History's Best Selling Products of 1836

Hats off to 1836! Few items commanded as much fanfare and nationwide excitement as Revolver. Alongside sensationally popular hits like Nature and essential classics, consumers eagerly embraced the swell Yankee ingenuity and home-front craftsmanship. Pioneering outfits from industry leaders like Samuel Colt and Ralph Waldo Emerson set the standard for quality, producing celebrated items that swept main street from coast to coast as genuine top-flight hits. Browse our definitive retrospective below to rediscover the genuine articles of the era.

1. Revolver

   Released in 1836 by Samuel Colt

   On February 25, 1836, the United States Patent Office granted 22-year-old Samuel Colt U.S. Patent No. 138 for a 'revolving gun'. This date marks the official, legal birth of the first truly practical and commercially viable revolver. While other multi-shot firearms existed, they were often unreliable or cumbersome. Colt's patent specifically protected his innovative mechanism for locking the cylinder in perfect alignment with the barrel as the hammer was cocked. This single event provided the legal foundation for his manufacturing empire and set in motion a technological revolution in firearms. It transformed the pistol from a single-shot, last-resort weapon into a formidable tool that would redefine military tactics, law enforcement, and personal defense, profoundly shaping American history.

2. Nature

   Released in 1836 by Ralph Waldo Emerson, James Munroe and Company

   Published anonymously in 1836, Ralph Waldo Emerson's 'Nature' is a landmark document in American intellectual history, marking the unofficial beginning of the Transcendentalist movement. Its significance lies in its radical call for a distinct American intellectual identity, urging individuals to abandon inherited dogma and seek truth and spiritual understanding through direct experience with nature. Released in a period of burgeoning national identity and evolving religious thought, the essay profoundly challenged prevailing philosophical and theological norms, laying the groundwork for a uniquely American philosophical and literary tradition that emphasized intuition, individualism, and the inherent divinity of both humanity and the natural world. Its impact transcended mere philosophical discourse, influencing art, literature, and social reform.