From The Ledgers: An 1892 Army Model Revolver for the King of Siam

The Kingdom of Siam, or what we now refer to as Thailand, found itself embroiled in conflict with France during the summer of 1893. The above entry from the Special Order Ledgers is dated to the Summer of 1893, the exact time period when tension would reach a peak between Siam and France. The above gun, specified as a 6 inch barreled blue Model 1892 Army revolver, with ivory grips. The Coat of Arms mentioned as being inlaid is unclear whether it was done so on the gun or the grips, but without any further mention of other engraving, a strong theory would trend towards the grips having the Coat of Arms.

They say ‘timing is everything’, and Colt was never one for missing out on opportunity. At the exact time that this gun went out Colt’s doors, French interests in the far east were moving to take Laos territories from the Kingdom of Siam, King Rama V (Chulalongkorn) presiding over an independent nation surrounded by European controlled colony nations. The reign of Rama V (1868-1910) was marked by modernization and social reforms, as well as attempting to stay as independent from European interests as long as possible. In July of 1893, French gunboats sailed up the Chao Phraya River to blockade Bangkok, putting Siam in an untenable position, and ultimately relenting and later ceding Laos to France as a territory and further expanding French Indochina.

Sam Colt began a policy early in his business dealings of gifting weapons to influence governmental minds, and royalty were often the recipients lavished with guns in hopes that the gift might lead to some sort of contract or order. In this case, the gun in question appears to possibly be that exact thing, or likely a gift from some unnamed party. One could imagine a King buying a more opulently appointed gun for themselves, though it’s possible the King of Siam ordered this for himself.

The photo above shows King Rama V at left, sitting with Tsar Nicholas II in Saint Petersburg around 1897, while the King of Siam was on a world tour.