This Colt Hartford 1849 Pocket Model revolver was manufactured in 1855. The revolver has a high polish blue barrel and cylinder with a casehardened loading lever, frame and hammer. The trigger guard and back strap are silver plated brass. The revolver has a cone shaped front sight, frame with beveled loading cut-out, a five-shot cylinder engraved with the stagecoach holdup scene, a hammer with bordered knurled spur and early pattern rounded trigger guard. The left side of the ivory grip is decorated with a relief carved American man-of-war under full sail. The barrel, loading lever, frame, trigger guard, back strap and screws are factory deluxe engraved with Germanic scrollwork on a punch dot background. The sides of the hammer are engraved with a wolf's head motif. "Saml Colt" is hand engraved in Old English letters on the top barrel flat and "COLTS/PATENT" is engraved in a two-line arch on the left side of the frame. A punch dot stamped either above or below the serial number on the barrel lug, frame, trigger guard and back strap indicates that the components were designated at the factory for engraving and special finish. The engraving was almost certainly executed by Gustave Young or his shop. The full serial number "103953" is stamped on the bottom of the barrel lug, on the frame, on the trigger guard, on the back strap and on the side of the cylinder. The loading lever is stamped with the partial serial number "3953". The revolver is complete with a mahogany British style case lined with Navy blue velvet. The case has a scalloped brass escutcheon inlaid on the lid and has a British style interior with five compartments. The British features include fitting for a cleaning rod, an interior compartment lid with turned brass handle, and a recessed space for the combination screwdriver/nipple wrench. The case contains a full set of standard Colt British accessories which consist of a blue steel cleaning rod, a 250 cap tin of Eley Bros Caps with green paper label, a blue iron double cavity bullet mold marked "COLT'S/PATENT" on the sprue cutter and "31PKT" on the right block (Rapley #M16), and a bag-shaped Dixon Pocket Flask with adjustable charger, a gold-plated top, and a brown lacquered body marked "JAMES-DIXON/AND SONS SHEFFIELD" and a lanyard ring on the bottom (Rapley #F54). Included in the case are the correct key and an assortment of lead round balls and conical bullets.

Fine. The meticulously executed engraving on the barrel, lever, frame, hammer, trigger guard and back strap is deep and crisp with the only exception being the characteristic Young animal head on the left side of the barrel above the lever screw which has been disfigured by pitting. The top and right side of the barrel and lug, and the portion of the cylinder that includes the "COLTS PATENT" marking are covered with very fine pitting. The bottom and left side of the barrel and about half of the cylinder have more than 50% of the high polish blue finish. The loading lever, frame, and hammer retain most of the original case colors and are free from pitting. The trigger guard and back strap have smooth surfaces with crisp engraving and retain about 70% of the delicate silver plated finish. The relief carved grip is very good, the ivory has a mellow patina with the relief carving sharp and wear is limited to some minor shrinkage and three hairline cracks on the right side of the grip. The case remains very fine-excellent. The exterior shows minimal handling wear with a minor separation line along the front of the lid. The interior is excellent. The blue velvet lining is clean and bright. Wear is limited to several small tears in the fabric on the side of the case from contact with the front sight pin and some very minor compression marks. The cleaning rod has 50% of the blue finish. The "L" shaped screwdriver/nipple wrench has most of the blue finish and is very good. The bullet mold is excellent and retains nearly 95% of the original blue finish. The cap tin is in very good condition with the label bright and completely intact, most of the japanned finish is present on the tin body and about 1/3 of the percussion caps remain in the tin. The Dixon powder flask is very fine. The flask body retains about 90% of the brown lacquer finish with a few minor handling scratches and the top and charger has about 80% of the gold plated finish. This is a fine example of a Model 1849 Pocket Model revolver with factory deluxe engraving by Gustave Young and very fine Colt British style case and accessories.