This exquisite Python, serial number V27000, was originally shipped from the factory as a plain blued gun, then returned for engraving and 18-karat-gold inlays, which were done by the late Howard Dove, one of Colt’s finest master engravers. Kevin Cherry, of Cherry’s Fine Guns in Greensboro, North Carolina, is the current owner (www.cherrys.com). Courtesy Little John’s Antique Arms

Although I was barely a teenager at the time, I remember 1955 as the year of the first Ford Thunderbird, a sophisticated two-seater that a kid with a Schwinn bike could only fantasize about. It was also the year Bill Haley and His Comets recorded "Rock Around the Clock," Quaker Oats invented instant oatmeal and "Gunsmoke" and "Davy Crockett" debuted on TV.

But equally as important to a kid who liked to shoot and would eventually become a gunwriter, I also remember 1955 as the year three legendary handguns made their appearances to rave reviews in the firearms press. After a 14-year hiatus, the Colt Single Action Army was resurrected. That same year, Smith & Wesson's Model 29--basically a beefed-up .44 Hand Ejector Fourth Model--was teamed with the equally new .44 Magnum cartridge. And finally, what undoubtedly became the most elegant double-action .357 Magnum of the 20th century, the Colt Python, was unveiled.

Of these three, only the Python was a radically new design, even though it could trace its ancestry back to the Army Special, a popular .38-caliber double action that had been in the line since 1908 and was rechristened the Colt Official Police in 1927. But the Python was a dramatic change from anything Colt had done before. In essence, it was a window into the future, encapsulated in a hand-honed steel sculpture that depicted a revolver's ultimate destiny.

It is somewhat ironic that the Python was born the same year as Smith & Wesson's .44 Magnum, a dynamic gun-and-cartridge duo that immediately challenged this new Colt's superiority. But while the .44 Magnum was the strongest kid in the neighborhood, the .357 had been around since 1935 and during the ensuing years had built up legions of followers, primarily among hunters and lawmen. The .357 Magnum had already proven itself to be accurate, powerful and, as many would soon discover, far more pleasant to shoot than the .44 Magnum, with less muzzle blast, noise and recoil. Besides, the Python could also chamber the more moderate .38 Special.

(Left) A rare factory-engraved 6-inch nickel-plated Python with full "D" coverage and aftermarket ivory grips. Unfortunately, many of these ivory grips ended up cracking at the junction where they joined the frame, due to recoil of the .357 magnum. (Right) The Python Hunter, first brought out in 1981, featured an 8-inch barrel, 2X Leupold scope, Pachmayr grips and stainless steel cleaning rod and accessories, all packed in an aluminum Halburton case. Courtesy Little John's Antique Arms

Yet until World War II, the only .357 Magnum offered by Colt was in the Single Action Army, of which only 525 guns were made in that caliber. Interestingly, when the SAA was reintroduced in 1955, it was in .45 Colt and .38 Special--and not .357 Magnum.

It wasn't until 1953 that Colt brought out its first modern double action in this caliber, a relatively scarce model named simply the Colt .357 Magnum, which stayed in the line until 1961 with a total of only 15,000 guns manufactured. In addition, in 1954--just one year before the Python's appearance--Colt introduced the .357 Magnum Trooper, which was discontinued in 1969. Thus, by 1954, with only two revolvers for what was then the most popular cartridge in the country, Colt clearly knew it had to do something dramatic to capture the attention of the shooting public.

"I was working with Al Gunther, who was superintendent of the factory and oversaw all production," recalls Al De John, who started with Colt in 1946 as a gunsmith, was subsequently promoted to service manager and eventually became superintendent of the Colt Custom Shop before his retirement in the 1990s.