Colt produced about 6,400 “Wells Fargo” versions of its very popular Model 1849 Pocket Revolver, making up a very small portion of that pistol’s extended production run of more than 300,000 guns from 1850 to 1873. This is a very good example, serial numbered 109306, dating it to 1858 and the company’s second and final production run of 1853 to 1860, making up about 4,200 of the total.

The model is instantly recognizable by its use of a short barrel and lack of a loading assembly, making it even lighter, more compact, and easier to draw from a pocket, but retaining the five-shot cylinder and .31 caliber of the standard ’49 Pocket. An earlier version had used up old parts from the company’s previous pocket model, the Model 1848 “Baby Dragoon.” Pistols in this second run used entirely new Model 1849 parts and uniformly carried 3-inch barrels, where a few 4-inch barrels show up in the first run. Omission of the loading assembly may seem a step backward: it was a late-production improvement on the Baby Dragoon. But, it effectively made the model lighter, more compact, less obtrusive and even less likely to get hung up in drawing from a pocket, something the company apparently thought about in changing from the square back triggerguard of the Baby Dragoon to the round triggerguard of the 1849 Pocket in general. The pistol would not be easy to reload, but if needed, it would likely be needed fast and employed at short range, making the issue moot. A similar idea seemed to lie behind the company’s later production of the so-called Sheriff’s or Shopkeeper’s model of their single-action cartridge revolvers that omitted the ejector.

The pistol has substantial amounts of silvering left on the brass triggerguard and buttstrap, perhaps 60 percent, showing thinner at natural points of wear, but evident overall. The barrel also shows a thin, plum brown from faded blue, with some more evident bluish tones toward the breech. The cylinder shows a uniformly darker brown. The frame shows as a bluish-gray from faded case color, which the hammer shows more strongly on its sides. The grips have a good fit and color, with nice surface with a few small handling marks. The metal has a smooth surface with sharp muzzle face and just light corrosion on the nipples, but shows a number of small dings at the rear of the barrel and on the cylinder, likely from an impatient attempt to disassemble it at some point. The markings, however, are very good. The barrel address is just a tad light on “-YORK” in -{ADDRESS SAML COLT / NEW-YORK CITY }- and the COLTS / PATENT marking on the frame is sharp. The cylinder scene is very good, though some of the dings show up on the boxes with the patent and serial number. All serial numbers match and the additional subscript “8” noted on these Wells Fargo versions is evident as well. Mechanics function well.

The cylinder scene is exceptionally good. Colt’s early pocket revolvers have wonderful early-western associations, showing up in photographs of gold miners, travelers, and early western dandies. “Wells Fargo” is a modern, romantic coinage, but still not up to the brilliant salesmanship of Colt in carrying over their “stage coach robbery” cylinder scene from the late Baby Dragoon to the Model 1849. The revolver itself graphically (in the literal sense) shows a potential buyer contemplating a western excursion why he might want one: a pistol-wielding traveler has just stepped out of stage coach to drive off a band of robbers. While one wounded driver struggles on his knees and another tries to manage the horses, the pistol-wielding hero has downed two of the robbers already as a third throws up his hands from impact of a bullet, and two others flee to parts unknown at left and right, all witnessed by the grateful woman visible through the open door of the coach.

Flayderman estimated it would take about 200 pistols to show all the variations of the Model 1849 Pocket. This would make a worthy addition to a Colt collection, Model 1849 display, or display related to the early west.    [sr][ph:m/L]

DISCLAIMER: All firearms are sold as collector's items only - we do not accept responsibility as to the shooting safety or reliability of any antique firearm. All firearms are described as accurately as possible, given the restraints of a catalog listing length. We want satisfied customers & often "under" describe the weapons. Any city or state regulations regarding owning antique firearms are the responsibility of the purchaser. All firearms are "mechanically perfect" unless noted, but again, are NOT warranted as safe to fire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THIS ITEM, AS WITH ALL OTHER ITEMS AVAILABLE ON OUR WEB SITE,

MAY BE PURCHASED THROUGH OUR LAYAWAY PROGRAM.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR POLICIES AND TERMS.

THANK YOU!