MARTIALLY MARKED THIRD MODEL COLT MODEL 1851 NAVY-ARMY REVOLVER OF COL. HERMAN BENDEL.

MARTIALLY MARKED THIRD MODEL COLT MODEL 1851 NAVY-ARMY REVOLVER OF COL. HERMAN BENDEL. SN 73403. Cal. 36. This 1857 U.S. Army contract gun has family provenance with a signed affidavit from decedent of Col. Herman Bendel who is a member of several Missouri Civil War U.S. units. He fought in the trans-Mississippi and was wounded while a Major in the 34th Missouri at Helena, Arkansas, July 1862 according to family papers. Also according to accompanying family document, Bendel had a very interesting postwar history. “After the Civil War, my great grandfather moved to San Francisco, California and became involved in a variety of commercial enterprises including formation, in 1867, of the company of “Taylor and Bendel”, importers of fine wines, liquors and wholesale groceries. In 1874, he bought Tillmann and Co. that later became Tillmann & Bendel and was in business during the San Francisco earthquake and fire. He was associated in business with the likes of sugar magnet Claus Spreckels, traveled to Hawaii concerning that business and according to family tradition was present when the King of Hawaii, Kalakaua, lost the island of Maui in a card game to Mr. Spreckels”. This gun is in the usual configuration with 7-1/2″ oct bbl with 1-line New York address with dashes. Left side frame marked “COLTS PATENT” over “U.S.”. Trigger guard lacks caliber marking although it does have small inspector initials which are also found in various other places on revolver including the cylinder, barrel, frame, base pin and backstrap. Small guard brass trigger guard and backstrap contain a 1-pc walnut grip with last 4 digits of serial number in backstrap channel. The ’51 Navy was an extremely popular sidearm from its inception with the Union government purchasing several thousand with many more going to war as private purchase. They saw service throughout the entirety of the Civil War and later on the American frontier during America’s great westward expansion and literally around the world. After the Civil War the Union government sold off surplus arms to private surplus dealers and foreign governments, including ’51 Navies, where these fine revolvers continued in service well into the cartridge era. PROVENANCE: Bendel Family Collection. Accompanied by a large folder of information on Col. Bendel incl. family history, military service, letters w/transcripts, and a copy of an image of Bendel. CONDITION: Good to very good, all matching including wedge, cylinder and grip. There are small traces of original blue finish in bbl well and in cylinder stops with balance appearing a plum/brown patina with areas of staining and pitting. Cylinder retains about 90% of the rolled naval battle scene. Frame, loading arm and hammer retain about 20% muted case colors with balance being smooth and silver/gray. Trigger guard and backstrap were never silver plated and now retain a medium mustard patina. Grips are sound and solid overall with small nicks and scratches and retains most of its oil finish with bright inspector cartouches “JH” and “WAT”. Left stock has small 1/4″ chip at inside toe. Soldier has carved seven slash cuts on back of left stock, possibly denoting battles or men killed. Mechanics are fine, good bore with strong discernible rifling. 4-46751 JS155 (6,000-10,000)

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
	1533	$4,025.00	MARTIALLY MARKED THIRD MODEL COLT MODEL 1851 NAVY-ARMY REVOLVER OF COL. HERMAN BENDEL. SN 73403. Cal. 36. This 1857 U.S. Army contract gun has family provenance with a signed affidavit from decedent of Col. Herman Bendel who is a member of several Missouri Civil War U.S. units. He fought in the trans-Mississippi and was wounded while a Major in the 34th Missouri at Helena, Arkansas, July 1862 according to family papers. Also according to accompanying family document, Bendel had a very interesting postwar history. “After the Civil War, my great grandfather moved to San Francisco, California and became involved in a variety of commercial enterprises including formation, in 1867, of the company of “Taylor and Bendel”, importers of fine wines, liquors and wholesale groceries. In 1874, he bought Tillmann and Co. that later became Tillmann & Bendel and was in business during the San Francisco earthquake and fire. He was associated in business with the likes of sugar magnet Claus Spreckels, traveled to Hawaii concerning that business and according to family tradition was present when the King of Hawaii, Kalakaua, lost the island of Maui in a card game to Mr. Spreckels”. This gun is in the usual configuration with 7-1/2″ oct bbl with 1-line New York address with dashes. Left side frame marked “COLTS PATENT” over “U.S.”. Trigger guard lacks caliber marking although it does have small inspector initials which are also found in various other places on revolver including the cylinder, barrel, frame, base pin and backstrap. Small guard brass trigger guard and backstrap contain a 1-pc walnut grip with last 4 digits of serial number in backstrap channel. The ’51 Navy was an extremely popular sidearm from its inception with the Union government purchasing several thousand with many more going to war as private purchase. They saw service throughout the entirety of the Civil War and later on the American frontier during America’s great westward expansion and literally around the world. After the Civil War the Union government sold off surplus arms to private surplus dealers and foreign governments, including ’51 Navies, where these fine revolvers continued in service well into the cartridge era. PROVENANCE: Bendel Family Collection. Accompanied by a large folder of information on Col. Bendel incl. family history, military service, letters w/transcripts, and a copy of an image of Bendel. CONDITION: Good to very good, all matching including wedge, cylinder and grip. There are small traces of original blue finish in bbl well and in cylinder stops with balance appearing a plum/brown patina with areas of staining and pitting. Cylinder retains about 90% of the rolled naval battle scene. Frame, loading arm and hammer retain about 20% muted case colors with balance being smooth and silver/gray. Trigger guard and backstrap were never silver plated and now retain a medium mustard patina. Grips are sound and solid overall with small nicks and scratches and retains most of its oil finish with bright inspector cartouches “JH” and “WAT”. Left stock has small 1/4″ chip at inside toe. Soldier has carved seven slash cuts on back of left stock, possibly denoting battles or men killed. Mechanics are fine, good bore with strong discernible rifling. 4-46751 JS155 (6,000-10,000) 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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