Calipers marked S Colt

[Shreckmeister]

I found a pair of iron calipers with brass bushing marked on each leg "S Colt" a the Hazen Flea market today.  The vendor said he picked them up outside of New Haven.  I read an article that said
"Enter Hartford native Samuel Colt. Colt’s patented revolver was an important invention, but his truly groundbreaking innovation was the perfection of a manufacturing process that enabled production of 10,000 identical copies of that revolver. Colt and his workers developed precise molds for forging the basic metal pieces, and specialized lathes, drill presses, and milling machines to grind those metal blanks into the finished components. They also used jigs and bearing points to secure the blank pieces on the cutting machines, and precise inspection gauges and calipers to ensure that the finished pieces conformed to exact specifications. These specialized machine tools—machines to make other machines—eliminated the variability introduced by hand forging and filing. Thus, by employing the division of labor, specialized machine tools, and precise quality-control standards, Colt and his engineers were among the first manufacturers to achieve interchangeable parts on a mass scale."

    I assume these calipers were from his operation.  I'll try to get photos posted when my cell phone recharges.  Has anyone seen calipers marked this way?

[PPatch]

Dang if you aren't always on the prowl for interesting stuff. Looking forward to those photos.

dp

[Shreckmeister]

Both legs of caliper are stamped S Colt

[George Sutton]

This is my two cents for what it's worth.... Samuel Colt made lots of stuff besides guns as did Winchester. After looking at your calipers I would say the stamp was added recently. If you look at the overall condition of the calipers there is uniform pitting of the metal EXCEPT where the stamp is.

Also I don't think they would be marked "S. Colt" I think the marking would be Colt's Pat. or Colt's Manufacturing with an address.  They may have been made by another S. Colt.

I've dealt in antiques for the better part of 50 years and I've seen all kinds of this stuff. I knew a local guy who, during the Civil War craze that had a stamp for everything, U.S., CSA, 20Th ME, etc. etc.

But again, that's my two cents... If I could see it up close , I might change my mind, but I don't think so.

Centershot

[Shreckmeister]

Here is a photo of the other leg of the caliper that shows heavy pitting throughout the stamp.



Blowing up the stamp on the first photo I posted shows pitting particularly on the L and T and
some on the other letters as well.  This other stamp I just added to the photos is heavily pitted.  The color/patina in the bottom of the stamps is the same as the
rest of the caliper on both.  I would suggest that maybe the surface of the stamped area's is denser and
therefore less subject to pitting?  Who knows, so I sent off the photos to Colt and they have something
of a history department that may shed some light on it.  I will share their response.