Joseph Mizhakii Zordan
Joseph Mizhakii Zordan is a doctoral candidate in the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University.
A bloodbath spins across a sprawling field on the engraved barrels of the .44 bore Walker, .31-caliber Pocket Revolver and .44 Dragoon model Colt revolvers. Rendered in their military finest by Waterman L. Ormsby (Samuel Colt’s frequent artistic collaborator) a squadron of Euro-American dragoons are mid-charge with smoking revolvers in hand, taking aim at their Comanche adversaries.
![Advertisement featuring various cylinder scenes by W. L. Ormsby, Untitled [Colt Cylinder Scene: Hay's Big Fight], early 1850s. Courtesy the author.](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstudio.brooklynrail.org%2Fassets%2Feb5927d9-8bc1-480e-8237-ee29dc708522.jpg&w=3840&q=75)