to resemble a ship, and on Elizabeth Colt, the grande dame of Armsmear, who outlived all of her children, siblings, and her husband.
Available for purchase worldwide through a variety of global retailers, on-line distributors, and directly on the Blue Book Publications website, this book is a must-have research publication for Colt collectors, dealers, investors, as well for all of those who want to know more about the company that was started by one of America’s most famous inventors and entrepreneurs. The basic price for John Ogle's The Book of Colt Papers 1834-2011 is 50.00US$; other prices apply to the book in its CCA Limited Edition (75.00US$) and to The Colt Package (175.00US$) and the Colt Collector's Association Package (200.00US$).
