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LOT 118
Rare and Desirable The Salt Lake Hardware Co. Marked Tooled “Mexican Loop” Holster with Cartridge Belt - Manufactured c. the late
19th to early 20th century, this is a very fine example of a scarce Utah maker’s/retailer’s mark. The holster is marked for The Salt Lake Hardware
Company Sporting Goods on the back skirt behind the toe of the body. The Salt Lake Hardware Company appears to have started operations
around the 1880s, judging from period newspaper advertisements, and this particular holster is estimated to have been made around the
1890s. The holster is configured for a right handed shooter and will accommodate a 5 1/2 inch barreled Single Action Army revolver or a
Colt Model 1878, like the one in the previous lot. The body of the holster has roped border tooling with rosettes on the corners and a single,
oval-shaped retention loop. The cartridge belt does not have a maker’s mark but has light scalloped tooling around the edges, a single row of
.44/.45 caliber cartridge loops, and a rectangular buckle that was once nickeled. It measures 2 3/8 inches wide and approximately 45 inches
long including the billet. The holster and belt appear to match in both condition and color, having likely been paired for some time.
CONDITION: Very fine, with some light wear, scattered minor handling marks and scuffs, and almost all of the stitching remaining tight. These
Utah holster rigs are very rare and desirable!
Estimate: 2,750 - 4,250
LOT 117
Highly Desirable and Exceptional Documented Browning Bros., Utah
Territory, Shipped Colt Model 1878 Double Action Revolver with Factory
Letter - Serial no. 32355, 45 Long Colt cal., 5 1/2 inch round bbl., nickel finish,
hard rubber grips. Manufactured in 1893, this is a very fine example of a Colt
Model 1878 revolver that is factory documented as having shipped to the
American West, more specifically, to the shop of John Moses Browning and
his brothers in Ogden, Utah Territory. Designed by William Mason and Charles
Brinckerhoff, the Model 1878 revolver was intended to be a double action
alternative to Colt’s legendary Single Action Army revolver. With 51,210 being
produced, the 1878 was never nearly as popular on the frontier as its single
action cousin; however, there were still many that favored it in the West for its
firepower, including Captain Jack Crawford, who replaced Buffalo Bill Cody as
“Chief of Scouts” shortly after the Battle of Little Bighorn. The included factory
letter lists it in .45 caliber, barrel length illegible, nickel finish, and grips not
listed when shipped to the Browning Bros. shop in Ogden, Utah Territory on
27 June 1893 as the sole gun of this type in the shipment. The revolver has
standard markings including the circled Rampant Colt on the left. It is fitted with
the standard blade front and frame-top groove sights, a lanyard loop on the
butt, and a pair of checkered hard rubber grips with Rampant Colts at the tops.
CONDITION: Exceptionally fine, retains 85% of the original nickel finish with
some mild holster type wear on the muzzle and some high spots, as well as a
few patches of light surface spotting, typical of a frontier-used sidearm. The
grips are also very fine with a few light handling marks and a minor flat spot
in the otherwise crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. A solid example of
a Utah Territory, frontier shipped Colt Model 1878 revolver that would pair
fantastically with the holster rig in the next lot!
Provenance: The Charles Marx Collection; A Private Collection.
Estimate: 4,750 - 6,500 119