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His obituary was printed side by side with General William Buel Franklin’s but notable comes first and is notably longer.
Franklin was a Civil War general and became Colt’s vice president following the war until 1888. In an included research letter
about the set, R.L. Wilson also notes that Harbison was a secretary and treasurer of the Union Ferry Company in 1859-1878.
Samuel Colt and Elisha K. Root were directors of the company. He was a treasurer of Colt in 1862-1889 and secretary from
1867 to 1891. He is buried in the Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford.
Wilson states: “The special finishes are the likely result of Hugh Harbison wishing to have specimens of manufacture by the
Colt company, dating from the period of his first employment at Colt’s. The date of these Navy Colts, based on their serial
number range, coincides precisely with Harbison’s initial employment at the factory - 1856. The cased set therefore may be
considered symbols of some 35 years employment with the company, a period in which the emigrant bookkeeper rose to
positions of power and prestige at the world’s most famous and distinguished handgun makers.” Wilson further indicates
that he first saw this set in 1961 in Hartford while researching “Samuel Colt Presents” and that they remained in the Harbison
family until late 1988. “Rarely encountered are firearms with pedigrees of 19th century Colt executives. Although Colonel
Colt’s own collection is in the Wadsworth Athenaeum, there are no firearms which were specifically built for his own use and
ownership (exceptions being developmental prototypes and experimentals). The few E.K. Root guns are presentations, from
Colonel Colt. No gun is known to the writer of L.P. Sargeant, Hugh Harbison’s predecessor as Secretary and Treasurer of Colt’s,
nor of General William B. Franklin. One personal Colt of R.W.H. Jarvis is known...Scarce few pieces of other executives, even
of Colt’s 20th century history (up through c. 1960) are known....his positions as ‘practically the manager of the works’ and as
‘the manager of Mrs. Colt’s real and personal estate’ all delineate Hugh Harbison as one of the most important figures in the
history of the Colt Company. Hugh Harbison’s personal cased set of Colt 1851 Navy revolvers is the most important and rare
artifact from the career of this major participant in the history of the Colt company and of Colt firearms, and is worthy of the
finest museum or private collection.”
CONDITION: Very fine as factory presentation special finished. The revolver retains 95% plus of the finish with some light
flaking of the blue and minor spotting. The grip is also very fine and has a mostly faded cartouche on the left, partially legible
cartouche on the right, small chip at the toe on the left, and light handling and storage marks. Mechanically excellent. The
“book” case has minor storage wear. B) Colt Model 1851
Navy Revolver - Serial no. 50840, 36 cal., 7 1/2 inch octagon
bbl., blue/casehardened/nickel finish, walnut grips. See “A.”
CONDITION: Very fine as factory presentation special
finished. The revolver retains 95% plus of the finish with
some light flaking of the blue and minor spotting. The grip
is also very fine and has legible cartouches on the left and
right, a few tiny chips at the edges, and light handling and
storage marks. Mechanically excellent. Overall, this is a remarkable pair of Presentation U.S. contract Colt Model 1851 Navy
revolvers formerly owned by an long time employee and officer of Samuel Colt’s famous firearms business.
Provenance: Hugh Harbison, Bookkeeper, Secretary, and Treasurer of Colt’s Patent Firearms Manufacturing Co.;
The Harbison Family; Property of a Gentleman.
Estimate: 40,000 - 60,000
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