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LOT 3202
Desirable Documented Colt “First Model Dragoon Walker” Percussion Revolver
Featured in the Parade of Walkers with Documentation - Serial no. 2850, 44 cal., 7 1/2
inch part octagon bbl., blue/casehardened/brass finish, walnut grips. This fascinating revolver
was built with a Colt Model 1847 Walker frame and hammer and has caused a fair amount
of confusion for decades. It is clear that it was assembled using an original Walker frame
sometime before 1919. (Writer believes by Colt in the mid to late 19th Century). The dragoon
barrel features a German silver blade front sight, the one-line “{ADDRESS SAML COLT NEW-
YORK CITY}” marking reading from the muzzle towards the breech, a “B” on top at the breech,
“2850” marked on the underside of the lug, and a loading lever with vertical latch and “2850”
marked on the arm. The First Model Dragoon cylinder has the Texas Rangers and Comanche
battle scene, “MODEL U.S.M.R./P 2850/COLTS PATENT”, oval First Model pattern stops, and no
sign of a Walker pattern single safety pin. The Walker frame has the “COMPANY No 164” on
the left, “164” marked between the pins, only the hammer screw passing through to the right
side of the frame, and “2850” on the bottom at the front. The squareback Walker trigger guard
is marked “2850” and has pieces of brass fitted behind the shoulder. The dragoon back strap
is also marked “2850” near the toe.
The revolver was part of the Nunnemacher Collection in the Milwaukee Public Museum
from 1919 to 1977 and was discussed in the article “The Case of the Wrong Number” in the
June 1949 issue of “The Gun Collector” which noted the revolver built from a Walker frame
presumed to have been C Company No. 164 along with parts from a First Model Dragoon
and a Second or Third Dragoon, the modification to the trigger guard to fit the Walker
shaped two-piece grip, and hammer marked “17”. An included 1977 letter from Arnold M.
Chernoff to Chet Baranowski explains that he acquired the revolver from the museum in
1977 and refers to it as the “First Model Dragoon Walker” and wrote that he considered it
a rare variation of both a Walker and a Dragoon. The revolver was featured in the famous
Parade of Walkers by the Texas Gun Collectors Association in 2003. The certificate is included
and lists the revolver as C Company No. 164. The revolver was also referenced in the article
“The Evolution of Colt’s Dragoon Revolver” by Dick Salzer and Paul Sorrell and incorrectly
noted as having a cut-down Walker frame. It was also featured in Salzer’s “Debunking the
Fluck Myth: Colt Legends Die Hard” article in the American Society of Arms Collectors bulletin
#95 and captioned as: “A true Colt mystery! This unique Dragoon, serial number 2850, has
shown up. It is in the middle of the Second Contract range and is built around a Walker frame
(This is not the case as the frame is an original, full length Walker with number “164” on the
face between the positioning pins). It has many characteristics of much later Dragoons. It
proves the adage, ‘every time you think you’ve got a handle on Colt production, an exception
will show up.’” Chet Baranowski in a 2007 letter wrote to Salzer stating that the revolver did
not have a cut-down frame and appeared to have been made from spare parts some time
after Walker production had ended and noted that the factory would use up parts on hand.
Samuel
Colt
Samuel
Walker
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