Rare Documented British Proofed Patent Arms Mfg. Co. Colt Paterson Model 1839 Percussion Revolving Shotgun, Pictured in "The Paterson Colt Book"

This is an exceptional representative example of the rare and highly sought-after Colt Model 1839 Paterson percussion revolving shotgun. Fewer than 225 of these shotguns are estimated to have been produced between 1839 and 1841 by the Patent Arms Manufacturing Co. of Paterson, New Jersey, each within their own serial range, as documented on page 52 of The Book of Colt Firearms (1971) by R.L. Wilson.

Among Colt’s rarest longarms, the Model 1839 shotgun was manufactured in significantly smaller numbers than its Model 1839 carbine counterpart—of which fewer than 950 are believed to have been made. Regarded as the finest of the Paterson long guns, the Model 1839 also holds great historical importance as one of the first truly practical repeating long gun designs. While earlier repeating firearms existed, none approached the reliability or effectiveness of this model.

This very example is photographed and described in detail on pages 228–231 of The Paterson Colt Book by R.L. Wilson. The accompanying caption notes the “rare presence of checkering on stock, likely done in England,” and further explains that the shotgun was “believed to have been dispatched to England as part of an attempt by Samuel Colt to market Paterson arms in the United Kingdom.” Wilson recounts that Colt entered an agreement with Englishman Richard Pullen for a 50–50 profit split, with Pullen guaranteeing Colt up to £10,000 in capital. The arrangement ultimately fell through, with Colt retaining a £500 sum that had served to bind the contract.

The shotgun bears London British proofs—“crown/V” and “crown/CP”—on both the barrel and the six-shot, 3½-inch cylinder. The smoothbore barrel is fitted with a post front sight and a fixed U-notch rear sight, and marked on the right barrel lug with “Patent Arms M’g. Co. Paterson. N.J.-Colt’s Pt.” Serial number “113” appears on the rear of the barrel lug, cylinder, cylinder turning ring, and buttplate, while the wedge is an unnumbered replacement.

A small inlaid German silver plaque engraved with the Gothic initials “HD” adorns the upper tang (the identity of this individual remains unknown). The shotgun features a smooth stock paired with a blued, scroll-engraved iron trigger guard.

Provenance: The Charles Marx Collection