Designed by William Mason and Charles Brinckerhoff, Colt's factory manager and Superintendent of Engineering, the Model 1878 revolver was intended to be a double action alternative to Colt's legendary Single Action Army revolver. With 51,210 being produced, the 1878 was never nearly as popular as its single action cousin; however, there were still many that favored it in the West for its firepower, including Captain Jack Crawford, who replaced Buffalo Bill Cody as "Chief of Scouts" shortly after the Battle of Little Bighorn. Offered here is a high condition example as manufactured in 1898 and shipped out West. The accompanying factory letter states the revolver was shipped to Colt San Francisco Agency, San Francisco, California, on July 1, 1898 with a 5 1/2 inch barrel in .44 caliber, and hard rubber stocks. This was a 23 gun shipment. The barrel is stamped with the one-line Hartford address on top and stamped "COLT FRONTIER SIX SHOOTER" on the left side. The left side of the frame has an encircled Rampant Colt. These Model 1878s in .44 WCF are also very popular with today's collectors. The matching assembly number "291" appears on the grip frame and loading gate. The cylinder has the matching partial serial number "849." Provenance: Property of a Gentleman