Colt : the making of an American legend

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Title:

Author:

Hosley, William N.

Personal Author:

Hosley, William N.

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

254 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 30 cm

General Note:

"Published in association with the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford."

Contents:

Meet Sam and Elizabeth -- Practically perfect : Sam Colt and the revolution in machine-based manufacturing -- Guns, gun culture, and the peddling of dreams -- Coltsville : the body of empire -- Sam Colt and the Charter Oak : the heart of empire -- Armsmear : the head of empire -- Frontiers of civic culture : Sam and Elizabeth, art patrons -- Building memorials -- First Lady of Connecticut.

Abstract:

This book recounts the story of gun manufacturer Samuel Colt and his wife, Elizabeth, who together turned a company into an empire and a name into a legend. It is a tale of two lives caught up in profound social and economic change, of a great fortune amassed and expended, of the rise of a new industry, and the transformation of an American city. Beginning with an account of Sam Colt's early failures as both inventor and businessman, William Hosley traces the development.

In the pre-Civil War years of the notorious Colt revolver - "The Gun That Won the West"--Into the first truly global manufacturing export in U.S. history. At their peak, Colt armories in Hartford and London produced as many as 50,000 guns a year - part of a thriving, technologically advanced arms industry that made the Connecticut River Valley the "Silicon Valley" of the Victorian Age. Although Sam became an international celebrity and symbol of American enterprise, it.

Was Elizabeth who made sure the Colt legacy would endure. Following her husband's premature death in 1862 and the subsequent destruction of the Hartford armory by fire, she rebuilt the factory and launched a forty-year campaign of civic memorialization. A patron of the arts, she endowed parks, museums, public statuary, and other memorials that glorified her family and earned her the status of "first lady" of Connecticut.

Personal Subject:

Colt, Samuel, 1814-1862. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50033204

Colt, Samuel.

Subject Term:

Gunsmiths

Colt revolver

Geographic Term:

Hartford (Conn.) -- History.

Genre:

Biography

Biographies

History

ISBN:

9781558490420

9781558490437

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Library

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Material Type

Archival Material

Call Number

TS533.62.C65 H67 1996 HCOLL OVERSIZE

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

"A rich social and political history of 19th-century America. It is also a joint biography of Samuel Colt, an enigmatic inventor and industrialist, and Elizabeth, the strong, resolute wife who carried on his dreams and life's work. . . . Hosley creates a fascinating story that far exceeds the simple history of that famous gun". -- Publishers Weekly

Reviews (3)

Publisher's Weekly Review

This companion to the Wadsworth Atheneum's exhibit of Colt miscellany in Hartford, Conn., is a rich social and political history of 19th-century America. It is also a joint biography of Samuel Colt, an enigmatic inventor and industrialist, and Elizabeth, the strong, resolute wife who carried on his dreams and life's work. Hosley, the Koopman Curator at the Atheneum, follows Colt's life from his strange beginnings, successes and failures, to the ultimate perfection of the firearm that would be adopted by the U.S. Army. In exploring the personal lives and excesses of this wealthy 19th-century couple, Hosley presents a particularly colorful history of the times. After Samuel's death in 1862, Elizabeth Colt's ongoing efforts to immortalize her husband's accomplishments and their name led her to build memorials and statues and to create a philanthropic legacy for the city of Hartford. Elizabeth's taste often went to the extreme, as seen in their mansion, Armsmear. "Armsmear's reception room epitomizes the kind of blunt ostentation that was the trademark of America's Eurocentric nouveau riche during the 1880's." On a larger scale, Hosley also shows how Colt fit into the culture of war and violence that would be so beneficial to his fiscal concerns. "The good people of this wirld [sic] are very far from being satisfied with each other," wrote Colt, "& my arms are the best peacemakers." Rich in illustrations and photographs (204 images, 72 in color) of the Colts' firearms and art collections, Hosley creates a fascinating story that far exceeds the simple history of that famous gun. BOMC dividend; History Book Club alternate.(Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

The Colt name is now a legend in the field of firearms. This is the story of how, through personal efforts, Sam Colt, along with his wife, Elizabeth, turned an idea into a manufacturing empire and transformed himself into a household name. Beginning with Sam's early failures, it traces the evolution of his now famous revolver. The key to Sam's success was demanding a high standard of precision manufacturing backed by vigorous and imaginative marketing. The result was one of America's first major export industries. Elizabeth Colt was the person most responsible for maintaining the legacy her husband had created. Upon his premature death, she launched a 40-year campaign of civic memorialization as a patron of the arts by endowing parks, museums, and public artworks. Unlike most books on Colt, the only guns illustrated are primarily from Sam's personal collection, while the vast majority of photos depict art and memorabilia. A large-format book with a social-history approach that distinguishes it from other volumes on the subject. (Reviewed January 1 & 15, 1997)1558490426Fred Egloff

Choice Review

Hosley tells the story of the legendary Samuel Colt, his wife Elizabeth--The First Lady of Connecticut--and their gun manufacturing empire. Colt's successes and failures, the Colt revolver and armories, the unprecedented development of the Connecticut Valley in Victorian times, Colt's premature death, the endurance of the Colt legacy, the destruction by fire of the Hartford Armory and its rebuilding by Elizabeth--are all vividly described and illustrated, as are Elizabeth's patronage of the arts and her endowment of parks, museums, and memorials. Hosley, Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut, is undoubtedly the most qualified person to write this book, which is very well written and presented with black-and-white photographs and superb color illustrations. Following a preface, there are ten chapters on such topics as the Colts, the revolution in machine-based manufacturing, guns and gun culture, Coltsville, the Charter Oak and the dreamhouse Armsmear, and the Colts as the patrons of the arts. All those interested in the history of American culture and technology will greatly benefit from the book. Comprehensive notes. An excellent acquisition by public as well as academic libraries. General readers; upper-division undergraduate and graduate students. T. Z. Kattamis; University of Connecticut

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