Summary

Colt 1877 Double Action Thunderer centrefire revolver, cal. .41 in., rifled silver plated round barrel 113 mm (4 1/2 in) long with R.H.side rod ejector, good original blueing along ejector rod and side of barrel.

Made by Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Co, Hartford, Connecticut, serial number 155212, 1905.

Physical Description

Six chambered long fluted cylinder with light blueing, solid steel frame with overall patina, steel rounded trigger guard and back strap, two-piece chequered hard rubber grips with Colt rampant horse logo framed in an oval at upper on both sides, wear to chequering of grips, particularly on R.H.side. Bladed front sight, loading gate on R.H. side. Triggerguard L.H. triangle stamped '5'. Two-line Colt address stamped on barrel.

Significance

The Colt 1877 Double Action (DA) Thunderer and Lightning revolvers, were the predecessors to the larger Colt Frontier and Army models that appeared the following year. The Thunderer - as per this record - was distinguished from the Lightning by being produced in the larger .41 calibre, rather than the Lightning's .38. The were the first of Colt's self-cocking, or double action revolvers, and both models were designed with the 'bird's head' style grips. The models were introduced in 1877 and production continued until c.1912. In style, the model shows obvious physical traits of the popular 1873 Single Action Army revolver, though in a smaller scale. Their models common terms of 'Thunderer' and 'Lightning' were infact not Colt designated names, but appear to have originated in 1878 with B. Kittredge & Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio - at the time, one of America's largest distributors of firearms.

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