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LOT 1281
Historic Documented Gold Inlaid Inscribed to Influential U.S. Presidential
Secretary to President Theodore Roosevelt, William Loeb Jr. Colt New
Service Target Double Action Revolver with Factory Letter - Serial no.
18491, 44 Russian cal., 7 1/2 inch round bbl., blue finish, walnut grips. This factory
documented revolver is factory gold inlaid inscribed to William Loeb,
Jr., the Presidential Secretary to Theodore Roosevelt. The included
Colt factory letter (copy) confirms the caliber and the factory “William
Loeb Jr.” inlaid in gold on the top of the frame. The barrel length,
finish and type of stocks are not listed. The shipping information is as
followed: shipped to William Loeb, Jr., address unavailable and date
of shipment August 3, 1907. William Loeb, Jr. was a stenographer to
Theodore Roosevelt when the future president was the Governor of
New York. Roosevelt soon took notice of Loeb and appointed Loeb
as his private secretary in 1899. When Roosevelt became the 26th
President of the United States after the assassination of President
William McKinley, Loeb served as Roosevelt’s assistant secretary from
1901 to 1903 and succeeded George B. Cortelyou as Secretary to
the President in 1903, a position he held for the rest of Roosevelt’s
time as President which ended in 1909. (Note that the revolver
was shipped when Loeb was the Presidential Secretary.) Loeb was
a key advisor, helping to shape policy under one of the era’s most
powerful American political figures and was responsible, according to
Roosevelt, for starting the investigations into the frauds committed
by the Sugar Trust in New York’s Custom House. The press dubbed
him “Stonewall Loeb,” for his ability to control access to the President
that was unprecedented for the day. In fact, Loeb was empowered to
speak for the President, and he allowed reporters to contact him 24
hours a day, essentially becoming the first unofficial presidential press
secretary. After Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency, Loeb served as the
Collector of the Port of New York from 1909 to 1913 and later became
the Vice President of the American Smelting and Refining Company.
The revolver is chambered in the desirable .44 Russian caliber which
was an excellent target round. The barrel has the two-line Hartford
address/patent dates on top and “NEW SERVICE 44 RUSSIAN CTG.”
on the left side. As stated, Loeb’s name is inlaid in gold on top of the
frame. The left side of the frame is marked with the Colt New Service
Rampant Colt. Blue finish, niter blue hammer (polished sides) and trigger and
fitted with diamond checkered pattern grips. The grips are numbered to the gun.
Accompanying the revolver are two photographs (prints) of Theodore Roosevelt
with Loeb and a signed period political cartoon personalized to Mrs. William Loeb,
the wife of William Loeb Jr. The cartoon drawn by Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist
Clifford Kennedy Berryman and dated 1908, depicts Loeb and President Roosevelt.
Berryman was a cartoonist for The Washington Post from 1891 to 1907 and for the
Washington Star newspaper from 1907 to 1949 and drew thousands of cartoons
commenting on American culture and politicians, covering everything from
drought farm relief to elections, labor strikes to atomic bombs.
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