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LOT 1162
Rare Documented Prototype 8 Inch Barrel Colt Third Model Dragoon Percussion Revolver Formerly in the Colt Factory Museum Collection - NSN, 44 cal., 8 inch part round bbl., in the white finish, walnut grips. This revolver is a documented Colt factory prototype for a Third Model Dragoon revolver with an 8 inch barrel manufactured c. 1858. It is “in the white” aside from the niter blued screws. The 8 inch barrel has
a German silver blade front sight and the “ADDRESS SAML COLT NEW-YORK CITY” address. The cylinder has the classic Texas Rangers and Comanche running fight scene and the desirable “U.S. DRAGOONS” marking that is more common around the 17400 serial number range. The front face of the cylinder has a “W” and an asterisk, and the rear has a “P.” The recoil shield is marked with “R” and a crude “X.” The rest of the frame and grip frame have no visible markings. A single “A” stamp is on the butt of the grip on the left suggesting it was a surplus U.S. martial component.
Third Model Dragoons with 8 inch barrels can be found within the 18500-19650 serial number range towards the end of production of the Dragoons. Included information from Glenn Klein discusses the fact that the Army Board of Ordnance had recommended Colt Dragoons with 8 inch barrels and detachable stocks as
the superior arms for cavalry in February 1858. They also made other recommendations, including iron back straps and stock yokes for greater strength and three-leaf rear sights. This revolver was likely assembled
as part of Colt’s development of the 8 inch Dragoons. Only around 725 8 inch Dragoons were ultimately manufactured, and only around 137 surviving examples have been recorded. By that time, Colt was already developing a new .44 caliber model. Lightened versions of the Dragoons as well as Dragoon sized Model 1855 side hammers were experimented with. Colt ultimately settled on the much more streamlined Model 1860 Army which featured an 8 inch barrel for most of its production run.
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This historic revolver is accompanied by a provenance document from
Glenn Klein detailing this revolver’s history as follows:
Colt Factory Museum Collection, 1858-1910, listed in the collection inventory from
1887 on page 12 as item 244; The Albert Foster Jr. Collection, 1910-1949; The James
Serven Collection, 1950-1972; The Arnold Marcus Chernoff Collection, 1972-1980; The
Glenn Klein Collection, 1980-1989; The Frank Singer Collection, 1989-1993; The Robert E.
Peterson Collection, 1993-2003; The Derek Povah Collection, 2003-2017; and The Glenn
Klein Collection, 2017-Present. Pages from Serven’s 1948 catalog of the Albert Foster Jr.
collection and Arnold Marcus Chernoff’s advertisement showing the revolver are also in the
document file as is a copy of the article “The Eight-inch Variation of the Colt Third Model Dragoon and The
Factory Prototype” by Derek Povah from the Fall 2006 issue of “The Rampant Colt.” In the article, Povah notes that
the 8 inch Third Model Dragoons were manufactured starting c. 1858.
CONDITION: Excellent with some mild patination of the otherwise silver-gray “in the white” metal, aged patina on the brass, crisp markings and cylinder scene, and generally only minor age and storage related wear. The grip is also excellent and has a few minor dings. The hammer only locks up at full cock, but the revolver appears mechanically fine.
Provenance: The Colt Factory Museum Collection; The Albert Foster Jr. Collection; The James Serven Collection; The Arnold Marcus Chernoff Collection; The Glenn Klein Collection; The Frank Singer Collection; The Robert E. Peterson Collection; The Derek Povah Collection;
The Glenn Klein Collection
Estimate: 40,000 - 60,000