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LOT 195
Scarce Factory Engraved Colt Model 1862 Police Percussion Revolver with Herb Glass Letter - Serial no. 3434, 36 cal., 5 1/2 inch round bbl., blue/
casehardened/silver finish, antique ivory grips. Samuel Colt’s “New Model Revolving Police Pistol” or “Colt’s Police Pistol” as it was known in the period is considered by many to be the most attractive of all of Colt’s
percussion revolvers, and a rare high condition factory engraved example like this one from early in production c. 1861 is certainly especially eye catching. These revolvers were an excellent choice for a sidearm for an officer
in one of the new police departments popping up in cities across the country. The “Model 1862 Police” as it is popularly known today was the latest model to come out during the Civil War, and they were a better choice for private sidearms for soldiers than the popular Model 1849 Pocket as they offered more stopping power in a handgun of the same size. This model also has the sleeker round barrel and the improved toothed loading lever of the Model 1860 Army revolver and very attractive fluted and stepped cylinders.
The engraving on this example features extensive floral accents among the scrollwork, beaded backgrounds, “COLTS/PATENT” engraved in a panel on
the left side of the frame, and the dog/wolf head motif on the hammer along with five dots on the spur. The latter are believed by some to represent the
number of days taken to complete the engraving. The engraving is of the style attributed to Colt engraver Georg H. Sterzing by Houze in “Colt Factory
Engravers of the Nineteenth Century.” The revolver also features a small cone front sight, “-ADDRESS SAML COLT HARTFORD CT.-” on top of the barrel,
“36 CAL” and “L” on the left side of the trigger guard, the factory “dot” marking above or below the serial numbers along the bottom of the revolver, all
matching visible serial numbers (butt double stamped), and smooth grip. The revolver is accompanied by a Herb Glass letter from 1983 discussing this
revolver and indicating he had sold it early that year.
CONDITION: Fine with crisp engraving and markings, 60% original silver plating with some loss mainly on the back strap, traces of original case colors on
the loading lever and hammer and lighter colors visible on the frame, 30% original blue finish, and, as noted in the letter, the finish loss is generally related to age rather than use. The grip is very fine and has very attractive grain and creamy tones, some scratches, and minor age lines on the butt. Mechanically excellent. This is certainly a very attractive example of the last model released during Samuel Colt’s lifetime.
Provenance: The Herb Glass Collection; Property of a Gentleman.
Estimate: 6,500 - 9,500
LOT 196
Rare and Historic Copy of “Armsmear: A Memorial” Presented by Elizabeth Hart Colt to William A. Burt Jones - Offered here is a first edition (1866, printer: Alvord, New York) of the privately printed biography of famed firearms inventor and manufacturer Samuel Colt, “Armsmear: the Home, the Arm, and the Armory of Samuel
Colt. A Memorial.” The end-paper includes a note dated May 1, 1903, indicating “W.A.B.J.” received this historic book at St. Paul, Minnesota, as a gift from Elizabeth Hart Colt. The recipient is identified in an included document from Parke Jones as a gift for William Andrew Burt Jones who helped Mrs. Colt compile Colt family genealogy.
He was born on October 1, 1853, in Dubuque, Iowa, and died on October 28, 1949, in St. Paul, Minnesota. The book is 8 by 10 1/2 by 2 inches and has 399 pages with edge gilding. The exterior is blue with gilt markings, Colt coat of arms, and borders. The end-papers have chevron like paper marbling. A “With compliments of/Mrs. Samuel
Colt./Armsmear.” business card is also included.
When Samuel Colt died on January 10, 1862, Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt (1826-1905), inherited control of her husband’s famed firearms manufacturing company worth $3.5 million dollars in 1862, and she is largely credited for rebuilding the company in the aftermath of
the 1864 fire. Following the death of Elisha Root in 1865, her brother, Richard Jarvis, became company president, and the brother-sister duo oversaw the company’s successful transition
from manufacturing percussion arms of the second half of the 19th century to metallic cartridge revolvers like the famous Colt Single Action Army and on to machine guns by the late 19th century.
She sold her interest in the company in 1901. In addition to her connection to the company, she was also an active community leader in Hartford. For over 20 years she served as president of the Union for Home Work, an organization that provided daycare services for children of working mothers. She was also the first president of the Hartford Soldiers Aid Society, a Civil War woman’s charity organization that organized the delivery of donated goods to soldiers both in the field and in the hospital. She organized the first suffragette convention in Connecticut in 1869. Due to her charitable civic actions, she was noted as “The First Woman
of Connecticut” and “First Lady in the State” in the Hartford Courant on August 24, 1905, in a nearly full page dedicated to her
remembrance. The settlement of her estate was naturally of considerable interest to the community, and among her bequeaths was the extensive collection of American and European art, furnishings from her Armsmear estate, and her husband’s papers and
personal collection of firearms, edged weapons, and armor to the Wadsworth Athenaeum Museum of Art in Hartford. Much of the collection is displayed in the Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt Memorial Wing, which was the first American museum wing to be named after a female donor. CONDITION: Extremely fine overall with minor age and shelf wear, including some slight separation of the binding on the interior of the cover.
LOT 197
Two Volumes Elizabeth Colt Signed of “The Great Rebellion” From the Colt ‘Armsmear’ Library - Two leather bound histories, “THE GREAT REBELLION VOL. I” and “THE GREAT REBELLION VOL. II” by J.T Headley, from
the personal library of Elizabeth Hart Colt, wife of
Samuel Colt, located in the famous Colt Armsmear
mansion. Embossed black leather covers, with gold embellished russet leather spines and signed “E.H. Colt/1863/Armsmear” and “E.H. Colt/Armsmear/April
1866”, respectively, on the fly leaves. Gold-edged
pages, with Volume I 506 pages long, 702 pages in
Volume II. Both volumes have numerous illustrations. CONDITION: The books are in excellent overall condition with repair to the bindings. The front cover on Volume I is weak and requires repair. The front cover on Volume II has torn loose. The fly leaves with Elizabeth Colt’s signature and are both in excellent condition.
Estimate: 1,000 - 1,500
204 Estimate: 4,500 - 6,500