Colt ─ An American Legend/the Official History of Colt Firearms from 1836 to the Present

No inventor in the history of American industry has captured the imagination the way Samuel Colt did. His revolving pistol became synonymous with American genius and invention, gave birth to a great manufacturing empire, and was legendary in the history of the Civil War, in the taming of the West, and in campaigns and adventures all over the world--wherever Colonel Colt's invention "made men equal."
With more than 3300 color photographs and 115 in black-and-white (all taken especially for this book), Colt: An American Legend illustrates and describes every model Colt produced between 1836 and 1986. There has never been a bigger, more beautiful, or more extraordinary book in the firearms field.
The large format of the book allows many of the firearms to be shown full size, and the history, development, and importance of each model and variation are presented and described in authoritative detail. A unique appendix traces the complete serial numbers and year of manufacture of every Colt model — making this book a remarkable and invaluable guide for every serious collector and dealer.

R. L. Wilson has authored more than forty books and more than three hundred articles in a career that has spanned four decades. His dedication to the world of arms and armor began with a boyhood in Minnesota, followed by internships at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Armouries, H.M. Tower of London, and the Wadsworth Atheneum, where he was appointed curator of firearms at the age of twenty-three.