Clockwork Basilisk: The Early Revolvers of Elisha Collier & Artemas Wheeler
By Ben Nicholson
Headstamp Publishing, LLC
Two Volumes, 433 & 174 pages, respectively. Profusely illustrated in full color. Hardback.
$120
headstamppublishing.com
Before Samuel Colt, there was Elisha Collier and Artemas Wheeler. Their names, however, do not ring as household words as that of Colt’s, in this day and age. The primary reason being would be, obviously, that only 100 Collier revolving firearms are known currently, whereas there are literally millions of guns that bear Colt’s name.
To that end, Ben Nicholson and a group of dedicated arms historians with backgrounds in architecture and engineering delved into a 10 year pursuit of information on the origins of the revolving arms focusing on the guns of Collier and Wheeler, their design, construction, manufacture and decoration. The result is one of the most beautifully crafted books on the subject that I have ever encountered and, at a hefty 600 pages, more information than I thought would or could ever be available on the subject.
Revolving arms were not unique to the 19th century. In fact, they go back to the dawn of firearms development. It just was not until Colt, a master salesman, that anyone found a practical system to deliver multiple rounds at a time that coincided with the development of mass production and the California Gold Rush, creating a perfect storm that made Colt the household name.
How much Colt “borrowed” from his predecessors is a hearty and most interesting topic that these two volumes are not afraid to address. But the crowning achievement in this publication is the depth of information, however technical, which is delivered to the reader with a layman’s prose that makes it a most enjoyable and informative read.
If you have any interest in firearms manufacturing, design, sales methods and legal aspects of patents or just a curiosity of what came before Colt, this is a most welcome addition to your library.
The stunning photographs of every known Collier and many of their centuries-old predecessors are a true delight to examine, most of which have been photographed and published for the first time.
Oh, and in case you were wondering about the title, Clockwork refers to the manner in which the cylinder was rotated and Basilisk – noun; bas·i·lisk : a legendary reptile with fatal breath and glance. The mythical beast found its way into the decoration of many a Collier lockplate.
