HARTFORD, CONN. — It’s been a decade since the Wadsworth Atheneum had an exhibit on native son Samuel Colt, an icon who revolutionized the American firearms industry and put Hartford on the world map.

Key point: The Colt Python is a very successful revolver and people loved it. In the world of firearms, which gun is truly the best is difficult to quantify. The sheer amount of innovation and the ...

There are few names that invoke the American Frontier more than Samuel Colt, but before his revolvers helped win the West, Colt was a struggling gunmaker. On Jan. 4, 1847, Colt won a contract to ...