Mid-Late 19th Century American 0.41" Calibre Rimfire Colt Revolver Named The House Pistol
Manufactured by Colt between 1871 and 1876 there were two variations to this "House Pistol".
Both chambered for the 0.41" calibre rimfire round, one had a 4 shot cylinder and the other was a 5 shot revolver.
Both were available with either a 1.5" or 3" barrel.
This one is a 4 shot model (approximately 7,500 out of the nearly 10,000 total production were this type. It's nickname "Cloverleaf" comes from the distinctive cylinder shape this revolver has.
It has a brass body (which would have probably been nickel plated originally) with a steel barrel, cylinder, hammer, ejector rod and spur trigger, all of which have an aged steel grey patina (of which the barrel and cylinder are showing minor pitting).
The top of the barrel is stamped "Colts House Pistol, Hartford, CT USA.
The mainspring is strong and the single only action is crisp in half and full position with the cylinder rotating as it should.
An interesting feature of this pistol is that between each chamber in the cylinder is a groove that allows the hammer to rest in a position that reduces the width of the cylinder itself. This makes the revolver more streamlined for pocket carrying (probably easier to see this in the video).
The right hand side of the two piece wooden grip has a chip missing at the top.
The serial number 1671 is stamped on the underside of the 3" barrel and on the base of the grip, making this quite an early one.
Another interesting but also frustrating feature of this particular piece is the ejector rod, interesting in that although it seems correct and the patina is right, it is of a slightly different style to any other that I can find and frustrating in that I can't release it!
A scarce and interesting Colt Revolver.
Barrel length 7.5cm, Overall length 17.5cm.
This antique pistol is considered obsolete and non functioning, and is sold as a collectable ornamental item. This product is available for purchase in the UK without a license
