Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a 1959 Colt Trooper that reads “Presented To/RF Borkenstein/By/Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Mfg. Co. Inc./1959.”
Robert Borkenstein invented the Breathalyzer in 1954. Before that tool came into existence, DUI enforcement was limited to subjective field tests and blood draws. The Breathalyzer changed this by giving officers an objective, portable way to measure blood alcohol on the spot. It’s hard to say how much this changed law enforcement.
Colt presented this gun to him at the University of Indiana Center of Police Training in Bloomington on August 19, 1959. The factory letter confirms that this is the only revolver of its type under factory order 9883, which was shipped to A. Robert Matt at that address. Target configuration grip, factory engraving noted.
4-inch barrel, .38 Special. The Trooper was Colt’s mid-priced duty revolver at the time, a solid choice for a presentation piece that still looked like a functioning gun rather than a shelf trophy.
The connection here is very direct. A man whose invention changed the way police work was acknowledged by one of the most prominent American firearms manufacturers of that era. Good provenance, well documented.
Most of our POTDs use images of our friends Rock Island Auction CompanyMajor firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse them current auction – Who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!
“Historic Breathalyzer Inventor Robert F. Borkenstein Factory Marked Colt Trooper Double Action Revolver with Factory Letters.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/5031/433/breathalyzer-inventor-rf-borkenstein-inscribed-colt-trooper. Accessed 28 May 2026.
