EXTREMELY RARE COLT-EHLERS HOLSTER MODEL, NO. 5 TEXAS PATERSON PERCUSSION REVOLVER.

EXTREMELY RARE COLT-EHLERS HOLSTER MODEL, NO. 5 TEXAS PATERSON PERCUSSION REVOLVER. SN 611. Cal. 36. All blue finish with 7-1/2″ oct bbl, tiny German silver front sight and large letter address with star & snake at each end with broken “A” and “T” in “PATENT”, a broken “M” in “ARMS” and two breaks in the snake near the muzzle. Bbl lug is dbl scalloped with flat sides and is fitted with an Ehlers 3-pc rammer. It has 5-shot cyl with round shoulder and stagecoach holdup scene roll-marking. Frame and grip frame are blued with a capping cutout in the right recoil shield. It is mounted with a 1-pc walnut grip made from two pieces fastened together. SN was observed on the rear face of bbl lug, on the wedge, cyl rotating ring, hammer, butt strap, inside back strap and inside the butt strap channel of the grip. Cyl is not numbered, however there is no doubt that this is an authentic & orig Paterson cylinder. As most collectors & students of early Colt history are aware by about 1840 the Patent Arms Mfg. Co. under Samuel Colt was in trouble financially. Mr. Colt approached one of his board members, a fellow by the name of John Ehlers, to borrow money to support the company which Ehlers apparently complied with. What followed became a long series of heated correspondence, meetings and finally lawsuits wherein Mr. Ehlers prevailed and forced the liquidation of the Patent Arms Mfg. Co. Mr. Ehlers, as part of his settlement with Colt, received parts of 536 pistols and parts of 150-160 repeating rifles, carbines & shotguns in addition to accessories, supplies & equipment with the privilege of finishing these arms. Mr. Ehlers proceeded to finish what arms he could out of the available stocks and added the rammers as found on this and a few other revolvers. He continued the manufacturing & sales of Paterson revolvers into 1847 with advertising including his quote “improvements”. While it is unknown just how many of the Texas Patersons were fitted with the Ehlers rammer, they are quite rare and seldom encountered especially in complete unaltered configuration. It is also known that when Mr. Ehlers finished his revolvers he frequently applied the all-blue finish instead of the color case hardened frame. This is truly a fine rare example of an extremely rare percussion revolver. CONDITION: Very fine to extremely fine, all matching as noted above. Bbl retains 75-80% glossy orig blue with the loss areas flaked to a dark patina. The Ehlers rammer is a smooth dark brown patina. Frame & grip frame retain strong bright blue on sides of the frame, front & back straps, with the recoil shields a smooth dark brown patina. Cyl retains a strong plummy blue finish. Grip is sound with a couple of very minor chips in the edges and overall retains 75-80% dark orig varnish. Mechanics are crisp, very bright shiny bore. 4-41067 JR364 (150,000-200,000)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 2010

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
	2248	$172,500.00	EXTREMELY RARE COLT-EHLERS HOLSTER MODEL, NO. 5 TEXAS PATERSON PERCUSSION REVOLVER. SN 611. Cal. 36. All blue finish with 7-1/2″ oct bbl, tiny German silver front sight and large letter address with star & snake at each end with broken “A” and “T” in “PATENT”, a broken “M” in “ARMS” and two breaks in the snake near the muzzle. Bbl lug is dbl scalloped with flat sides and is fitted with an Ehlers 3-pc rammer. It has 5-shot cyl with round shoulder and stagecoach holdup scene roll-marking. Frame and grip frame are blued with a capping cutout in the right recoil shield. It is mounted with a 1-pc walnut grip made from two pieces fastened together. SN was observed on the rear face of bbl lug, on the wedge, cyl rotating ring, hammer, butt strap, inside back strap and inside the butt strap channel of the grip. Cyl is not numbered, however there is no doubt that this is an authentic & orig Paterson cylinder. As most collectors & students of early Colt history are aware by about 1840 the Patent Arms Mfg. Co. under Samuel Colt was in trouble financially. Mr. Colt approached one of his board members, a fellow by the name of John Ehlers, to borrow money to support the company which Ehlers apparently complied with. What followed became a long series of heated correspondence, meetings and finally lawsuits wherein Mr. Ehlers prevailed and forced the liquidation of the Patent Arms Mfg. Co. Mr. Ehlers, as part of his settlement with Colt, received parts of 536 pistols and parts of 150-160 repeating rifles, carbines & shotguns in addition to accessories, supplies & equipment with the privilege of finishing these arms. Mr. Ehlers proceeded to finish what arms he could out of the available stocks and added the rammers as found on this and a few other revolvers. He continued the manufacturing & sales of Paterson revolvers into 1847 with advertising including his quote “improvements”. While it is unknown just how many of the Texas Patersons were fitted with the Ehlers rammer, they are quite rare and seldom encountered especially in complete unaltered configuration. It is also known that when Mr. Ehlers finished his revolvers he frequently applied the all-blue finish instead of the color case hardened frame. This is truly a fine rare example of an extremely rare percussion revolver. CONDITION: Very fine to extremely fine, all matching as noted above. Bbl retains 75-80% glossy orig blue with the loss areas flaked to a dark patina. The Ehlers rammer is a smooth dark brown patina. Frame & grip frame retain strong bright blue on sides of the frame, front & back straps, with the recoil shields a smooth dark brown patina. Cyl retains a strong plummy blue finish. Grip is sound with a couple of very minor chips in the edges and overall retains 75-80% dark orig varnish. Mechanics are crisp, very bright shiny bore. 4-41067 JR364 (150,000-200,000) Auction: Firearms - Fall 2010 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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