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LOT 1088
Extremely Rare Tiffany Shipped and Deluxe Embellished Smith & Wesson .32 Safety Hammerless 1st Model Double Action Revolver with Factory Letter - Serial no. 23990, 32 S&W cal., 3 1/2 inch solid rib bbl., nickel finish, silver grips. From the 1880s to the early 1900s, the self- described “American multinational luxury jewelry and specialty retailer”Tiffany & Co. created spectacular and expensive highly embellished deluxe handguns and rifles for America’s leading firearms manufacturers such as Colt,
Winchester and Smith & Wesson. The “rich and elaborate decorations” on handguns alone set a customer back $50.00 to $300.00 or about $1,400.00 to $8,600.00 in today’s money. The number of surviving Tiffany firearms remain unknown, but studies clearly show that S&W benefited the most from Tiffany’s world renowned master craftsmanship. Tiffany S&Ws are arguably the rarest and most desirable of the late 19th century American high art firearms, and offered here is one of those rare prizes in firearms art collecting that help define a private or public collection. The largest public display of Tiffany embellished 19th century arms can be viewed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Gallery 372. The lion’s share of the display was donated and/or sold by Dr. Gerald Klaz. Tiffany marked each piece they made on special order. The sterling silver grip on this revolver features fine etched Art Nouveau style floral scrollwork. The grip is signed “TIFFANY & CO./10076M7806/STERLING.” The numbers refer to the pattern and order and the letter “M” denotes Tiffany products which were made from 1873 to 1891. The etching extends to the rear of the frame with the original owners initials “P.D.O.” amongst the embellishment on the left side. The serial number appears on the cylinder and barrel. The accompanying factory letter lists this fine and highly sought after piece of 19th century firearms art with a 3 1⁄2 inch barrel, nickel finish and checkered black hard rubber grips when shipped on October 30, 1889 and delivered directly to Tiffany & Co. of New York City.
LOT 1089
Rare Documented W & S Butcher Sheffield Bowie Knife with Intricately Carved and Engraved Metal Grip - Manufactured by W. & S. Butcher of Sheffield who operated from 1819-1859. This unique Bowie measures 13 5/8 inches with a 9 inch clip point blade with a false edge. The left side of the blade is marked “WARRANTED OF/THE BEST QUALITY”, with “MANUFACTURED/BY W & S. BUTCHER/SHEFFIELD” on the left of
the ricasso. The blade displays etching consisting of floral motifs with patriotic eagle and stars in the middle on both sides. The knife is fitted
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with a German silver guard which is similarly shaped to the f holes on
a violin. The German silver grip has been intricately skeletonized with a peacock on a flowering vine. Below the skeletonized portion is a royal cypher above the domed pommel. Includes a German silver sheath with light raised decoration. This Bowie is similar to the knife documented and photographed on pages 292 and 293 of “The Antique Bowie Knife Book” by Bill Adams, J. Bruce Voyles, and Terry Moss.