*FACTORY ENGRAVED LAW ENFORCEMENT USED COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER “THE BOSS THORPE GUN”.

*FACTORY ENGRAVED LAW ENFORCEMENT USED COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER “THE BOSS THORPE GUN”. Cal. 45 Colt. SN 355020. This revolver was owned and used, although not much, by R.D. “Boss” Thorp, who was Chief of Police of Austin, TX from1928-58 and pretty much ran in an ex-officio way, serving under a number of mayors. His family had old roots in Texas before the Civil War and moved to Austin when Boss was about four years old. He was apparently a very famous and well-liked individual in the area, so much so that in April 1995 the high school baseball field was named after him. Prior to beginning his law enforcement career Mr. Thorp was a semi-pro baseball player and played for the Tampico, Mexico team. There is a copy of a picture of him in 1920’s style baseball uniform.

The revolver has nickel finish with 4-3/4″ bbl, 2-line address with 2-pc ox head ivory grips with Colt silver medallions. The engraving covers about 80% of the revolver and consists of extremely fine intertwined foliate arabesque patterns with very fine punch dot background. The backstrap and butt are fully engraved with the panel on the backstrap inscribed is “BOSS THORP”. The bottom of the butt has an unusual pattern of a series of tulips. A rare solid gold, 5-pointed star accompanies it, about 1-3/4″ wide, dbl layered with a genuine diamond approx. 1/2-carat diamond in the center. There is a ribbon over the top engraved “R.D. Thorpe” and another small ribbon between the bottom two points marked “Chief”. This engraving is filled with black enamel. The center part of the star is engraved around the diamond “Austin, Texas”. The badge is enclosed in a small leather custom built case and was obviously carried for many years. Genuine solid gold Texas sheriff’s badges are very rare! Also accompanying is a letter from Mike Clark, Collector’s Firearms, Houston, TX stating that he purchased this revolver from Bruce Rade, Boss Thorp’s grandson) on May 11, 2002. Also accompanying is a Colt factory letter regarding this revolver stating that it was shipped with blue finish to “The City of Austin, TX c/o R.D. Thorp”, September 13, 1932 and the caliber is not listed. In the remarks section it notes that the records do not indicate that it was engraved, however the notation “Engraved” does appear next to this serial number in the production book. It stands to reason therefore that once Boss Thorp received the revolver, he returned it to Colt and ordered the engraving. This is substantiated further by the tiny refinish “&” found on the right side of the rear web of the trigger guard. There is no doubt that this revolver is factory engraved. Also accompanying are copies of newspaper articles and photographs of Boss Thorp and some of his family. Additionally there is a small black leather credential case embossed in gold “POLICE DEPARTMENT / AUSTIN, TEXAS”, which contains Chief Thorp’s police ID cards. CONDITION: Extremely fine, has been fired, but very, very little with only a faint burn on the face of the cylinder. Retains virtually all of its bright orig factory finish and the grips are a beautiful mellow gold color with a few age lines on the bottom. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore. 4-54054 JR530 (37,500-57,500)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2005

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
	1156	$46,000.00	FACTORY ENGRAVED LAW ENFORCEMENT USED COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER “THE BOSS THORPE GUN”. Cal. 45 Colt. SN 355020. This revolver was owned and used, although not much, by R.D. “Boss” Thorp, who was Chief of Police of Austin, TX from1928-58 and pretty much ran in an ex-officio way, serving under a number of mayors. His family had old roots in Texas before the Civil War and moved to Austin when Boss was about four years old. He was apparently a very famous and well-liked individual in the area, so much so that in April 1995 the high school baseball field was named after him. Prior to beginning his law enforcement career Mr. Thorp was a semi-pro baseball player and played for the Tampico, Mexico team. There is a copy of a picture of him in 1920’s style baseball uniform. The revolver has nickel finish with 4-3/4″ bbl, 2-line address with 2-pc ox head ivory grips with Colt silver medallions. The engraving covers about 80% of the revolver and consists of extremely fine intertwined foliate arabesque patterns with very fine punch dot background. The backstrap and butt are fully engraved with the panel on the backstrap inscribed is “BOSS THORP”. The bottom of the butt has an unusual pattern of a series of tulips. A rare solid gold, 5-pointed star accompanies it, about 1-3/4″ wide, dbl layered with a genuine diamond approx. 1/2-carat diamond in the center. There is a ribbon over the top engraved “R.D. Thorpe” and another small ribbon between the bottom two points marked “Chief”. This engraving is filled with black enamel. The center part of the star is engraved around the diamond “Austin, Texas”. The badge is enclosed in a small leather custom built case and was obviously carried for many years. Genuine solid gold Texas sheriff’s badges are very rare! Also accompanying is a letter from Mike Clark, Collector’s Firearms, Houston, TX stating that he purchased this revolver from Bruce Rade, Boss Thorp’s grandson) on May 11, 2002. Also accompanying is a Colt factory letter regarding this revolver stating that it was shipped with blue finish to “The City of Austin, TX c/o R.D. Thorp”, September 13, 1932 and the caliber is not listed. In the remarks section it notes that the records do not indicate that it was engraved, however the notation “Engraved” does appear next to this serial number in the production book. It stands to reason therefore that once Boss Thorp received the revolver, he returned it to Colt and ordered the engraving. This is substantiated further by the tiny refinish “&” found on the right side of the rear web of the trigger guard. There is no doubt that this revolver is factory engraved. Also accompanying are copies of newspaper articles and photographs of Boss Thorp and some of his family. Additionally there is a small black leather credential case embossed in gold “POLICE DEPARTMENT / AUSTIN, TEXAS”, which contains Chief Thorp’s police ID cards. CONDITION: Extremely fine, has been fired, but very, very little with only a faint burn on the face of the cylinder. Retains virtually all of its bright orig factory finish and the grips are a beautiful mellow gold color with a few age lines on the bottom. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore. 4-54054 JR530 (37,500-57,500) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2005 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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