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LOT 1314
Scarce Civil War Era Cased Colt Hartford-English
Dragoon Percussion Revolver - Serial no. 332, 44
cal., 7 1/2 inch part round bbl., blue/casehardened
finish, walnut grips. This very scarce Colt Hartford-
English Dragoon revolver is one of approximately 700
manufactured circa 1853 at Colt’s London Armory using
parts from the Colt Armory in Hartford. This revolver
has the Third Model Dragoon style round trigger guard
and rectangular cylinder stops. Colt cleared out much
of its older inventory of parts when it began shipping
Dragoon components to London. Colt’s Dragoons were
evidently not popular in England, but they are known
to have seen significant use during the American Civil
War by cavalry in both the North and South. Colt likely
saw an opportunity to sell off the remaining Dragoon
revolvers with the outbreak of the war and used it to
clear their inventory of obsolete revolvers. The barrel
and cylinder have London “crown/GP” and “crown/V”
proof and view marks. The top barrel flat is roll-stamped
with the legend: “ADDRESS SAML COLT NEW-YORK
CITY-” reading toward the breech. “COLTS/PATENT”
roll-stamped on the left of the frame. The cylinder is
roll-engraved with the Texas Ranger and Indian battle
scene and “MODEL U.S.M.R./COLT’S PATENT.” The matching serial number is marked on the loading lever, wedge, arbor, cylinder, barrel, frame, trigger guard, and butt. It comes in a fitted, English style case with a James Dixon & Sons flask, L-shaped combination screwdriver/nipple wrench, Eley Bros cap tin, dual cavity ball/bullet mold, and oiler.
CONDITION: Very good plus, with strong traces of the bright original blue finish visible on the bottom rear of the barrel, smooth gray and brown patina on the balance of the iron surfaces with some scattered patches light pitting/freckling, and mostly defined markings. The cylinder retains the majority of the original scene and has half of the safety pins remaining. The brass exhibits an attractive golden aged patina with some small traces of original silver finish in protected areas and a filled, plugged hole in the butt, likely from where a lanyard ring once resided. The grip is fine and has the vast majority of the original varnish, a lightly chipped area at the top right corner, minor lower edge wear, and scattered scratches and dings. Mechanically excellent. The case and accessories are very good and have mild age related wear, with numerous scattered scratches and a few cracks on the case exterior with a mostly intact directions label underneath the lid. This cased set serves as an interesting piece of Colt history with connections both to the ill-fated Colt London Armory and the American Civil War. These revolvers, along with the last of the Third Model Dragoons from Hartford, were the last of the large Colt “horse pistols” descended from the famous Colt Walker to be shipped.
Estimate: 6,000 - 9,000
LOT 1315
Fine Cased Colt London Model 1849 Pocket Percussion Revolver - Serial no. 8000, 31 cal., 5 inch octagon bbl., blue/ casehardened/silver finish, walnut grips. This revolver was manufactured in 1855 at Samuel Colt’s short-lived London factory. Only around 11,000 were manufactured in London compared to over 325,000 in Hartford and 42,000 of the London Model 1851 Navy revolvers which proved popular with British officers. It has London proof and view marks on the left side
of the barrel lug and alternating between the nipples on the cylinder as well as the two-line “{ADDRESS COL. COLT/LONDON}” barrel address, the rounded screw heads, and the iron grip straps used on the London Colt’s. Otherwise, it is essentially the same as the Hartford made ‘49 Pockets, including the cone and hammer notch sights, “COLTS/PATENT” on the left side of the frame, and stagecoach hold-up scene on the cylinder. All of the serial numbers on the various metal components match aside from the wedge which has four punch dots. The wood case has a loading and cleaning label inside the lid, “XXX” marked inside the back edge of the lid, red lining, a cleaning rod, L-shaped combination tool, blued ball/bullet mold, key, Eley Bros. tin, and a James Dixon & Sons flask marked “COLT POCKET FLASK.” CONDITION: Fine overall with 95% plus original silver plating remaining on the grip frame and exhibiting mostly dark aged patina, 75% plus of the vibrant original case colors on frame
as well as the hammer and loading lever, mottled gray and brown patina and a distinct scene on the cylinder, and 30% original blue finish on the barrel which has mostly flaked to a smooth brown patina. The grip is very fine and retains most of the original high polish “piano” varnish and displays minor edge wear, a few minor dings and scratches, and attractive grain. Mechanically excellent. The case and accessories are fine and have mild age and storage related wear. Overall, this is a very attractive cased Colt Model 1849 Pocket from Colt’s London factory.
Provenance: The Norm Vegely Collection.
Estimate: 5,000 - 7,500