In the Lead up to Civil War, Samuel Colt Offers His Rifles, Carbines, Shotguns & Pistols to State Governors (We have never seen another such letter on the market; this one last sold in the 1940s by Mary Benjamin)

He writes, ?I think I may assert without fear of contradiction, that these arms are unsurpassed for power of penetration, accuracy of shooting, extent of range, strength of material, and perfection of finish. I enclose herewith documentary evidence of these facts???Together with near contemporary broadsheet style marketing material and price list?The letter shows him as a businessman at his best, using an effective sales pitch to sell firearms to the state governmentsSamuel Colt was an inventor and arms manufacturer, and while he is universally celebrated for his revolutionary revolvers, his company also pioneered some of the earliest repeating rifles. Colt?s production methods were groundbreaking. He was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, and his use of interchangeable parts helped him become one of the first to make efficient use of the assembly line manufacturing process.In March 1836, Colt formed the Patent Arms Company and began operation in an unused silk mill along the banks of the Passaic River in Paterson, New Jersey. The outbreak of the Second Seminole War between the U.S. government and the Seminole tribe in Florida provided Colt and his Patent Arms Manufacturing Company with their first big break. Seminole warriors had learned that soldiers were vulnerable while reloading their single-shot firearms, and they developed a tactic of drawing fire, then rushing the temporarily defenseless soldiers and wiping them out before they could fire a second volley. Colt?s revolving rifles were quite effective against this. This rifle was Colt?s first successful contract with the U.S. military. The total quantity of those rifles produced in 1838-41 was approximately 500.In addition to rifles, the U.S. Army ordered 1,000 revolvers after the pistol was used successfully during the Mexican War. Colt established the Colt Patent Arms Company to accommodate the mass production of gun parts using steam-powered, belt-driven machines. Stationed along a chorus line of machines, each person worked on a single part. All components produced by the machines were then assembled elsewhere in the factory. His method saved time and money while creating guns with interchangeable parts. Historians regard Colt's Hartford gun factory as a prototype for America's Industrial Revolution.In 1855, a new Hartford factory?the largest privately owned armament manufacturing plant in the world?was built overlooking the Connecticut River. There Colt manufactured the Colt 1855 Revolving Rifle. By 1856, the company could produce 150 weapons per day using interchangeable parts, efficient production lines and specially designed precision machinery. The Colt brand was now recognized worldwide through savvy promotion and was associated with quality and dependability. A masterful promoter, Colt offered the firearms not merely to the U.S. government, but to the states as well. He positioned his products within the American mythos, even hiring artist George Catlin to create paintings depicting Colt guns in use by sportsmen and explorers.During the late 1850s, while tensions mounted between the North and South that would soon lead to the Civil War, Colt continued to do business with longstanding customers in both Northern and Southern states. However, when war was finally declared on April 12, 1861, he turned his focus almost exclusively to supplying the Union army. In addition to selling to the U.S. government, he also outfitted the 1st Regiment Connecticut Rifles, a volunteer regiment from his company?s home state. Colt?s Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company operated at full capacity and employed over 1,000 people in its Hartford factory. By that time, Samuel Colt had become one of the wealthiest men in America.This is a printed form letter (a solicitation template Colt used) to send to state governors to solicit their patronage, with blanks left for the date and recipient. It is the only signed copy of this letter we have ever seen reach the market.Printe.…