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LOT 1078
Scarce A.J. Taylor & Co. San Francisco Retailer Marked Philadelphia
Deringer Percussion Pocket Pistol - NSN, 41 cal., 1 5/8 inch flat top round bbl.,
brown/casehardened/German silver finish, walnut stock. This pistol is marked
“MAND FOR/A. J. TAYLOR & Co./SAN FRANCo CALA” on top of the barrel. Taylor was
active in the early 1850s until his death in 1858. Interestingly, many of Taylor’s fairly affluent
customers appear to have used firearms he sold in homicides, and Taylor regularly appeared as
a witness in court. Many of the killings were in self-defense indicating the Deringer pistols filled their
intended role very well. This example also has “DERINGER/PHILADELA” on the lock and breech plug, scroll
engraving, a blade front sight, notch rear sight, German silver mounts, and scroll engraving.
CONDITION: Good with gray and brown patina on the barrel and lock, aged patina on the German silver,
mild wear, and some light pitting. The refinished stock is good with distinct checkering, minor marks and
scratches, and a very small hairline crack on the left at the breech. Mechanically functions.
Estimate: 1,600 - 2,500
LOT 1077
Engraved
Philadelphia
Derringer
Percussion Pocket
Pistol - NSN, 50 cal.,
1 7/8 inch flat top
round bbl., brown/
casehardened/
German silver finish,
walnut grips. This
mid-19th century
pistol is marked “DERINGER/PHILADEL” on
the lock and has “DERINGER/PHILADELA”
and “P” on the German silver banded
breech plug. “XII” is marked on the
barrel, breech plug, and tang screw.
It features seven-groove rifling, a
dovetailed German silver blade
front sight, integral notch rear
sight on the upper tang, German
silver mounts, scroll engraving,
a pineapple trigger plate finial,
and walnut stock with checkered
bird’s head grip. Greg Lampe noted
that this was his first antique gun
and that it was purchased from Richard
Seelinger (proprietor of Dick’s Gun Room).
CONDITION: Very good with traces of original brown finish retained in
the protected areas, mostly smooth gray patina on the balance of the
lock and barrel, crisp engraving and markings, aged patina on the
German silver mounts, and fairly minor wear. The stock is also very
good with mostly crisp checkering, edge wear, and a small tension
crack on the left at the breech. Mechanically functions.
Provenance: Richard Seelinger; The Greg Lampe Collection.
Estimate: 1,000 - 1,500
LOT 1075
Scarce Presentation Inscribed Southern Percussion Derringer Pocket Pistol by Franz J. Bitterlich of Nashville,
Tennessee - NSN, 42 cal., 3 1/2 inch octagon bbl., brown/casehardened/German silver finish, walnut grips. Franz/Frank J.
Bitterlich was among the very few Southern makers of derringer pistols. The Daily Nashville Patriot on August 6, 1860,
announced that he had “recently opened a gunsmith’s shop over Barkhorn’s on Deaderick street” and noted his “guns and
pistols are equal in every respect to those of Eastern manufacture, and some have even pronounced them superior to
all others...We had thought, until we saw some of Mr. Bitterlich’s work, that the far-famed Derringer was the pistol,
but after testing both ‘the ‘Derringer’ and Mr. Bitterlich’s pocket pistols, we are strongly inclined to yield the
palm to the latter.” He ran advertisements in 1861. His shop reportedly was destroyed by a fire in
1862, the year the city was captured by Union forces. In 1865, he was listed as a “Gun and Pistol
Repairer.” By 1866, he was again a gunmaker and formed Bitterlich & Legler with Joseph
Legler which lasted until 1880. The rifled barrel has a brass blade front sight and
is marked “FR J. BITTERLICH & CO/NASHVILLE. TENN.” on top. The upper
tang has a notch rear sight and a “1”. The lock has only light borders.
The mounts are German silver, and the stock has a checkered bird’s
head grip and Schnabel tip with incised accents. A German silver
oval escutcheon is presentation inscribed “DAVID LENIEVE/from/A.
J. McKIMMIN.” Also see Lot 81 for a pair inscribed as presented to A. J.
McKimmin who was a noted horse breeder in Pulaski, Tennessee. David
Lenieve has not been identified. Similar examples are shown on page 182
of “The Deringer in America Vol. 1” by Wilson and Eberhart.
CONDITION: Very good with dark brown patina, oxidation, pitting, aged patina on the German silver, and
mild overall wear. The stock is good and has mild overall wear including evenly worn checkering suggesting
the pistol was regularly carried. Mechanically functions.
Estimate: 2,500 - 4,000
LOT 1076
Attractive and Desirable Horn Gripped Push Dagger with Scabbard - Manufactured c. the late 19th
century, this is very attractive and highly desirable example of a “push dagger”, a weapon that has become
somewhat synonymous with the American frontier. These daggers were easily concealable and highly
effective as a weapon of last resort, and thus saw fairly widespread use among those in the turbulent Wild
West that desired an added layer of security. This particular example bears no maker’s marks but was clearly
made by a talented craftsman. The high-polish spearpoint blade is 4 7/8 inches long including the shank, and
it is fitted with a smooth, ergonomically shaped dark colored horn grip. It includes a leather wrapped sheath
with a German silver drag and throat fitting, which is fitted with a belt hook.
CONDITION: Excellent, the blade remains almost entirely bright with a few scattered light patches of surface
spotting. The grip is very fine with a few small, discreet filler repairs and a few hairline age lines. The scabbard
is fine with some mild wear overall. An exceptional example of one of the more collectible bladed weapons
of the American frontier!
Provenance: The Al Kelley Collection; The George S. Lewis Jr. Collection.
Estimate: 5,000 - 7,500
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