I fell in love with old Colts around the age of ten. That was a long time ago, when Western movies were a feature of every Saturday afternoon for me and my friends.
Although in those days all we saw on screen were .45 Peacemakers, I was captivated by the first Navy model I saw in a country pub which had a small display of bushranger relics. There had been a notable gunfight outside its doors in 1865 between a local mounted policeman and a bushranger, which ended when the cop was killed. The bushranger was later captured and hanged.
I loved the octagonal barrel of the Navy Colt, and when I was old enough to start an antique gun collection, a Navy was one of my first acquisitions. Over the years I have bought, repaired and enjoyed restoring a lot of them.
This is the only one left in the collection, which I reduced to just a few old favourites some time ago. The collectors amongst you will recognise it as a London made Navy in its original case. I bought it with a full set of original accessories - including the .36 Eley paper cartridges, a spare mainspring, two Colt stamped nipples and even its original key.
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