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The friend sold the revolver in 1992 to a dealer in Visalia, California, and it was sold to another dealer who displayed it at the 1995 Texas Gun Collectors Association Show in Ft. Worth where it won best weapon of the show. It is also noted winning the same prize at the Cody, Wyoming Gun Show. It is only fitting that the revolver now returns to Texas for the largest gun auction ever held in the state.
The revolver has the Colt commercial blue finish on the barrel, ejector housing, cylinder, trigger guard, back strap and trigger. The frame and loading gate are color casehardened. The hammer is blued with polished sides and has borderless knurling on the spur. The two-piece grips are inlaid with silver Colt medallions, and the right grip has an exceptional relief-carved steer head. The left side
of the barrel is inscribed: “Presented by/R. W. LECHE/Governor of Louisiana” in three lines. The back strap is engraved: “Outstanding Contestant, Ft. Worth, 1937.” The top of the barrel is roll-stamped: “COLT”S PT. F.A. MFG. Co. HARTFORD CT. U.S.A.” enclosed in an engraved panel. The “COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY .45” is roll stamped on the bottom of the barrel instead of the left side and is contained in a hand engraved panel, a truly rare modification made by the factory to accommodate the presentation inscription. Colt’s “Three-
Date/Two-Line” patent marking and the Rampant Colt trademark are roll-stamped on the left side of the frame with a scroll-work border. A “4” assembler’s mark and the Colt “Triangle/VP” proofmark are stamped on the left front trigger guard bow. The assembly number “72” is stamped on the inside of the loading gate. The full serial number is stamped on the bottom of the frame and on the right side of the back strap beneath the grip. The partial serial number “76” is stamped on the back of the cylinder between the chambers, on the inside surface of the ejector rod housing and on the barrel adjacent to the ejector rod housing stud. All of the visible serial
numbers match.
In addition to the article and book noted above, the presentation of the revolver by the Governor to Mulkey was noted in multiple period newspapers, including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on March 13, 1937, which stated under the headline “Leche Offers Award to Champion of Rodeo” that “Governor Richard W. Leche will present a $150, made-to-order engraved and gold-ornamented pistol to the winner in the Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show Rodeo at Fort Worth. The pistol was made especially for him by a nationally known arms company. It is a .45 caliber, Texas style
revolver with ivory grips and gold seals of the States of Louisiana
and Texas. The Governor will make a personal presentation at Fort Worth.” An included print of pages from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Morning Edition on March 22, 1937, states that “for winning more than $700 in day money and the finals, Mulkey also took the title Best All-Around Cowboy and walked off with the silver gun engraved with the seals of Texas and Louisiana-the give of Governor Leche of Louisiana” and “The Post-Register” from Idaho falls on April 30, 1937, notes: under the headline “Burel Mulkey of Salmon is Honored [sic]” that Mulkey was “adjudged the best all-around cowboy at the Texas centennial, has been made a colonel aide de camp to the governor of Louisiana. The governor also gave him a revolver with carved
ivory grip mounted with gold, and decorated with the state seals of Texas and Louisiana.” The comments about the silver, gold, and state seals appear to be reporting errors repeated by both papers given this revolver is factory documented as ordered by the governor and shipped to Ft. Worth and has clear presentation inscriptions for the event’s Outstanding Contestant as well as the provenance laid out in the article noted above.