OUTSTANDING RARE EARLY EXHIBITION QUALITY ENGRAVED COLT 3RD MODEL 1851 PERCUSSION REVOLVER BELIEVED TO BE PART OF THE CRYSTAL PALACE ADMINISTRATION OF 1851.

OUTSTANDING RARE EARLY EXHIBITION QUALITY ENGRAVED COLT 3RD MODEL 1851 PERCUSSION REVOLVER BELIEVED TO BE PART OF THE CRYSTAL PALACE ADMINISTRATION OF 1851. SN 5597. Cal. 36. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2″ oct bbl, rare dovetail front sight with bead and 1-line New York City address. Left side of frame is engraved “COLT’S PATENT” in an unusual position. The silver plated brass trigger guard & backstrap contain a beautifully figured, burl walnut, varnished 1-pc grip with last three digits of matching SN in backstrap channel. Revolver is engraved in donut style with full coverage foliate arabesque patterns and a small cross-hatched panel on each side, all with shaded background. Engraving extends over bbl lug and onto the rammer pivot with a fine border around the muzzle. Hammer is engraved to match. Backstrap, buttstrap & trigger guard are also engraved to match. All screw heads are lightly engraved in matching patterns. Cyl is usual 6-shots with Ormsby Naval battle scene and five of the safety pins mostly serviceable. Cylinder has the SN “5279” (this is possibly a workman error when the stamps were applied?), the cyl arbor is unnumbered and the wedge is numbered “471”. Accompanied by an 1851 London Expo large bronze medal and a smaller 1851 silver Expo medal. The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations of the Great Exhibition or also known as the Crystal Palace Exhibition took place in Hyde Park London, from May 1 to October 15, 1851. The SN implies that this would have been done in time for that and it is generally believed by a number of Colt aficionados that some of these Model 51’s ended up in the British empire as a result of the Crystal Palace Exhibition. It is known that the Colt 1851 Exhibition guns were not required to be British proofed if they were exported after the Exhibition. According to Dr. Pickup this specific gun was purchased from an eminent Australian family who before selling the gun removed the owners name, not wishing for anyone to be aware that their family was “now hard up”. PROVENANCE: Dr. John & Margaret Pickup Collection. CONDITION: Fine to very fine. Bbl retains about 80-85% glossy orig blue with sharp edge wear and light flaking; rammer retains faded case colors in sheltered areas being mostly turned silver; frame & hammer are a gray metal color; cyl is a cleaned gray metal color with a few large scratches and overall retains 65-70% Ormsby Naval battle scene; trigger guard retains about all of its strong orig silver and the backstrap about 60% silver. Grip is sound with light edge wear ad retains about all of its crisp orig varnish. Mechanics are fine, strong bright bore with scattered pitting. The large bronze medal has several dings around edges and shows moderate wear; silver medal has a hole in the top edge showing very light wear. 4-46441 JR144 (22,500-32,500)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 2012

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
	1468	$23,000.00	OUTSTANDING RARE EARLY EXHIBITION QUALITY ENGRAVED COLT 3RD MODEL 1851 PERCUSSION REVOLVER BELIEVED TO BE PART OF THE CRYSTAL PALACE ADMINISTRATION OF 1851. SN 5597. Cal. 36. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2″ oct bbl, rare dovetail front sight with bead and 1-line New York City address. Left side of frame is engraved “COLT’S PATENT” in an unusual position. The silver plated brass trigger guard & backstrap contain a beautifully figured, burl walnut, varnished 1-pc grip with last three digits of matching SN in backstrap channel. Revolver is engraved in donut style with full coverage foliate arabesque patterns and a small cross-hatched panel on each side, all with shaded background. Engraving extends over bbl lug and onto the rammer pivot with a fine border around the muzzle. Hammer is engraved to match. Backstrap, buttstrap & trigger guard are also engraved to match. All screw heads are lightly engraved in matching patterns. Cyl is usual 6-shots with Ormsby Naval battle scene and five of the safety pins mostly serviceable. Cylinder has the SN “5279” (this is possibly a workman error when the stamps were applied?), the cyl arbor is unnumbered and the wedge is numbered “471”. Accompanied by an 1851 London Expo large bronze medal and a smaller 1851 silver Expo medal. The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations of the Great Exhibition or also known as the Crystal Palace Exhibition took place in Hyde Park London, from May 1 to October 15, 1851. The SN implies that this would have been done in time for that and it is generally believed by a number of Colt aficionados that some of these Model 51’s ended up in the British empire as a result of the Crystal Palace Exhibition. It is known that the Colt 1851 Exhibition guns were not required to be British proofed if they were exported after the Exhibition. According to Dr. Pickup this specific gun was purchased from an eminent Australian family who before selling the gun removed the owners name, not wishing for anyone to be aware that their family was “now hard up”. PROVENANCE: Dr. John & Margaret Pickup Collection. CONDITION: Fine to very fine. Bbl retains about 80-85% glossy orig blue with sharp edge wear and light flaking; rammer retains faded case colors in sheltered areas being mostly turned silver; frame & hammer are a gray metal color; cyl is a cleaned gray metal color with a few large scratches and overall retains 65-70% Ormsby Naval battle scene; trigger guard retains about all of its strong orig silver and the backstrap about 60% silver. Grip is sound with light edge wear ad retains about all of its crisp orig varnish. Mechanics are fine, strong bright bore with scattered pitting. The large bronze medal has several dings around edges and shows moderate wear; silver medal has a hole in the top edge showing very light wear. 4-46441 JR144 (22,500-32,500) Auction: Firearms - Fall 2012 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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