EXTRAORDINARILY RARE CASED ENGRAVED COLT MODEL 1851 LONDON NAVY REVOLVER.

EXTRAORDINARILY RARE CASED ENGRAVED COLT MODEL 1851 LONDON NAVY REVOLVER. SN 90140. Cal. 36. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2″ oct bbl, rare dovetail front sight with 1-line London address. Left side of frame has hand engraved “COLT’S PATENT” in a pillow shape. It has silver plated iron trigger guard & back strap containing a highly figured, deluxe burl walnut 1-pc grip with piano varnish finish. Frame is 4-screw type, cut for shoulder stock with flathead hammer screw & extended stock screws. Cylinder alone is British proofed. Revolver is fantastically engraved by Gustave Young in his deluxe coverage of intertwined foliate arabesque patterns with fine punch dot background. Mr. Young has incorporated a dog’s head into one of the scrolls on the left side of the bbl lug and several other scrolls terminate in flower blossoms. Rammer pivot has full coverage matching patterns on the sides and hammer nose has a wolf’s head on each side with foliate arabesque patterns down the sides. Top of the back strap has Mr. Young’s fan pattern with foliate arabesque patterns at the top & heel, on the butt strap & trigger guard. Cylinder has the Ormsby Naval battle scene. All screws are fire-blued. Accompanied by its orig English mahogany casing with gold plated brass bull’s eye concealed handle in the lid, gold washed corner reinforcements and latches. It has a mortised lock in the front, missing its escutcheon and has very deep dust seals around the bottom. Interior is fantastically lined in green velvet with gold embossed foliate patterns inside the lid with other embossed patterns. Bottom is compartmented, American-style, for the revolver, a matching deluxe, highly figured, uncheckered buttstock with silver plated Gustave Young engraved yoke & buttplate, SN 90138. Also accompanied by a Dixon bag flask with silver plated collar, top & spout, a rare silver plated 2-cavity mold with “COLTS PATENT” sprue cutter, an L-shaped nipple wrench, two 500-count lacquered tins of Eley’s caps, a packet of Colt’s combustible cartridges, an orig blued steel cleaning rod, three spare nipples, a spare orig hammer spring and a spare orig trigger/lockbolt spring. Also accompanied by a National Rifle Association Silver Medal #102. Compartment lid covers have gold plated buttons with gold embossed borders. This set is pictured in full color on pp. 42-45 of Fine Colts The Dr. Joseph A. Murphy Collection, Wilson. According to the caption to the referenced Photos, S/N 90137 is fitted & engraved identically giving ‘rise” to the likelihood that the stocks were simply mixed up at the time of engraving or that one owner had both sets and allowed the mix up. PROVENANCE: Dr. Joseph A. Murphy Collection. CONDITION: Extraordinarily fine, all matching including wedge & cyl. Grip was not checked. Bbl retains 97-98% glossy orig factory blue with only faint sharp edge wear and a spot on right side of muzzle. Rammer & handle retain virtually all of their orig bright case colors. Frame & hammer retain about all of their orig bright case colors. Cylinder is flaked, not worn, with about 15% glossy blue remaining and balance a light to medium patina. Overall retains about 98% Ormsby Naval battle scene with all six safety pins crisp. Trigger guard & back strap retain virtually all of their strong orig silver plating. Grip shows wear from the stock yoke, otherwise is crisp with a few minor nicks & slight wear on right side and otherwise retains about all of its orig factory varnish. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore with some fine pitting just in front of the forcing cone. Stock has a few very minor handling & storage marks and retains about all of its orig factory varnish. Yoke retains about 90% orig silver with virtually all of wear on right side from case. Buttplate retains all of its orig silver. Mold retains about all of its orig silver with some fine pimpling. Flask has one dent on one side, otherwise is near perfect with bright fire blue on spring & strong silver plating. Cap boxes are crisp. Case is extremely fine with one crack in lid & a couple of grain checks in bottom and overall retains most of its orig varnish. Lining is extremely fine, strong & bright in lid with a couple of minor wear spots, lightly faded & lightly soiled in bottom with one open divider joint. Altogether an extraordinary set suitable for the highest level of collector. 4-36497 JR137 (250,000-450,000)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 2009

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
	2152	$0.00	EXTRAORDINARILY RARE CASED ENGRAVED COLT MODEL 1851 LONDON NAVY REVOLVER. SN 90140. Cal. 36. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2″ oct bbl, rare dovetail front sight with 1-line London address. Left side of frame has hand engraved “COLT’S PATENT” in a pillow shape. It has silver plated iron trigger guard & back strap containing a highly figured, deluxe burl walnut 1-pc grip with piano varnish finish. Frame is 4-screw type, cut for shoulder stock with flathead hammer screw & extended stock screws. Cylinder alone is British proofed. Revolver is fantastically engraved by Gustave Young in his deluxe coverage of intertwined foliate arabesque patterns with fine punch dot background. Mr. Young has incorporated a dog’s head into one of the scrolls on the left side of the bbl lug and several other scrolls terminate in flower blossoms. Rammer pivot has full coverage matching patterns on the sides and hammer nose has a wolf’s head on each side with foliate arabesque patterns down the sides. Top of the back strap has Mr. Young’s fan pattern with foliate arabesque patterns at the top & heel, on the butt strap & trigger guard. Cylinder has the Ormsby Naval battle scene. All screws are fire-blued. Accompanied by its orig English mahogany casing with gold plated brass bull’s eye concealed handle in the lid, gold washed corner reinforcements and latches. It has a mortised lock in the front, missing its escutcheon and has very deep dust seals around the bottom. Interior is fantastically lined in green velvet with gold embossed foliate patterns inside the lid with other embossed patterns. Bottom is compartmented, American-style, for the revolver, a matching deluxe, highly figured, uncheckered buttstock with silver plated Gustave Young engraved yoke & buttplate, SN 90138. Also accompanied by a Dixon bag flask with silver plated collar, top & spout, a rare silver plated 2-cavity mold with “COLTS PATENT” sprue cutter, an L-shaped nipple wrench, two 500-count lacquered tins of Eley’s caps, a packet of Colt’s combustible cartridges, an orig blued steel cleaning rod, three spare nipples, a spare orig hammer spring and a spare orig trigger/lockbolt spring. Also accompanied by a National Rifle Association Silver Medal #102. Compartment lid covers have gold plated buttons with gold embossed borders. This set is pictured in full color on pp. 42-45 of Fine Colts The Dr. Joseph A. Murphy Collection, Wilson. According to the caption to the referenced Photos, S/N 90137 is fitted & engraved identically giving ‘rise” to the likelihood that the stocks were simply mixed up at the time of engraving or that one owner had both sets and allowed the mix up. PROVENANCE: Dr. Joseph A. Murphy Collection. CONDITION: Extraordinarily fine, all matching including wedge & cyl. Grip was not checked. Bbl retains 97-98% glossy orig factory blue with only faint sharp edge wear and a spot on right side of muzzle. Rammer & handle retain virtually all of their orig bright case colors. Frame & hammer retain about all of their orig bright case colors. Cylinder is flaked, not worn, with about 15% glossy blue remaining and balance a light to medium patina. Overall retains about 98% Ormsby Naval battle scene with all six safety pins crisp. Trigger guard & back strap retain virtually all of their strong orig silver plating. Grip shows wear from the stock yoke, otherwise is crisp with a few minor nicks & slight wear on right side and otherwise retains about all of its orig factory varnish. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore with some fine pitting just in front of the forcing cone. Stock has a few very minor handling & storage marks and retains about all of its orig factory varnish. Yoke retains about 90% orig silver with virtually all of wear on right side from case. Buttplate retains all of its orig silver. Mold retains about all of its orig silver with some fine pimpling. Flask has one dent on one side, otherwise is near perfect with bright fire blue on spring & strong silver plating. Cap boxes are crisp. Case is extremely fine with one crack in lid & a couple of grain checks in bottom and overall retains most of its orig varnish. Lining is extremely fine, strong & bright in lid with a couple of minor wear spots, lightly faded & lightly soiled in bottom with one open divider joint. Altogether an extraordinary set suitable for the highest level of collector. 4-36497 JR137 (250,000-450,000) Auction: Firearms - Fall 2009 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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