Collier's Flintlock Revolver was a

flintlock Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

that was invented by

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

-born gunsmith Elisha Haydon Collier and manufactured by John Evans & Son of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Collier's Flintlock Revolver was not self rotating but it was self-priming: a compartment automatically released gunpowder into the pan when the hammer was cocked.

History

Elisha Collier of Boston,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, invented a

in 1818 in cooperation with his associates Cornelius Coolidge and Artemus Wheeler. His weapon was one of the earliest true revolvers, in contrast to the earlier

pepperbox The pepper-box pistol or simply pepperbox (also "pepper-pot", from its resemblance to the household Salt and pepper shakers, pepper shakers) is a multiple-barrel firearm, mostly in the form of a handgun, that has three or more gun barrels each ...

es which were multi-barreled guns. It was patented in 1818, produced from 1819 by John Evans & Son of

, and purchased by European officers in the

presidency armies The presidency armies were the armies of the three Presidencies of British India, presidencies of the East India Company's Company rule in India, rule in India, later the forces of the the Crown, British Crown in British Raj, India, composed pr ...

. Over 10,000 of value (approximately 160 long guns) in

pound sterling Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...

was supposedly to be made and contracted for India according to Elisha H. Collier's testimony in the 1851 Colt vs. Massachusetts Arms Company patent infringement trial of 1851 (J. Harrison – The Gun Collector Number 35 Feb 1951, pp. 553–555.) but further on in testimony was diminished by Mr. Collier suggesting that this number was only anticipated. It is known that approximately 225 Collier pistols and long guns were made between 1819 and 1824, according to known serial numbers between the three types. A single barrel allowed greater accuracy and a faster reload time while reducing unnecessary weight. However, its flintlock action was a serious drawback: flints were unreliable and had to be changed frequently, while inferior quality powder risked a misfire.

Samuel Colt Samuel Colt (; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company and made the mass production of revolvers commercially viable. Col ...

saw weapons of this type while serving as a cabin boy aboard the brig ''Corvo'' in 1832. Following his return from the Far East he was inspired to create his own

caplock The percussion cap, percussion primer, or caplock, introduced in the early 1820s, is a type of single-use percussion ignition device for muzzle loader firearm locks enabling them to fire reliably in any weather condition. Its invention gave ...

revolver: the

Colt Paterson The Colt Paterson revolver was the first commercial repeating firearm employing a revolving cylinder with multiple chambers aligned with a single, stationary barrel. Its design was patented by Samuel Colt on February 25, 1836, in the United ...

, which eventually supplanted the Collier Flintlock Revolver.

References

{{reflist Early revolvers Flintlock repeaters Revolvers of the United Kingdom Revolvers of the United States Victorian-era weapons