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While the “Black Beauty” is rightly considered to be Master Engraver
L. D. Nimschke’s masterpiece by Colt Single Action Army collectors,
we also know that Nimschke himself recognized this revolver’s
significance as demonstrated by pulls of the revolver’s engraving
from his scrapbook shown in “L. D. Nimschke Firearms Engraver” by
R.L. Wilson on pages 83 and 84. Incredibly rare original pulls with
display notes are included, and their provenance is discussed further
below. This is the only Nimschke masterpiece known accompanied
by the original pulls. The pull featuring the back strap is noted
“Furmann/1888”, and the serial number is faintly visible in another.
These pulls are tangible links back to the artist. In some of the
original pulls such as those from the Robert M. Lee Foundation in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, you can actually see Nimschke’s finger
prints. These historically significant pulls provide a catalog raisonne
for Nimschke’s work, a link missing for his contemporaries such as
Gustave Young and the Ulrichs.
In an included letter, R.L. Wilson indicated he was not yet aware of
the existence of the revolver when he published the book, but it
was featured in a double page color spread in “The Colt Engraving
Book Volume 1”. In the letter, Wilson wrote, “Only a limited number
of examples of Nimschke-engraved firearms have been identified by
pulls from the scrapbook. Number 126506 ranks among the most
important of these arms, by far.” Wilson also noted, “Having studied
the creative craftsmanship of L.D. Nimschke for over 40 years, the
author has been aware since first studying the scrapbook that this
artisan did not often employ gold inlay in his embellishments.
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