Saturday, April 13, 2013

Governor Seymour's Pistol

This photo is not as clear as I would like.  Everything in the Colt Firearms collection is under glass so I had difficulty maneuvering to get clear photos without reflections and without putting my shadow on the subject.

Thomas Seymour was a personal friend of Hartford gunmaker Samuel Colt.  He was elected to Congress for one term, but declined to run again so that he could accept a commission to fight in the Mexican War.  Returning to Connecticut as a hero for leading a successful charge at Chapultepec, Seymour was elected Governor in 1850.

After serving as Governor for three terms, Thomas Seymour resigned to accept an appointment as the United States Minister to Russia.  Colt gave this pistol to his friend around that time, both to arm him and to provide a sample to help Colt earn business in Russia.

16 comments:

EG CameraGirl said...

Interesting our history of arming our friends who eventually become our enemies. Hmmm. Sometimes I wonder. :))

Kate said...

Human beings are curious creatures with a wide range of motivations.

Milandailyphoto.com said...

God create men different,colonel Colt made them all the same.Vey interesting pic.

Lowell said...

Looks like a .44 I once owned. The darn thing kicked like a mule!

Interesting historical commentary. Pulled that right out of your head, too, I'll bet.

Shoot!

Birdman said...

Yes, I enjoyed the historical words too.

William Kendall said...

Fascinating history behind it!

Sharon said...

What an interesting bit of history.

Sylvia K said...

Fascinating history indeed, Jack! I always enjoy that along with your captures! Great way to start my day! Enjoy your weekend!

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Haha! So a multi useful present then Jack :) It certainly is difficult to shoot (?) things under glass!

Taken For Granted said...

Interesting gun and history. It was a Texas Ranger order for revolvers that put Samuel Colt in business. The Rangers had a number of suggestions for improvements that were incorporated in the model Colt you show in your photo.

Leslie D. said...

1850.. the Wild West Days. If you didn't have a gun back then you were probably considered a radical. Or a fool.

RedPat said...

Networking even back then!

SRQ said...

Bravo obtaining such a good shot through glass. You're a brave blogger posting anything about guns nowadays. Thanks for checking it at SDP recently. It's going to be a long road back but manageable. Since I don't have operational photo software right now, it's quite challenging for me to post. But, the new system should be up and running within a month (providing we can get a purchase order from requisitions). Regarding using a Mac, I would suggest avoiding the accompanying iPhoto software. It can't handle the number of pics we photo bloggers take.

Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.com said...

To me, the history of his life is more interesting than the history of the gun, but the gun is a good point of entry to learn about his life story.

Bob Crowe said...

The international arms trade is nothing new, is it? Being minister to Russia in the 1860's must have been a challenge. Imagine the heating bills.

Randy said...

Nice post and photo.