Manufactured in 1887 as an ejectorless "Sheriff's Model" variation with a desirable 2 1/2 inch barrel and acid etched barrel panel. The hammer is bobbed hammer, and the back strap is stamped "PINKERTON AGY." Included is a 1948 dated handwritten letter from Rose Anderson stating, "My grandfather George Roberson used this Colt revolver ser. #61460 while in the employment of the Pinkerton Detective Agency. He was employed by them from 1887 to 1897 when he retired. The Pinkerton Agency sold my grandfather this revolver when he retired." The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, arguable the most famous American detective agency, was founded by Scottish born Allan Pinkerton in the United States in 1850 with the first office in Chicago. Today, the company operates as a division of the Swedish security company Security AB. President Abraham Lincoln hired Pinkerton agents for his personal security during the Civil War after Allan claimed to have foiled an assassination plot against Lincoln in February 1861 in Baltimore, and from 1861 to 1865, Allan served as head of the Union Intelligence Service, the forerunner of the U.S. Secret Service. The agency became legendary during their pursuit of Jesse James, the Younger Gang, the Dalton Brothers, and Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch. When Allan died in 1884, the agency was taken over by his two sons, Robert and William. Provenance: George Roberson and Family; The Nelson A. Faerber Collection; The Charles Marx Collection

Very good with original finish, traces of the barrel acid etched panel remain, back strap exhibits brown around non-factory stamping, high edge wear on the grip. Mechanically fine.