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LOT 125
Spectacular, Well-Documented, and Historic,
Cuno A. Helfricht Deluxe Factory Engraved
and Presentation Inscribed Colt New Police
“Cop & Thug” Model Spur Trigger Revolver
with Hartford Coat-of-Arms Incise Carved
Pearl Grips and Deluxe Alfred Teweles Case
Presented to Morgan G. Bulkeley, Hartford
Mayor, Connecticut Governor and Senator, Colt
Board of Directors Member, and First President
of the National League of Baseball - Serial no.
14655, 38 Long Colt cal., 4 1/2 inch round bbl., nickel
finish, pearl grips. Manufactured in 1882, this is a
truly incredible example of 19th century American,
exhibition quality, deluxe firearms art from the shop
of the legendary Master Engraver Cuno A. Helfricht
and the Colt Patent Firearms Co., which is inscribed to
arguably the most prominent figure in Hartford and
Connecticut politics of the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, Morgan Gardner Bulkeley (1837-1922).
This revolver is pictured and described on p. XLIV of
“The Book of Colt Engraving Vol. II” by R.L. Wilson,
who discovered the revolver still in the possession
of descendants of Morgan Bulkeley. These Colt New
Police “Cop & Thug” revolvers are scarce in their own
right with only around 3,500 to 4,000 made, but the
level of engraving, the inscription, and the history of
this particular example truly makes it a Colt, Hartford,
State of Connecticut, and American treasure. In
the included letter from R.L. Wilson, he notes that
discovering this historic revolver was one of the
thrills of his career in gun collecting, that engraved
specimens of these revolvers are “extreme rarities”,
and that it is “the most prized of the ‘Cop & Thug’
New Police Colt revolvers”. It is with pleasure, we here
at Rock Island Auction Company offer it to the public
for the first time.
Manufactured in the first year of production, the
revolver shows the very best, deluxe engraving
being produced by Cuno Helfricht and his shop of
Colt engravers. Sutherland and Wilson note in “The
Book of Colt Firearms” that examples of engraving
and casings among the New Police Model revolvers
are an extreme rarity, making this exceptionally
engraved and cased example a true “holy grail”
among Colt collecting. It shows about three-quarter
coverage engraving, featuring very finely executed
floral scroll with punch-dot backgrounds on all of the
major components, which R.L. Wilson attributes to
the master Helfricht himself. In addition to the scroll,
there are detailed border, dot, and wavy line patterns,
a saltire at the top of the back strap, triangular
fan designs at the front edges of the cylinder, and
detailed bands at the muzzle and on the rear edge of
the cylinder. The back strap is presentation inscribed
with “Morgan G. Bulkeley, Mayor/CITY of HARTFORD”
and “from a friend/AUG.24 ‘82’”. It truly represents
a Helfricht masterpiece and stands tall among all
works of American firearms art of the 19th century.
The top of the barrel is marked with the standard
two-line address, while the model and caliber
marking are on the left in an acid etched panel
surrounded by engraved scrollwork. The matching
serial number is marked on the butt as well as inside
both grip panels, hand carved and ink-filled inside
the left and in pencil inside the right. It is fitted with
the standard blade front and frame-top groove
rear sights. It is also fitted with a pair of deluxe,
smooth pearl grips with the left panel having been
intricately carved with the coat-of-arms of Hartford,
Connecticut. It is housed in a deluxe presentation
case attributed by Wilson as made by Alfred Teweles
which is leather wrapped on the exterior, interior of
the lid lined with purple silk, and lower half fitted for
the revolver, lined with purple velvet, and containing
a cleaning rod and compartment with cartridges.
There is a silver presentation plaque mounted in the
lower half of the case bearing the same inscription as
found on the revolver.
Morgan Gardner Bulkeley was born
in East Haddam, Connecticut, in
December of 1837, and ten
years later his family moved
to Hartford. His father was a
local judge who is noted
as founding both the
Connecticut Republican
Party and the Aetna Life
Insurance Co., while
his mother is noted as
being a distant relative
of the famous J.P.
Morgan. Unlike his
older brother, who
graduated from Yale,
Morgan appears to
have been a poor
or unmotivated
student, with no
record of graduating
even from high-
school, and instead
moved to New York
to learn the retail
trade with relatives
on the Morgan side.
Morgan Gardner BulkeleyAs pictured & described in
The Book of Colt Engraving
Vol. II by Wilson
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