I'd wager they didn't look new for long. They weren't play things or objects of their affection. They were tools. They were carried and used hard, every day. Typically one revolver, all day, every day, rain, shine, snow or sleet. I seriously doubt any of us put a single firearm through that kind of use. I'm certainly not carrying an 1860 365 days a year for ten or twenty years. I may carry a sixgun a couple weeks a year, spread out over 80 something guns. No rain. No weeks without maintenance, exposed to the elements.
Everyone loves antiques. I do and I like old guns. Problem is, they're expensive. All antiques are expensive. I just watched a +500 lot auction and everything I wanted to bid on went for at least double what I wanted to pay. Likewise, old guns and old leather are exorbitantly expensive and scarcely usable. New guns and leather that are aged check every box. What they did 150yrs ago doesn't really factor into it.