*EXTRAORDINARY KORNBRATH ENGRAVED GOLD INLAID COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER, ONE OF A TRIPLET OWNED BY THE PRESIDENT OF ARGENTINA, MARCELO T. ALVEAR.

*EXTRAORDINARY KORNBRATH ENGRAVED GOLD INLAID COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER, ONE OF A TRIPLET OWNED BY THE PRESIDENT OF ARGENTINA, MARCELO T. ALVEAR. SN 343200. Cal. 44 Russian & S&W Spcl. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2″ bbl, full thick front sight and 1-line Hartford address with caliber marking “RUSSIAN AND / S&W SPECIAL 44” on left side. Left front side of frame has 2-line 3-patent dates and rampant Colt without a circle. Mounted with early, period of revolver, smooth 2-pc ivory grips with deep rampant Colt medallions that have left & right sides. Accompanied by their orig matching numbered rampant Colt hard rubber grips. Revolver is beautifully engraved by master engraver Rudolph Kornbrath in his readily identifiable style of flowing floral, foliate & vine patterns. Frame has about 80% coverage with feather patterns on top strap. Top of backstrap has a fine fan pattern with a crosshatch triangle in the center, with a small foliate arabesque pattern and zig zag borders which extend completely around buttstrap. Toe of buttstrap and trigger guard are engraved with foliate arabesque patterns which are also on the shoulders of trigger guard and sides of the ears of backstrap. Foliate patterns extend up over the bbl and terminate in front of the address, with matching patterns around muzzle. Bbl has a fine gold band inlay in front of frame which extends forward to a point ahead of bbl address. Ejector rod housing has a fine climbing leaf pattern. Cyl is engraved on lands between the flutes with bowtie & foliate patterns and a narrow gold band around rear edge with an adjacent snake & dot pattern. SN is in usual place on bottom of frame and was observed on right side of front & back straps under the grip. Last four digits of the SN are on rear face of cyl. Screws are all high polish blue with no evidence of ever having been turned. The orig matching pair found in Argentina, SN’s 343199 & 343200, are pictured in full color on pp. 542 & 543 of The Colt Engraving Book Volume Two, Wilson. They are also pictured in full color on p. 146 of Steel Canvas, Wilson. Accompanied by a Colt factory letter which identifies this revolver, as found, except the type of stocks are “not listed”, which usually indicates the type of stocks being installed at the factory at the time of production which, in this case, would have meant rampant Colt hard rubber grips. Letter indicates it was factory engraved “Special engraving with gold inlay”. Shipped to Don Alfredo Gottling, Buenes Aires, Argentina on Dec. 23, 1921 in a shipment of three same type guns. Don Alfredo Gottling was Argentina’s greatest firearms importer & dealer with his shop in Buenos Aires called “La Portena”. The shop was established in 1857 and remained in business until 1972. La Portena Gun Shop imported only the finest, highest quality firearms from all of Europe and the United States and catered to the highest rungs of Argentinian society. The shop was located at 611 Rivadavia which is almost at the corner of Florida Ave. and would have been very convenient for the soon to be President to stop by on his way to government house, which he is reported to have done 15-20 days a month, to see what new merchandise had arrived. President Alvear was a serious firearms collector and a world champion pistol shooter. It is not known as of this writing whether these three revolvers were ordered by President Alvear or if Don Alfredo Gottling simply ordered them for stock and President Alvear bought all three of them, or if they had been intended as a gift to President Alvear. This revolver and its consecutive numbered companion #343199 were discovered in Argentina and purchased from the estate of Marcelo T. Alvear who was the President of Argentina 1922-1928. Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear (1868-1942) was an Argentine statesman & diplomat who was the Ambassador to France 1917-1922 and became the President of Argentina in 1922, leaving office in 1928. In 1931, for political reasons, he was barred from again running for President but was allowed to run again for the Presidency in 1937 but was defeated. The original consecutive numbered pair 343199 & 343200 were purchased together and sold to Dr. Joseph A. Murphy in the 1990’s, where they remained until about the year 2000 or 2001 when they were sold through Little John’s Auction Service to the consignor. Consignor obtained letters for these two revolvers and upon learning that they were two of a three gun shipment, he immediately begain a search for the third matching single action. By deductive reasoning he searched the Colt records and found the SN of the third gun to be #343202, one number off from the above pair. This led to a grueling international search for the missing “triplet”. In August 2008 consignor was able to purchase the third triplet from a wealthy ranching family about 1,000 miles south of Buenos Aires in the Patagonia area. He obtained clearances and arranged for an export permit, then flew to Argentina to negotiate the sale, which he concluded successfully, returning the lost triplet to the United States in August 2008. This revolver, SN 343200, is being sold in this auction as a stand alone item with the successful bidder having the option to purchase the other two matching single actions from the 1921 shipment pictured here, for the same price each. If the buyer elects to purchase all three revolvers the orig paperwork and research material will accompany. The decorative items accompanying this revolver in the photographs in this catalog are for display only and are not included in the sale of this revolver. However all these items were the property of President Alvear. PROVENANCE: Don Alfredo Gottling, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Argentine President Marcelo T. Alvear; Dr. Joseph A. Murphy; Littlejohn’s Auction Service. CONDITION: Extraordinarily fine, all matching except grips which are unnumbered. Overall retains virtually all of its orig factory finish with strong bright blue and only faint thinning on left side at muzzle edge. Frame & hammer retain brilliant case colors with no apparent fading just extremely slight thinning on bottom forward sharp edges. Cyl, which is unfired, retains virtually all of its orig factory blue with a very faint drag line. Trigger guard & backstrap retain all of their orig blue with one small wear spot on backstrap and some fine pinprick pitting. Grips are sound and retain a wonderful golden mellow ivory color. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore. 4-37554 JR381 (175,000-225,000)

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
	2173	$0.00	EXTRAORDINARY KORNBRATH ENGRAVED GOLD INLAID COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER, ONE OF A TRIPLET OWNED BY THE PRESIDENT OF ARGENTINA, MARCELO T. ALVEAR. SN 343200. Cal. 44 Russian & S&W Spcl. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2″ bbl, full thick front sight and 1-line Hartford address with caliber marking “RUSSIAN AND / S&W SPECIAL 44” on left side. Left front side of frame has 2-line 3-patent dates and rampant Colt without a circle. Mounted with early, period of revolver, smooth 2-pc ivory grips with deep rampant Colt medallions that have left & right sides. Accompanied by their orig matching numbered rampant Colt hard rubber grips. Revolver is beautifully engraved by master engraver Rudolph Kornbrath in his readily identifiable style of flowing floral, foliate & vine patterns. Frame has about 80% coverage with feather patterns on top strap. Top of backstrap has a fine fan pattern with a crosshatch triangle in the center, with a small foliate arabesque pattern and zig zag borders which extend completely around buttstrap. Toe of buttstrap and trigger guard are engraved with foliate arabesque patterns which are also on the shoulders of trigger guard and sides of the ears of backstrap. Foliate patterns extend up over the bbl and terminate in front of the address, with matching patterns around muzzle. Bbl has a fine gold band inlay in front of frame which extends forward to a point ahead of bbl address. Ejector rod housing has a fine climbing leaf pattern. Cyl is engraved on lands between the flutes with bowtie & foliate patterns and a narrow gold band around rear edge with an adjacent snake & dot pattern. SN is in usual place on bottom of frame and was observed on right side of front & back straps under the grip. Last four digits of the SN are on rear face of cyl. Screws are all high polish blue with no evidence of ever having been turned. The orig matching pair found in Argentina, SN’s 343199 & 343200, are pictured in full color on pp. 542 & 543 of The Colt Engraving Book Volume Two, Wilson. They are also pictured in full color on p. 146 of Steel Canvas, Wilson. Accompanied by a Colt factory letter which identifies this revolver, as found, except the type of stocks are “not listed”, which usually indicates the type of stocks being installed at the factory at the time of production which, in this case, would have meant rampant Colt hard rubber grips. Letter indicates it was factory engraved “Special engraving with gold inlay”. Shipped to Don Alfredo Gottling, Buenes Aires, Argentina on Dec. 23, 1921 in a shipment of three same type guns. Don Alfredo Gottling was Argentina’s greatest firearms importer & dealer with his shop in Buenos Aires called “La Portena”. The shop was established in 1857 and remained in business until 1972. La Portena Gun Shop imported only the finest, highest quality firearms from all of Europe and the United States and catered to the highest rungs of Argentinian society. The shop was located at 611 Rivadavia which is almost at the corner of Florida Ave. and would have been very convenient for the soon to be President to stop by on his way to government house, which he is reported to have done 15-20 days a month, to see what new merchandise had arrived. President Alvear was a serious firearms collector and a world champion pistol shooter. It is not known as of this writing whether these three revolvers were ordered by President Alvear or if Don Alfredo Gottling simply ordered them for stock and President Alvear bought all three of them, or if they had been intended as a gift to President Alvear. This revolver and its consecutive numbered companion #343199 were discovered in Argentina and purchased from the estate of Marcelo T. Alvear who was the President of Argentina 1922-1928. Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear (1868-1942) was an Argentine statesman & diplomat who was the Ambassador to France 1917-1922 and became the President of Argentina in 1922, leaving office in 1928. In 1931, for political reasons, he was barred from again running for President but was allowed to run again for the Presidency in 1937 but was defeated. The original consecutive numbered pair 343199 & 343200 were purchased together and sold to Dr. Joseph A. Murphy in the 1990’s, where they remained until about the year 2000 or 2001 when they were sold through Little John’s Auction Service to the consignor. Consignor obtained letters for these two revolvers and upon learning that they were two of a three gun shipment, he immediately begain a search for the third matching single action. By deductive reasoning he searched the Colt records and found the SN of the third gun to be #343202, one number off from the above pair. This led to a grueling international search for the missing “triplet”. In August 2008 consignor was able to purchase the third triplet from a wealthy ranching family about 1,000 miles south of Buenos Aires in the Patagonia area. He obtained clearances and arranged for an export permit, then flew to Argentina to negotiate the sale, which he concluded successfully, returning the lost triplet to the United States in August 2008. This revolver, SN 343200, is being sold in this auction as a stand alone item with the successful bidder having the option to purchase the other two matching single actions from the 1921 shipment pictured here, for the same price each. If the buyer elects to purchase all three revolvers the orig paperwork and research material will accompany. The decorative items accompanying this revolver in the photographs in this catalog are for display only and are not included in the sale of this revolver. However all these items were the property of President Alvear. PROVENANCE: Don Alfredo Gottling, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Argentine President Marcelo T. Alvear; Dr. Joseph A. Murphy; Littlejohn’s Auction Service. CONDITION: Extraordinarily fine, all matching except grips which are unnumbered. Overall retains virtually all of its orig factory finish with strong bright blue and only faint thinning on left side at muzzle edge. Frame & hammer retain brilliant case colors with no apparent fading just extremely slight thinning on bottom forward sharp edges. Cyl, which is unfired, retains virtually all of its orig factory blue with a very faint drag line. Trigger guard & backstrap retain all of their orig blue with one small wear spot on backstrap and some fine pinprick pitting. Grips are sound and retain a wonderful golden mellow ivory color. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore. 4-37554 JR381 (175,000-225,000) 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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