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AS PICTURED AND DESCRIBED IN THE NOVEMBER 1992 ISSUE OF "THE GUN REPORT" AND AS LISTED BY SERIAL NUMBER IN THE BOOK SAMUEL COLT PRESENTS BY WILSON
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LOT 3206
Desirable Factory Engraved
Colt Model 1851 Navy Percussion Revolver - Serial no. 25280, 36 cal., 7 1/2
inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened/silver finish, antique ivory grips. This revolver was manufactured in 1853 and has beautiful factory scroll engraving readily attributable to Master Engraver
Gustave Young or his shop. The patterns are consistent with the examples shown in various books on Colt engraving, including in R.L.
Wilson’s books and would be an early example of his work for Colt. Young and L.D. Nimschke were both trained under Ernst Moritz and Gustav Ernst in
Zella, Thuringia, Germany, before they immigrated to the U.S. Other less well-known German-American engravers trained there as well. Though they
all have somewhat similar styles, Young developed his own patterns, and his work as Colt’s main engraving contractor from 1852 to 1858 is identifiable
and remarkable. The scrollwork on this revolver is inhabited by a bald eagle head above the wedge on the right, an open mouth dog head just ahead
of the wedge on the left, another open mouth dog head on the left side of the recoil shield, and a closed mouth dog head below the hammer screw on the left.
While Young is well-known for heads among his fine scrolls, four on a single revolver is very rare. The engraving has punched backgrounds and includes floral accents, ray/fan patterns, “COLTS/PATENT” hand inscribed in a panel on the left side of the frame, an early version of Young’s wolf head design on the hammer, and some wavy borders. The dot marking used by Colt to denote arms selected for engraving and or special finishing is marked by the main serial number locations. Matching serial numbers are found on the loading lever, wedge, arbor pin, cylinder, barrel, frame, trigger guard, and back strap. A “2” is also marked by the serial number on the barrel and cylinder. The barrel also has a brass cone front sight and is marked “-ADDRESS SAML COLT NEW-YORK CITY-.”
CONDITION: Very good plus with crisp engraving throughout, 80% original silver plating remaining on the grip frame, traces of original case colors and blue finish in the protected areas, mostly a smooth
brown patina on the balance, minor oxidation, and general minor wear. The grip is fine and has an attractive natural color and grain, some shrinkage, minor age cracks in the butt and on the right side, and
minor edge wear. Mechanically fine. This is a very attractive example of Gustave Young’s early work for Colt and one of the few Young engraved Model 1851 Navy revolvers to feature this many of his animal head designs among the scrollwork. This is definitely a very attractive classic Colt that would add value and interest to any collection.
Estimate: 6,500 - 9,500
LOT 3207
Documented Factory Engraved Colt Model 1849 Pocket Percussion
Revolver Listed on the Master Engraver Gustave Young’s Billing List from
September 23, 1854 - Serial no. 91157, 31 cal., 6 inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened/silver finish,
antique ivory grips. This revolver was featured in the article “A Sleeper: Old Model Pocket Pistol Serial #91157” by Robert G.
Smith in the November 1992 issue of “The Gun Report” in which Smith discusses the difficulty of finding a six inch barreled Model 1849 Pocket with an original antique ivory grip for his collection, purchasing the revolver from William M. Locke, and later discovering that the revolver is listed in the 6 inch column of Gustave Young’s list September 23, 1854, listing of revolvers engraved in his shop. This list
has been published in multiple books by R.L. Wilson, including “Samuel Colt Presents” as noted in the article. This revolver provides insight into the important years of the 1850s when engraving styles at Colt were changing over to the Germanic style brought over to the U.S. by recent immigrants. Per research by Herbert Houze in “Colt Factory Engravers of the Nineteenth Century,” Young moved to Hartford sometime after his return to the U.S. on June 4, 1853, and he is believed to have become Colt’s primary engraving contractor after that position was created in 1855 and remained in that position until making a return visit to Germany
starting in the summer of 1858 and returned to working for Colt in 1861, established his own engraving shop in 1864, and moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, in late 1869 and became the primary engraver for Colt’s competitor: Smith & Wesson. The revolver features complex and finely detailed scroll and floral engraving with textured backgrounds, “Saml Colt” inscribed in script with a decorative engraved border rather than an address on the top of the barrel, “COLTS/PATENT” engraved on the left side of the frame in a panel among the scrolls, shell/fan motifs on the bottom of the barrel lug and top of the back strap, the wolf/dog head motif on the hammer, and some crosshatched panels by the serial numbers on the barrel lug and frame. The factory dot marking used to denote special finishing is marked above or below the serial numbers along the bottom of the revolver. All of the visible serial numbers match, but the back strap is a replacement renumbered to match. The five-shot cylinder has the classic stagecoach scene.
CONDITION: Very good with mostly silver-gray patina on the iron, mild pitting at the breech and cylinder, 90% plus original silver plating on the grip frame, aged patina on the silver and brass, and general mild overall wear suggesting this revolver was actually carried and used as a sidearm in the mid-19th century. The back strap is professionally re-numbered to match the rest of the revolver. The grip is fine and has aged patina, age cracks, and attractive grain. Mechanically excellent. This is a
scarce documented Colt Model 1849 Pocket listed by serial number on Gustave Young’s billing list to Colt on September 23, 1854.
Provenance: The William M. Locke Collection; The Robert G. Smith Collection.
Estimate: 3,000 - 4,500