This fascinating cased revolver was manufactured at the Colt London Armory in 1855. The barrel has a cone front sight, the "-ADDRESS COL. COLT. LONDON-" address, and London proof and view marks on the left. The frame has the "COLTS/PATENT" marking on the left. The cylinder has the classic Naval Battle of Campeche scene and alternating London proof and view marks. The revolver also has matching visible serial numbers and the round head screws. The back strap is inscribed "A.E. Rykert Esqre/H.M. 100th Regt." The grip is finely checkered. The revolver comes in a fitted hardwood case with bright red lining, a reproduction loading and cleaning label inside the lid, a cleaning rod, a blued ball/bullet mold, an L-shaped combination tool, a cap tin, a cartridge pack, and a bag shaped powder flask. Samuel Colt moved quickly to establish an international reputation and market for his firearms after re-entering the arms business in 1847, and the Model 1851 Navy was the primary international Colt of the period. Given the power and size of the British Empire at the time, he worked to establish an armory in London to supply the British market and potentially the British military. Ultimately, the factory was short lived and instead replaced with a sales agency since his revolvers faced steep competition from homegrown British designs such as Robert Adams's double action revolvers. The genuine London Colts are particularly desirable variants of Colt's classic cap and ball revolvers. Only around 42,000 London Navies were made compared to around 215,348 Hartford '51 Navy revolvers. Some of these revolvers are known to have been issued to the militia in Upper and Lower Canada. Officers generally purchased their own sidearms. This revolver was either purchased by or presented to Alfred Edwin Rykert of the 100th Regiment of Foot (Prince of Wales' Royal Canadian). Rykert's obituary noted his intellect and talents in education and indicated he studied law under Roland McDonald and married his daughter. Rykert suffered from consumption (tuberculosis) but still raised troops for the 100th Regiment and became a lieutenant. In 1858, he was promoted to captain, and the regiment left for Gibraltar in May. In November 1859, he took a leave of absence due to his deteriorating health and went to England where he died in February 1860. His obituary noted that "His funeral was attended by nearly all the Canadians in London, including the Hon W. H. Merritt, Mr. Hawkes of Toronto, and Mr. Dallas of London." A write-up from prior owner Ken Mitchell suggested the revolver was purchased for him as a Christmas present by his wife from Colt's London Agency in 1858 and indicated it was kept by his wife following his death until it was left by her to his brother John Rykert who was married to Nancy Maria Hawley. Her great nephew Frank Hawley later owned the revolver, and Mitchell indicated he was the second owner of this revolver outside of the family. Additional notes indicate the revolver was subsequently owned by Joe Mazur, Henry Mero, and Wayne Connor. Mero previously indicated that Rykert received the revolver while in England being presented his regiment's colors by the Prince of Wales in 1858. Provenance: Captain Albert E. Rykert; The Rykert and Hawley Families; The Ken Mitchell Collection; The Joe Mazur Collection; The Henry Mero Collection; The Wayne Connor Collection

Fine with 60% plus original blue finish on the barrel, 20% original silver plating on the grip straps, traces of original case colors, mostly dark brown patina on the balance, and mild overall wear. The grip is also fine and has crisp checkering, some minor chips at the edges, and minor handling wear. The revolver needs work as the cylinder does not consistently rotate when the hammer is cocked. The relined case (reproduction label) and accessories are very good with mild age and storage related wear. This is a very interesting cased set that includes an inscription for a young Canadian officer.