RARE & EXCITING DOCUMENTED & IDENTIFIED COLT WALKER PERCUSSION REVOLVER.

RARE & EXCITING DOCUMENTED & IDENTIFIED COLT WALKER PERCUSSION REVOLVER. SN D COMPANY 13. Cal. 44. Fine Walker with 9″ bbl, very worn German silver front sight with serial number marking on left side of bbl lug above wedge slot. Bbl address is worn away on top flat and right side of bbl lug has had “US / 1847” removed apparently in fear of confiscation and return to the government. Serial number is also found on left side of frame, trigger guard & butt strap. Cylinder number is not visible. Cylinder pin bears the number “13”, which number is also found in grip underneath front strap. Wedge is a severely battered replacement. It has brass trigger guard & iron back strap with orig 1-pc walnut grip. Rammer is a period of use replacement with horizontal latching system made of finely wrought steel with tapered rammer & handle with latching stud in a dovetail below muzzle. This rare revolver was originally the property of John Zirvas Lyendecker.(Leyendecker) Mr. Lyendecker was born in 1827 in Mallmerod, Germany and emigrated to the U.S. at age 18 arriving in Galveston, TX and moved to Laredo in 1847. He fought in the War with Mexico where he apparently obtained this revolver. Family history says that he was a hunting buddy of Sam Houston. In 1857 he married Andrea Benavides, sister of Santos Benavides. Mr. Lyendecker fought in the Civil War for the Confederacy as the Assistant Quartermaster for Santos Benavides of the Benavides Regiment of Texas Cavalry. He enlisted as a Lieutenant and was discharged in 1866 as a Captain. At the end of the war he was captured by Union forces and worked as Quartermaster for the Union Army for a short period of time. His wife, Andrea, died and sometime thereafter, August 1865, married her sister Julianna with whom he had ten children. He died in August 1902 in Laredo. John Lyendecker became a naturalized citizen in 1856 and was appointed Postmaster of Laredo in 1858. In about 1847 John Z. Lyendecker moved to a section of land about eight miles northwest of Laredo and founded the small town of Lyendecker, Texas which today is basically a ghost town. This rare Colt was discovered in the possession of a direct descendant of John Z. Lyendecker in about 1981 in the Denver area and purchased by the late, well-known historian & author, Frank M. Sellers. Mr. Sellers apparently sold it to well-known collector Don Fraser of Nutting Lake, Mass. and in a December 1982 letter details its condition and limited known history. In the last paragraph of the letter he states that the Lyendecker descendant who sold him the revolver stated that he “was living with his grandfather in the early 1930’s and remembered playing with the ‘big gun’ during that period. He later inherited it from his grandfather and sold it to Mr. Sellers. Apparently in Feb. 1991 renowned antique arms dealer & noted firearms authority, Eric Value, owned this fine Walker revolver and advertised it in the Feb. 1991 Gun Report. He notes in his advertisement that the descendant of John Lyendecker (who sold it to Frank Sellers) stated “that when he had been a kid he and his friends used to play with it, loading it with dust and then snapping the gun forward with a ‘Bang’, the dust creating the needed ‘smoke’ for real action.”. This would certainly explain the missing corners of bottom of bbl lug. After that it appears that this fine Walker revolver has graced a number of fine collections and at least one auction. It also appeared in the Texas Gun Collectors’ The Parade of Walkers 2003 and a certificate of participation is included with this lot. Also accompany this lot is a large packet of information and a number of photographs & copies of photographs of John Z. Lyendecker & the Lyendecker Family. One image shows John Z. Lyendecker in Confederate uniform with three other Confederate officers. Also included in this packet of information is a 5-page letter from noted historian & author, R.L. Wilson, detailing a lot of the above information. PROVENANCE: John Lyendecker & descendants 1847-about 1981; Frank Sellers; Don Fraser; Eric Vaule; John Gangle; J.W. Bates; Paul Sorrell; Frank Singer, private collection. CONDITION: Fine, as found. All visible numbered parts are matching. Overall retains a very dark even brown patina with scattered light spots of surface rust. Rammer & lever, as previously noted, are period of use replacements as is the wedge screw & rammer screw. Wedge may also be a very old replacement. Revolver has a matching patina with one area of moderate to heavy pitting. Right side of bbl lug has a stress crack at point of loading groove cutout. Grip is heavily worn with chipped toes & a replaced wedge at left toe and is severely shrunken but absolutely orig to this revolver. Trigger guard retains a medium dark mustard patina and back strap matches the finish on remainder of revolver. Mechanics are fine, strong bore with scattered heavy pitting. This is an extraordinary and original documented & historic Walker revolver which saw fighting during the War with Mexico and probably in the Civil War also, worthy of any fine collection or museum exhibit. 4-35472 JR368 (100,000-200,000)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 2008

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
	2256	$0.00	RARE & EXCITING DOCUMENTED & IDENTIFIED COLT WALKER PERCUSSION REVOLVER. SN D COMPANY 13. Cal. 44. Fine Walker with 9″ bbl, very worn German silver front sight with serial number marking on left side of bbl lug above wedge slot. Bbl address is worn away on top flat and right side of bbl lug has had “US / 1847” removed apparently in fear of confiscation and return to the government. Serial number is also found on left side of frame, trigger guard & butt strap. Cylinder number is not visible. Cylinder pin bears the number “13”, which number is also found in grip underneath front strap. Wedge is a severely battered replacement. It has brass trigger guard & iron back strap with orig 1-pc walnut grip. Rammer is a period of use replacement with horizontal latching system made of finely wrought steel with tapered rammer & handle with latching stud in a dovetail below muzzle. This rare revolver was originally the property of John Zirvas Lyendecker.(Leyendecker) Mr. Lyendecker was born in 1827 in Mallmerod, Germany and emigrated to the U.S. at age 18 arriving in Galveston, TX and moved to Laredo in 1847. He fought in the War with Mexico where he apparently obtained this revolver. Family history says that he was a hunting buddy of Sam Houston. In 1857 he married Andrea Benavides, sister of Santos Benavides. Mr. Lyendecker fought in the Civil War for the Confederacy as the Assistant Quartermaster for Santos Benavides of the Benavides Regiment of Texas Cavalry. He enlisted as a Lieutenant and was discharged in 1866 as a Captain. At the end of the war he was captured by Union forces and worked as Quartermaster for the Union Army for a short period of time. His wife, Andrea, died and sometime thereafter, August 1865, married her sister Julianna with whom he had ten children. He died in August 1902 in Laredo. John Lyendecker became a naturalized citizen in 1856 and was appointed Postmaster of Laredo in 1858. In about 1847 John Z. Lyendecker moved to a section of land about eight miles northwest of Laredo and founded the small town of Lyendecker, Texas which today is basically a ghost town. This rare Colt was discovered in the possession of a direct descendant of John Z. Lyendecker in about 1981 in the Denver area and purchased by the late, well-known historian & author, Frank M. Sellers. Mr. Sellers apparently sold it to well-known collector Don Fraser of Nutting Lake, Mass. and in a December 1982 letter details its condition and limited known history. In the last paragraph of the letter he states that the Lyendecker descendant who sold him the revolver stated that he “was living with his grandfather in the early 1930’s and remembered playing with the ‘big gun’ during that period. He later inherited it from his grandfather and sold it to Mr. Sellers. Apparently in Feb. 1991 renowned antique arms dealer & noted firearms authority, Eric Value, owned this fine Walker revolver and advertised it in the Feb. 1991 Gun Report. He notes in his advertisement that the descendant of John Lyendecker (who sold it to Frank Sellers) stated “that when he had been a kid he and his friends used to play with it, loading it with dust and then snapping the gun forward with a ‘Bang’, the dust creating the needed ‘smoke’ for real action.”. This would certainly explain the missing corners of bottom of bbl lug. After that it appears that this fine Walker revolver has graced a number of fine collections and at least one auction. It also appeared in the Texas Gun Collectors’ The Parade of Walkers 2003 and a certificate of participation is included with this lot. Also accompany this lot is a large packet of information and a number of photographs & copies of photographs of John Z. Lyendecker & the Lyendecker Family. One image shows John Z. Lyendecker in Confederate uniform with three other Confederate officers. Also included in this packet of information is a 5-page letter from noted historian & author, R.L. Wilson, detailing a lot of the above information. PROVENANCE: John Lyendecker & descendants 1847-about 1981; Frank Sellers; Don Fraser; Eric Vaule; John Gangle; J.W. Bates; Paul Sorrell; Frank Singer, private collection. CONDITION: Fine, as found. All visible numbered parts are matching. Overall retains a very dark even brown patina with scattered light spots of surface rust. Rammer & lever, as previously noted, are period of use replacements as is the wedge screw & rammer screw. Wedge may also be a very old replacement. Revolver has a matching patina with one area of moderate to heavy pitting. Right side of bbl lug has a stress crack at point of loading groove cutout. Grip is heavily worn with chipped toes & a replaced wedge at left toe and is severely shrunken but absolutely orig to this revolver. Trigger guard retains a medium dark mustard patina and back strap matches the finish on remainder of revolver. Mechanics are fine, strong bore with scattered heavy pitting. This is an extraordinary and original documented & historic Walker revolver which saw fighting during the War with Mexico and probably in the Civil War also, worthy of any fine collection or museum exhibit. 4-35472 JR368 (100,000-200,000) Auction: Firearms - Fall 2008 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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