RARE AND IMPORTANT CASED ENGRAVED INVENTOR PRESENTATION COLT MODEL TWO 1855 ROOT PERCUSSION REVOLVER WITH CHARTER OAK GRIP, PRESENTED TO FAMOUS BOSTON DEALER WILLIAM READ.

SN 4442. Cal. .28. Blue finish with 3-1/2″ oct bbl, brass pin front sight & pointing hand motif address. Cyl is unfluted with five chambers and cabin/Indian fight scene roll marking. Mounted with rare Charter Oak grip with matching number in backstrap channel. Revolver is beautifully engraved by Gustave Young with nearly full coverage, foliate arabesque patterns on the frame. Matching engraving extends up the side & top side flats of the bbl and onto the rammer pivot. Hammer shank and sides of the spur are engraved to match with matching patterns at top of backstrap, heel & buttstrap. Screw heads are also engraved. Backstrap is factory engraved in period script “To Wm Read from the Inventor / Charter Oak stock From J.W. Stuart”. William Read was a prominent Boston gunsmith and a major importer & distributor of firearms & accessories and a large Colt customer. Mr. Stuart was the owner of the Charter Oak tree. The Charter Oak was a very historic tree that played an instrumental part in the founding of the State of Connecticut. Prior to the Revolutionary War, on the night of a State Charter meeting, the British sent troops to confiscate the new Connecticut charter. However, patriots learned of the forthcoming raid and after the British arrived the lights were mysteriously extinguished and when they were re-lit the charter had disappeared. One of the committee members spirited the constitution out of town and hid it in the large hollow of the venerable old oak, saving the charter. Thereafter the tree was referred to as the “Charter Oak”. In 1856 this old tree was destroyed in a wind storm and at the time it was estimated to have been 800-1,000 years old. Local Indians venerated the old tree. Numerous souvenir articles were produced from the wood and sold, but Samuel Colt obtained enough of the wood to produce a number of special grips for his presentation firearms, this being one of them. Accompanied by a rare dark green & burgundy velvet-lined rosewood casing with the center plaque in the lid missing. Inside the lid is lined with dark green velvet and the bottom French fitted with dark green & burgundy velvet, for the revolver, a double-sided eagle & stars flask, a bowlegged brass bullet & ball mold with bright “COLTS PATENT” steel sprue cutter, a wood-handled turn screw and a covered compartment in the right rear containing lead balls. Also accompanying is a very rare packet of .28 caliber combustible cartridges. Inventor presentations are extremely rare and come along only one in a lifetime, especially those with Charter Oak grip. This very well be one of the last, if not the last, Charter Oak stocked Colt to be discovered and presented for sale. PROVENANCE: This Colt is consigned by the great great grandson of William Read of Wm Read & Sons, Boston, MA, and has been handed down directly through the Read family. The pistol and has never been shown or made available for sale until this auction. Notarized affidavit from Read family stating the chain of possession and history of the pistol as known to them. CONDITION: Revolver is very fine, all matching. Bbl & frame retain about 90% glossy orig blue with light sharp edge wear and a spot of rust on right side of muzzle. Backstrap shows moderate wear with thinning blue. Cyl retains about 70% dull orig blue with some flaking around the rear edge. Grip is sound, showing very light edge wear and retains most of its orig varnish. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore with some fine pitting. Case has crack in lid with some veneer losses on two of the bottom corners and as noted, is missing the plaque. Interior is lightly faded & soiled with some light wear around muzzle area & other recesses. Accessories are very fine. Cartridge packet has one broken corner with wire still intact. 4-54038 (65,000-95,000) – Lot 1290

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Auction: Firearms - March 2015

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
	1290	$132,250.00	RARE AND IMPORTANT CASED ENGRAVED INVENTOR PRESENTATION COLT MODEL TWO 1855 ROOT PERCUSSION REVOLVER WITH CHARTER OAK GRIP, PRESENTED TO FAMOUS BOSTON DEALER WILLIAM READ. SN 4442. Cal. .28. Blue finish with 3-1/2″ oct bbl, brass pin front sight & pointing hand motif address. Cyl is unfluted with five chambers and cabin/Indian fight scene roll marking. Mounted with rare Charter Oak grip with matching number in backstrap channel. Revolver is beautifully engraved by Gustave Young with nearly full coverage, foliate arabesque patterns on the frame. Matching engraving extends up the side & top side flats of the bbl and onto the rammer pivot. Hammer shank and sides of the spur are engraved to match with matching patterns at top of backstrap, heel & buttstrap. Screw heads are also engraved. Backstrap is factory engraved in period script “To Wm Read from the Inventor / Charter Oak stock From J.W. Stuart”. William Read was a prominent Boston gunsmith and a major importer & distributor of firearms & accessories and a large Colt customer. Mr. Stuart was the owner of the Charter Oak tree. The Charter Oak was a very historic tree that played an instrumental part in the founding of the State of Connecticut. Prior to the Revolutionary War, on the night of a State Charter meeting, the British sent troops to confiscate the new Connecticut charter. However, patriots learned of the forthcoming raid and after the British arrived the lights were mysteriously extinguished and when they were re-lit the charter had disappeared. One of the committee members spirited the constitution out of town and hid it in the large hollow of the venerable old oak, saving the charter. Thereafter the tree was referred to as the “Charter Oak”. In 1856 this old tree was destroyed in a wind storm and at the time it was estimated to have been 800-1,000 years old. Local Indians venerated the old tree. Numerous souvenir articles were produced from the wood and sold, but Samuel Colt obtained enough of the wood to produce a number of special grips for his presentation firearms, this being one of them. Accompanied by a rare dark green & burgundy velvet-lined rosewood casing with the center plaque in the lid missing. Inside the lid is lined with dark green velvet and the bottom French fitted with dark green & burgundy velvet, for the revolver, a double-sided eagle & stars flask, a bowlegged brass bullet & ball mold with bright “COLTS PATENT” steel sprue cutter, a wood-handled turn screw and a covered compartment in the right rear containing lead balls. Also accompanying is a very rare packet of .28 caliber combustible cartridges. Inventor presentations are extremely rare and come along only one in a lifetime, especially those with Charter Oak grip. This very well be one of the last, if not the last, Charter Oak stocked Colt to be discovered and presented for sale. PROVENANCE: This Colt is consigned by the great great grandson of William Read of Wm Read & Sons, Boston, MA, and has been handed down directly through the Read family. The pistol and has never been shown or made available for sale until this auction. Notarized affidavit from Read family stating the chain of possession and history of the pistol as known to them. CONDITION: Revolver is very fine, all matching. Bbl & frame retain about 90% glossy orig blue with light sharp edge wear and a spot of rust on right side of muzzle. Backstrap shows moderate wear with thinning blue. Cyl retains about 70% dull orig blue with some flaking around the rear edge. Grip is sound, showing very light edge wear and retains most of its orig varnish. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore with some fine pitting. Case has crack in lid with some veneer losses on two of the bottom corners and as noted, is missing the plaque. Interior is lightly faded & soiled with some light wear around muzzle area & other recesses. Accessories are very fine. Cartridge packet has one broken corner with wire still intact. 4-54038 (65,000-95,000) – Lot 1290 \| Click here to view provenance Auction: Firearms - March 2015 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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RARE AND IMPORTANT CASED ENGRAVED INVENTOR PRESENTATION COLT MODEL TWO 1855 ROOT PERCUSSION REVOLVER WITH CHARTER OAK GRIP, PRESENTED TO FAMOUS BOSTON DEALER WILLIAM READ.