Page 102 - 4095-BOOK2

Listed by serial number
in Colt Peacemaker
Encyclopedia, Vol. II
by Cochran
LOT 1087
Well-Documented Indian Wars Era
Ainsworth Inspected U.S. Colt Cavalry
Model Single Action Army Revolver
with Family History - Serial no. 12364,
45 Long Colt cal., 7 1/2 inch round bbl.,
blue/casehardened finish, walnut grips.
This early Indian Wars era Cavalry Model
Single Action Army was manufactured in
1874 and was sub-inspected by Orville W.
Ainsworth who also was the sub-inspector
for the Colts carried by the 7th U.S. Cavalry
at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Ainsworth’s
small “A” sub-inspection marks can be found
on the barrel, cylinder, trigger guard, and
back strap, and remnants of his elongated
oval “OWA” cartouche remain on the left
side of the grip. The “P” marking is also on
the underside of the barrel and side of the
cylinder. The barrel has a blade front sight,
the one-line address “+ COLT’S PT. F. A. MFG.
Co. HARTFORD, CT. U.S.A.+” on top with die
breaks in the “o” in Co. and “A” in Hartford, the
early bullseye ejector rod button, and the
partial serial number “2364” under the ejector
housing towards the breech. “2364” is also
marked on the side of the cylinder and in the
rear mortise of the grip, and the full serial
number “12364” is marked on the frame,
trigger guard, and back strap. All of the serial
numbers match. The left side of the frame
has the two-line “PAT. SEPT. 19. 1871/PAT.
JULY. 2. 1872” patent marking followed by the
“U.S.” marking.
Though above the serial number ranges
associated with the 7th Cavalry, this revolver
has been attributed in multiple publications
as reportedly captured by a Sioux warrior at
the Battle of Little Bighorn. The butt of the
revolver is shown in a photograph on page
344 of Keith Cochran’s “Colt Peacemaker
Encyclopedia Volume 2” and on page 343
it is noted as “probably taken from a Sioux
warrior in Canada after the Battle of Little
Bighorn by an Indian Agent and Judge and
then passed to his son who was a Mountie or
a member of the Northwest Mounted Police.”
Michael Peters also wrote about the revolver
in the August 2016 issue of “Relatively
Speaking” by the Alberta Genealogical
Society in an article titled “From the Little
Bighorn to Alberta and Back” in which he
stated that Wendell Grangaard examined
the revolver and claimed that markings on
the gun indicated it had been captured
by the Sans Arc Sioux chief Buffalo Hump
at the Battle of Little Bighorn. While we
find no such identifying markings on the
revolver, it does have an interesting history.
In included documentation, Peters notes
that when he purchased the revolver it
included provenance documentation from
the Taylor family in Canada. In back-tracking
the revolver’s provenance, he contacted
Karen Taylor who indicated that her father,
William Northcote Taylor of the Royal
Canadian Mounted Police, had won it in a
poker game around 1922 at Fort Macleod
in Alberta. The Royal Canadian Mounted
Police formed by the combination of the
Northwest Mounted Police and Dominion
Police in 1920. The revolver stayed in the
family until 1990. Peters concluded that the
revolver had probably been confiscated from
a Sioux warrior and kept at Fort Macleod
for some time before being released and
subsequently acquired by Taylor. He also
provided a chronology for the provenance
after it left the family and passed through
multiple firearms collections. A signed
statement from Karen Taylor in 2016 and
other documentation are also included for
this provenance, such as William N. Taylor’s
June 15, 1952, firearms registration ticket
listing the revolver as “Colt Frontier” serial
number 12364 in .45 caliber with a 7 1/2 inch
barrel and as previously registered on March
15, 1945. A factory letter indicates no records
for this revolver were available.
CONDITION: Very good with 25% original
blue finish on the barrel mainly concentrated
in the protected areas, a restored front sight
with some nearby touch ups of the finish,
traces of original case colors and blue finish
in other protected areas, mostly smooth
gray and brown patina on the balance,
minor oxidation, mild pitting, and general
mild wear. The grip is good with some chips
at the lower edges, distinct outline of the
cartouche, dings on the butt, and mild wear.
Mechanically functions. Overall, this is a very
solid representative example of an Ainsworth
sub-inspected Colt Cavalry Model Single
Action Army revolver from 1874.
Provenance: Royal Canadian Mounted
Police Officer William Northcote Taylor;
Karen Taylor; The Vernon Vossler
Collection; The Barry Kolbert Collection;
The Wallace W. Francis Jr. Collection;
The J. Michael Peters Collection.
Estimate: 30,000 - 50,000
100