RECENTLY DISCOVERED EXTREMELY RARE ENGRAVED NICKEL & GOLD COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER.

RECENTLY DISCOVERED EXTREMELY RARE ENGRAVED NICKEL & GOLD COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER. SN 32922. Cal. 45 Colt. Nickel & gold finish with 7-1/2″ bbl, full front sight and 1-line block letter address. Left side of frame has small 2-line patent dates and caliber marking on left rear web of trigger guard. Mounted with 1-pc smooth ivory grip. Revolver appears to have been manufactured in late 1876 and was engraved by Eugene Young in his minimalist style similar to engraving on two other important gold & nickel revolvers sold by Julia’s in the recent past. Bbl, frame, trigger guard & back strap are nickel finish while the cyl, hammer, trigger & front sight are gold washed. All screws are fire blued. SN is found on bottom of frame, trigger guard & buttstrap, which are all accompanied by a small “E” which indicates that this revolver was destined for factory engraving. Last four digits of matching SN are found on the cyl & bottom of bbl under ejector housing. Engraving consists of light coverage on frame, recoil shield, loading gate, bbl, ejector housing, cyl, back strap, butt strap & trigger guard. Top of back strap, back of hammer slot is engraved in an oval pattern with cross hatching and a similar pattern on each side of the hammer nose with foliate arabesque patterns on sides of shank & hammer spur. Accompanied by a Colt factory letter identifying this revolver in caliber 45 Colt, bbl length not listed, nickel with gold cyl, hammer, trigger & screws, type of stocks not listed, factory engraved & shipped to B. Kittredge & Co., Cincinnati, OH, on Dec. 18, 1878 in a 20-gun shipment. It is apparent that the gold screws mentioned are either a data entry mistake in the records or a transcription mistake when the letter was printed. Screws are all fire blued but it has a gold sight which is probably what the orig entry was supposed to be. Also accompanied by a notarized statement dated July 10, 2009 over the signature of George R. Dullnig, wherein he states that this revolver, identified by SN, “Has been in our family since a few years after the 1776-1876 Centennial celebration.” In the next paragraph he states “My grandfather, Richard E. Rolle, wanted one of the beautiful guns of Colt’s centennial wheel display. He purchased the gun from the Colt Manufacturing Co. for, I’m told, around thirty plus dollars which he considered a significant amount of money, although he owned a successful clothing company.” He goes on that his family moved from Philadelphia to Houston, TX and left this revolver to his father, George E. Dullnig, who then bequeathed it to George R. Dullnig. Mr. Dullnig’s statement above corresponds with the probably date of manufacture of this revolver which appears to have been late 1876, probably too late for the 1876 exposition but would correspond with an order generated from the 1876 expo. This revolver is nearly identically engraved to two other Single Actions previously sold by Julia’s, SNs 47135 & 48206, which were both manufactured in 1878 and absolutely engraved by the same hand. They also had fully engraved hammer shanks & spurs with slightly different motifs. Information provided by the consignor of #47135 states that the combination of nickel & gold was originated by collaboration between Colt and well known Colt dealer J.P. Lower of Denver, Colorado, who was in business in the 1870s and was a major Colt sales outlet. SN 48206 was also shipped to B. Kittredge & Co. The style of engraving found on this revolver is unlike any other known master engravers at Colt, although it has stylistic similarities to some of the engraving by Oscar & Eugene Young at Smith & Wesson. Very few Eugene Young engraved Colts are known and when encountered are probably not recognized for their simple beauty. Also accompanied by a 6-page letter from renowned Colt authority & author, Ron Graham, wherein he authenticates this revolver as being absolutely real & original and states that it was “factory assembled, engraved and finished expressly to be one of Colt’s exhibition firearms”. He also states that these revolvers “were displayed at centennial exhibits, world fairs, state fairs, distributor marketing promotions—for many years”. He states that after examining and studying many engraved Colts he speculates that this revolver was engraved in the Cuno Helfricht shop and the engraver may have been influenced by master engraver, Gustave Young, or his immediate family who were also master craftsmen. He additionally states that “During the entire first-run Single Action production, only three ‘A’ style, factory embellished, SA revolvers are known that have nearly full hammer coverage.” He further states “As of this writing there are only two known first-run SAs having factory gold plated front sights.” Additionally accompanied by a letter on Cullity & Son letterhead over the signature of Daniel Cullity. Mr. Cullity is a renowned restoration artist for all things firearm, a former master engraver at Colt and recognized authority on Colt firearms. He authenticates this revolver as being “genuine in every respect including the grips.” He states “It is unfired, and it had no indications that it had ever been disassembled.” He also states that it has never been refinished. He additionally states that “The elegant engraving is identical in style and execution with other Colt revolvers that are believed to have been engraved for the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibit of 1876.” He further states “This pistol may have been on the ‘wheel’ display.” We however have no proof of this gun being in the exhibition and so cannot affirm Mr. Cullity’s statement, however it is the most compelling documentation for a wheel gun we have seen. This is an extraordinary Colt Single Action in astounding orig condition with engraving patterns known on only a very few, very rare Colts from that era. PROVENANCE: Richard E. Rolle & descendants. CONDITION: Extremely fine plus, new & unfired retaining virtually all of its crisp, bright orig factory nickel and brilliant fire blued screws & base pin; cyl retains bright gold wash in the flutes with the outer diameter showing about 75% orig gold, partially exposing the silver underplating. Gold wash on face of trigger is a little thin; hammer & front sight retain about all of their orig gold wash; top edge of front sight has a couple of tiny nicks with a small ding on the shank of the hammer. Grip has a tiny chip in right front toe, otherwise is sound showing very light edge wear and slight dulling from handling. Simply an extraordinarily beautiful revolver that is a pleasure to behold, suitable for the highest level of collector or museum. 4-49414 JR313 (175,000-300,000)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 2013

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	2039	$140,000.00	RECENTLY DISCOVERED EXTREMELY RARE ENGRAVED NICKEL & GOLD COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER. SN 32922. Cal. 45 Colt. Nickel & gold finish with 7-1/2″ bbl, full front sight and 1-line block letter address. Left side of frame has small 2-line patent dates and caliber marking on left rear web of trigger guard. Mounted with 1-pc smooth ivory grip. Revolver appears to have been manufactured in late 1876 and was engraved by Eugene Young in his minimalist style similar to engraving on two other important gold & nickel revolvers sold by Julia’s in the recent past. Bbl, frame, trigger guard & back strap are nickel finish while the cyl, hammer, trigger & front sight are gold washed. All screws are fire blued. SN is found on bottom of frame, trigger guard & buttstrap, which are all accompanied by a small “E” which indicates that this revolver was destined for factory engraving. Last four digits of matching SN are found on the cyl & bottom of bbl under ejector housing. Engraving consists of light coverage on frame, recoil shield, loading gate, bbl, ejector housing, cyl, back strap, butt strap & trigger guard. Top of back strap, back of hammer slot is engraved in an oval pattern with cross hatching and a similar pattern on each side of the hammer nose with foliate arabesque patterns on sides of shank & hammer spur. Accompanied by a Colt factory letter identifying this revolver in caliber 45 Colt, bbl length not listed, nickel with gold cyl, hammer, trigger & screws, type of stocks not listed, factory engraved & shipped to B. Kittredge & Co., Cincinnati, OH, on Dec. 18, 1878 in a 20-gun shipment. It is apparent that the gold screws mentioned are either a data entry mistake in the records or a transcription mistake when the letter was printed. Screws are all fire blued but it has a gold sight which is probably what the orig entry was supposed to be. Also accompanied by a notarized statement dated July 10, 2009 over the signature of George R. Dullnig, wherein he states that this revolver, identified by SN, “Has been in our family since a few years after the 1776-1876 Centennial celebration.” In the next paragraph he states “My grandfather, Richard E. Rolle, wanted one of the beautiful guns of Colt’s centennial wheel display. He purchased the gun from the Colt Manufacturing Co. for, I’m told, around thirty plus dollars which he considered a significant amount of money, although he owned a successful clothing company.” He goes on that his family moved from Philadelphia to Houston, TX and left this revolver to his father, George E. Dullnig, who then bequeathed it to George R. Dullnig. Mr. Dullnig’s statement above corresponds with the probably date of manufacture of this revolver which appears to have been late 1876, probably too late for the 1876 exposition but would correspond with an order generated from the 1876 expo. This revolver is nearly identically engraved to two other Single Actions previously sold by Julia’s, SNs 47135 & 48206, which were both manufactured in 1878 and absolutely engraved by the same hand. They also had fully engraved hammer shanks & spurs with slightly different motifs. Information provided by the consignor of #47135 states that the combination of nickel & gold was originated by collaboration between Colt and well known Colt dealer J.P. Lower of Denver, Colorado, who was in business in the 1870s and was a major Colt sales outlet. SN 48206 was also shipped to B. Kittredge & Co. The style of engraving found on this revolver is unlike any other known master engravers at Colt, although it has stylistic similarities to some of the engraving by Oscar & Eugene Young at Smith & Wesson. Very few Eugene Young engraved Colts are known and when encountered are probably not recognized for their simple beauty. Also accompanied by a 6-page letter from renowned Colt authority & author, Ron Graham, wherein he authenticates this revolver as being absolutely real & original and states that it was “factory assembled, engraved and finished expressly to be one of Colt’s exhibition firearms”. He also states that these revolvers “were displayed at centennial exhibits, world fairs, state fairs, distributor marketing promotions—for many years”. He states that after examining and studying many engraved Colts he speculates that this revolver was engraved in the Cuno Helfricht shop and the engraver may have been influenced by master engraver, Gustave Young, or his immediate family who were also master craftsmen. He additionally states that “During the entire first-run Single Action production, only three ‘A’ style, factory embellished, SA revolvers are known that have nearly full hammer coverage.” He further states “As of this writing there are only two known first-run SAs having factory gold plated front sights.” Additionally accompanied by a letter on Cullity & Son letterhead over the signature of Daniel Cullity. Mr. Cullity is a renowned restoration artist for all things firearm, a former master engraver at Colt and recognized authority on Colt firearms. He authenticates this revolver as being “genuine in every respect including the grips.” He states “It is unfired, and it had no indications that it had ever been disassembled.” He also states that it has never been refinished. He additionally states that “The elegant engraving is identical in style and execution with other Colt revolvers that are believed to have been engraved for the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibit of 1876.” He further states “This pistol may have been on the ‘wheel’ display.” We however have no proof of this gun being in the exhibition and so cannot affirm Mr. Cullity’s statement, however it is the most compelling documentation for a wheel gun we have seen. This is an extraordinary Colt Single Action in astounding orig condition with engraving patterns known on only a very few, very rare Colts from that era. PROVENANCE: Richard E. Rolle & descendants. CONDITION: Extremely fine plus, new & unfired retaining virtually all of its crisp, bright orig factory nickel and brilliant fire blued screws & base pin; cyl retains bright gold wash in the flutes with the outer diameter showing about 75% orig gold, partially exposing the silver underplating. Gold wash on face of trigger is a little thin; hammer & front sight retain about all of their orig gold wash; top edge of front sight has a couple of tiny nicks with a small ding on the shank of the hammer. Grip has a tiny chip in right front toe, otherwise is sound showing very light edge wear and slight dulling from handling. Simply an extraordinarily beautiful revolver that is a pleasure to behold, suitable for the highest level of collector or museum. 4-49414 JR313 (175,000-300,000) Auction: Firearms - Fall 2013 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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