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LOT 3258
Cased Factory Engraved Colt Third Model Dragoon
Percussion Revolver - Serial no. 12355, 44 cal., 7 1/2 inch
part round bbl., blue/casehardened/silver finish, deluxe
factory walnut grips. This early Colt Third Model Dragoon was
manufactured in 1852 per Colt and features the early factory
engraving prior to Gustave Young becoming Colt’s primary
engraving contractor. This engraving features more feather-
like scrollwork with crosshatched shading for the background,
gadroon and wavy line borders, a bestial design on the hammer,
and “COLTS/PATENT” inscribed rather than stamped on the left
side of the frame. This style has been attributed by Herbert
Houze in “Colt Factory Engravers of the Nineteenth Century”
as by Thomas J. Barlow. This example compares well with
the revolvers presented to General Franklin Pierce (later U.S.
President) on pages 18 and 19th of Houze’s book, including oval
escutcheon design on the trigger guard bow. The barrel has
a German silver blade front sight and the one-line “{ADDRESS
SAML COLT NEW-YORK CITY}” address. The cylinder has the
iconic Texas Rangers and Comanche fight scene along with
“MODEL U.S.M.R.” and “COLTS PATENT”. Matching serial numbers
are visible on the cylinder, loading lever (partial), barrel, wedge,
arbor, frame, trigger guard, and back strap. The factory dot
marking to designate engraving and special finishing is marked
by the main serial numbers. The revolver is finished in the classic
Colt percussion era combination of blue on the barrel and
cylinder, silver plating on the grip frame, and casehardening on
the loading lever, frame, and hammer. The revolver comes in a
fitted mahogany case with a “Jos. C. GRUBB & CO./IMPORTERS
OF/FINE SPORTING/GUNS AND APPARATUS/236 MARKET
STREET/PHILADELPHIA/Agents for Colt’s Pistols, Rifles & Shot
Guns” trade label along with a cap tin, martial pattern powder
flask without a ball compartment, and brass ball/bullet mold
with iron sprue cutter.
Colt’s Third Model Dragoon revolvers were the last of Colt’s
massive “holster pistols” intended for use by mounted military
men who would carry them in pommel holsters. They were not
as popular on the commercial and international markets as Colt’s
lighter Model 1851 Navy “belt revolvers” and the even smaller
Model 1848 Pocket. Thus, relatively few of the Dragoon revolvers
were produced, and fewer still were engraved. Grubb, however,
appears to have found plenty of clients for engraved Colt
Dragoons, particularly in 1861 in the early months of the Civil
War. He is well-known to Colt collectors for receiving shipments
of engraved Colt Dragoons, including English Dragoons that had
sat unsold for multiple years.
Joseph C. Grubb (1813-1879) was a Quaker and very successful
businessman in Philadelphia. He moved to the city around 1836
from Wilmington, Delaware, and founded Joseph C. Grubb &
Company in 1839. By the time this revolver was shipped by Colt
at the beginning of the Civil War, he was one of the city’s leading
businessmen and dealt in a wide variety of goods, including
tobacco products from the South.
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