120 Years in 120 Objects
Join the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in celebrating the museum’s 120th year of orbiting the sun. Staff and guest curators have chosen one object or item per year of our existence to highlight to the public. Visit the website and our social media platforms regularly to see the latest object and keep an eye out for information about a physical exhibition later this year!
Today’s Object is from 1974
Colt 1851 Navy Revolver by Ghilraen Laue, Curator of Special Collections
In 1974, the Museum added a significant piece to its collection: a Colt Model 1851 Navy Revolver. This firearm along with its presentation box was donated by the estate of Mrs A. Lowe, of Pietermaritzburg. This six-round .36-caliber revolver was designed by Samuel Colt between 1847 and 1850. Engraved on the cylinder is a scene of the victory of the Second Texas Navy at the Battle of Campeche in May 1843. Despite its name suggesting a naval association, the Colt Navy was very popular among civilians and land military forces. The 1851 Navy Colt was Colt’s most popular percussion revolver and between 1850 and 1873 nearly a quarter of a million of these iconic firearms were produced. Most were made by Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company in Hartford Connecticut in the USA, and around 42 000 were produced in England by the Colt London Armory. The Museum’s example was made circa 1854 in London.
Colt Model 1851 Navy Revolver with presentation box from the KwaZulu-Natal Museum’s firearm collection
