September

Around the Gallery September 2009, vol. 2, issue 9
FEATURED ARTIST IN THE
COLLECTION: Sam Colt: The Name
that Won the West
Colt Revolver, Single-Action Army Model
Firearms Gallery
In the nineteenth century, Sam Colt's name was
synonymous with his revolving-breech pistol, a weapon that
was said to have "won the West." The second youngest of
seven children, Colt was born in Hartford, Connecticut on
July 19, 1814. A confident, even reckless boy, he showed an
early interest in explosives and weapons. While on a voyage
to India as an apprentice sailor, young Colt designed an
innovative gun with an automatic, revolving chamber.
In 1835, he took out his first patent and founded Colt’s
Patent Fire Arms Company in Paterson, New Jersey. His
pistol was unique. Its design allowed several shots to be
fired in succession without reloading. A single-shot weapon
took 20 seconds to reload -- a dangerous interval, especially
for frontiersmen and soldiers fighting Indians who could fire
six arrows or run 150 yards with spear and tomahawks in
that time. Army officers used Colt's weapon in the 1830s,
but production defects prevented widespread approval of the
firearm. Colt improved manufacturing, and by 1848 his
products were safer.
Colt’s weapons contributed to the U.S. Army's success
in the Mexican War, and to the resulting westward
expansion of American territory. A Texas Ranger, Captain
Samuel Walker, wrote the inventor a testimonial that read, in
part: "Your pistols...[are] the most perfect weapon in the
World... to keep the various warlike tribes of Indians and
marauding Mexicans in subjection."
Throughout the 1850s, Colt continued to improve his
now-famous revolver. He refined his manufacturing process
into a model of precision, automation, and process
integration. He also saw the value of mythmaking, and
marketed his gun as an essential part of the American
frontier. In addition to the military, his customers included
Forty-Niners heading to the California Gold Rush;
emigrants headed west; cowboys; and lawmen on the
nation's western frontier. A slogan of the day went, "God
created men equal; Colonel Colt made them equal..." The
inventor died a year after the Civil War broke out, at the
young age of forty-six, having never fired a gun at another
person.
Many of Sam Colt’s handguns are on display in the Gun
Room in the South Wing of the Norton.
Jennifer DeFratis, Tour and Special Events Coordinator
FEATURED ARTWORK IN THE
COLLECTION: Puritan by
Augustus Saint-Gaudens
The stern-faced gentleman represented in Puritan by
Augustus Saint-Gaudens is the very embodiment of those
early American settlers. His stern face clearly reflects his
work ethic. Even while strolling in the woods [pine needles
underfoot], he is frowning. Puritans simply couldn’t have
fun. If they were having fun, they weren’t working and if
they weren’t working they were on the road to displeasing
God and possibly losing their place in heaven.
The Protestant (or Puritan) work ethic emerged after
combining the doctrines of spiritual leaders Martin Luther
and John Calvin. Both believed work was the will of God,
but that a person may choose his profession AND his
religion and work very hard to make life the very best it
could be. They re-invested profits in their businesses, and
believed success was evidence of being one of God’s chosen
elect. By the 18 th century diligence in work, scrupulous use
of time, and deferment of pleasure had become a part of the
popular philosophy of work in the Western world.
The early adventurers to America were looking for a
new Eden, with no hope or illusions of a life of ease. From
their viewpoint, the moral life was one of hard work and
determination, and they approached the task of building a
new world in the wilderness as an opportunity to prove their
own moral worth.
Jennifer DeFratis, Tour and Special Events Coordinator
Puritan by Augustus Saint-Gaudens
American History Gallery
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