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LOT 3197
Historic Black Powder Colt Single Action
Army Revolver with Grips Marked “Thomas
J. Goree”, Tooled Holster, and Factory Letter
- Serial no. 109805, 45 Long Colt cal., 4 3/4 inch
round bbl., nickel finish, hard rubber grips. The
included factory letter indicates this revolver was
part of a 50 gun shipment in .45 caliber with a 4
3/4 inch barrel, nickel finish, and rubber grips when shipped
to Hartley & Graham in New York City on May 1, 1884. It has a blade front sight, the two-line barrel address, no visible
caliber marking on the barrel, the three-line patent marking on the left side of the “black powder” frame, “45 CAL” on the
left side of the trigger guard at the front, matching serial numbers on the frame and grip straps, and checkered hard rubber grips with the Rampant Colt motif embossed at the tops and “THOMAS J.” (left) and “GOREE.” (right) marked on the butt.
The back side of the grips have “VD” (left) and “VICTOR DRAKE” (right). Drake was presumably at one time the owner of the revolver. The included Visalia Stock Saddle Co. of San Francisco floral tooled single loop holster was with the revolver when it was purchased by John R. Eckel Sr.
The revolver is accompanied by the book “Longstreet’s Aide: The Civil War Letters of Major Thomas J. Goree” edited by Thomas W. Cutrer and additional information on Captain Thomas Jewett “T.J.” Goree (1835-1905). Goree was born in Perry County, Alabama, but moved to Texas as a boy. He met Longstreet on the boat from Galveston, Texas, to New Orleans at the beginning of the Civil War. Goree was leaving a successful law practice to join the Confederate Army, and Longstreet had recently resigned from the U.S. Army and was also en route to join the Confederacy. Goree served as Longstreet’s trusted aide throughout the war and had many close scrapes but survived the ordeal essentially physically unscathed. He naturally is mentioned often in publications focused on Longstreet. Robert E. Lee is quote as telling him at Appomattox: “Captain, I am going to put my old war horse under your charge. I want you to take good care of him.” With the defeat and surrender of the Confederacy, Goree took the old war horse home as instructed and then returned to his family in Texas at the Raven Hill Plantation his mother had
purchased from Sam Houston and his wife Margaret in 1858. He resumed his legal career and also became a merchant and was appointed as a member of the board of directors/commissioners of the Texas State Prisons and then superintendent
of the prison in Huntsville in 1877 and soon the superintendent of the state prisons. He would have been superintendent when this revolver was manufactured. In 1891, he became the general agent for the Birmingham Iron Company of New Birmingham, Texas. Two years later, he was the assistant general manager of the Texas Land & Loan Company in Galveston. He died of pneumonia on March 5, 1905, a little over a year after Longstreet died. The Galveston Daly News on March 6 indicated his remains were sent to Huntsville for burial and noted: “there were no two men who were bound together with closer ties of friendship than were those old soldiers-Longstreet and Goree.”
CONDITION: Good with traces of original nickel remaining on the cylinder along with traces elsewhere and otherwise gray
and brown patina, mild oxidation and pitting, and general moderate overall wear. The heavily worn grips are good and have
mostly distinct checkering with some smoothing, aged coloration, and a slight flake at the toe on the left. Mechanically fine. The holster is very good with moderate wear.
Provenance: The John R. Eckel Sr. Collection; Property of a Gentleman.
Estimate: 5,000 - 7,500
LOT 3198
Desirable Civil War Era Dufilho New Orleans Bowie Knife with Attractive Faceted Grip and Scabbard - Manufactured c. the mid-19th
century, this is a very fine example of a southern-made, American Bowie knife of the Civil War era. While American-made knives during the period
were not unheard of, they were certainly heavily overshadowed by their English-produced competitors which flooded the North American market.
Bowie knives exploded in popularity during the Civil War, particularly in the South, where this knife was made. Alfred H. Dufilho was born in Paris,
France, in 1833 and in 1853 established a cutlery firm along with his brother Louis in New Orleans, Louisiana. From their address at 21 Royal Street (between Custom House and Canal Streets), they produced surgical instruments, swords, knives, and all manner of other cutlery. They had contracts with the Confederate government for surgical instruments and naval cutlasses, as well as producing a variety of other edged weapons for the rebel war effort. Examples of Dufilho Bowie knives documented as carried by Confederate soldiers are pictured on p. 213 of “The Bowie Knife” by Flayderman and on p. 81 of “The Antique Bowie Knife Book” by Adams, Voyles, and Moss. Those two examples share similarities to each other, as well as a simpler design overall compared to this piece. Another Dufilho knife is pictured on p. 26 of “Classic Bowie Knives” by Abels, where it is listed as item No. 34. The knife in this book shows a very similar blade shape to the piece offered here, while the hilt is of a similar “coffin” shape to the previous two mentioned. This example measures 14 1/8 inches overall, with a 8 3/4 inch drop point blade with wide, shallow fullers in each side and the maker’s mark “Dufilho NewOrleans” engraved in the spine. The style and location of the maker’s mark on this example compared to other documented Dufilho knives suggests that this may have been a presentation or special order piece. The thick iron guard is a plain elliptical shape. The hilt is primarily of German silver with traces of silver plating, a turned/stepped bolster joining the guard and grip, a multi- faceted grip with alternating panels of German silver and what appears to be horn, and a turned bun shaped pommel. The knife is ornate but not
overly elaborate, retaining a deadly and practical appearance that would have been very fitting for a wealthy southern gentleman in service of the
Confederacy. Includes a leather wrapped sheath with scalloped nickeled fittings and a belt stud.
CONDITION: Fine, the blade is mostly bright with some very light polishing/cleaning evidence and some scattered very light spotting. The iron guard
and German silver show an attractively aged patina with some faint traces of silver plating on the hilt and some scattered light dings. The grip facets
show some scattered minor handling marks.
Provenance: The David Hayden-Wright Collection.
Estimate: 5,500 - 8,500
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