This is a nice cap tin with the blue label in very good condition. See Rapley, Colt Percussion Accoutrements, CT#7 for a parallel. The Eley firm started making percussion caps in 1828 and dominated the market on both sides of the Atlantic and Colt’s operations in Hartford and London dealt with them exclusively. Rapley dates the tin to about 1858 for the Navy, 1849 pocket and 1855 Root revolvers. The label is nicely worded, “Made expressly for Colt’s Pt. Belt and Pocket Pistols.” Officers purchased their own arms, of course, so this would be appropriate both for a cased revolver or a display of officers’ effects.

This comes from the recently dispersed collections of the War Library and Museum in Philadelphia. Incorporated in 1888 by the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, the veterans’ organization for Union officers, this was the repository for a world-class collection of artifacts housed since 1922 in a Philadelphia townhouse. The museum closed in 2008. Many of their holdings made their way to other museums, but others were recently sold at auction where we obtained a number of pieces with this great pedigree. A museum inventory number in black ink on a white base is on the reverse of the tin. This could be removed, but furnishes nice evidence of the provenance.   [sr]

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