The Company was probably formed in 1893, soon after the financial difficulties of Foehl & Weeks and likely
named in honor of the World's Columbian Exhibition, held in Chicago in 1893. The president of Columbian Firearms was Henry Ruhland, a Philadelphia financier who just happened to be the bankruptcy referee for Foehl & Weeks. Foehl managed the company, which occupied the same factory that had been previously used by Foehl & Weeks. Essentially, Ruhland and Foehl created a new legal entity which could continue producing firearms using Foehl's patents. One of Foel's patent no.554,058, which was on the Baby Hammerless, was assigned to Henry Ruhland.
The firm manufactured top-break revolvers nearly identical to those manufactured by Foehl & Weeks. Some were marked "COLUMBIAN F. A. MFG. CO. PHILA. PA. U.S.A./ PAT. DEC. 11.1894 PAT.PDG." Others were marked "COLUMBIAN AUTOMATIC PAT.PDG./ NEW YORK ARMS CO."
The Baby Hammerless was probably first manufactured by the company but others sais they were manufactured when Henry Kolb took over. Doubt is allowed as Kolb mades Baby Hammerless where all marked K in the circle wheras the early Baby Hammerless revolvers have hard rubber grips with vines or scrollwork in the upper circle.
Columbian apparently went out of business in 1897 (last year listened in the Philadelpia City Directory) or 1898, and their guns are rather scarce.
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