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LOT 3124
Rare Historic 101 Ranch
Associated Documented Pair of
Factory Engraved Silver Plated First Generation Colt
Single Action Frontier Six Shooter Single Action Army Revolvers with Relief
Carved Steer Head Grips and Factory Letter
–A) Colt Single Action Frontier Six Shooter Action Army Revolver - Serial no. 350108, 44-40 WCF cal., 4
3/4 inch round bbl., silver finish, original grips. Factory engraved Colt Single Action Army revolvers are among the most desirable of all American firearms. The Single Action Army itself is arguably the most iconic handgun in history,
and 357,800 were manufactured prior to World War II. However, though
many of the most famous SAAs were engraved, using the most liberal statistics, only 4,500 pre-war Colt Single Action Army revolvers were
factory engraved. Rock Island Auction Company is extremely proud to present Colt SAA nos. 350108 and 350181. These two revolvers were shipped from the factory on
the same order and are an identical factory engraved pair with shipping history that link these grand works of Colt artistry to America’s Wild West heritage. To our knowledge this is the first time these historically significant revolvers have been offered as a pair at public auction.
The accompanying factory letter is for both revolvers, proving without a doubt these two Colt masterpieces were part of the same two gun shipment. The letter states the revolvers were shipped on October 18, 1926 to Richards
& Conover Hardware Co. with locations in Kansas City, Missouri and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and confirms the 4 3⁄4 inch barrels in .44-40 caliber, silver plating, grip material, carved steer head motif on the grip, and level 2 factory engraving. These two revolvers were the only guns in
the shipment.
Customers of Richards & Conover Hardware Co. included the Miller brothers of the famed 101 Ranch in Oklahoma. The 101 Ranch was founded in 1893 by Colonel George Washington Miller, a veteran of the Confederate Army, and after his death the operation was taken over by his three sons, Joseph, George Jr. and Zack.
It was located near modern
day Ponca City, Oklahoma, encompassed over 110,000 acres, was the birthplace of the 101 Ranch “Wild West Show,” and was one of the early focal points of the oil rush in northeastern
Oklahoma. It was the largest diversified farm and ranch in America at the time. The 101 earned most of its notoriety from its Wild West shows that it ran from 1905 to 1932 with an interruption during the First World War. Among their talented participants were the likes of Geronimo, Tom Mix, Will Rogers, Bill Picket, and the Chilean sharpshooter and trick shot horseman Carlos Chavez. Due to financial difficulties the 101 Ranch closed in 1939.
The Miller brothers ordered merchandise for their store from Richards & Conover located in Oklahoma City. The 101 Ranch store is pictured in the photo section presented in Michael Wallis’“The Real Wild West” (book included). In this same book is a photo of 101 Ranch gunsmith Glenn “Ammunition Shorty” Kischko. Kischko is surrounded by
an assortment of 101 Ranch firearms including deluxe finished ivory handled Colt Six Shooters. Perhaps this
pair made it into the photo. Kischko was the 101 Ranch gunsmith until 1926, the same year this engraved set was shipped from Colt. The photo of Kischko is also featured on the cover and page 91 of George E. Virgines’“Famous Guns and Gunners” (copy included). In the 1930s the last surviving Miller brother, Zack, filed for bankruptcy, and the 101 Ranch assets were seized and auctioned off. It was at this time that these revolvers were likely separated.
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