This very fine L.D./J.T.C inspected U.S. Colt Single Action Cavalry Revolver with Colt factory letter that states it was shipped to the U.S. Government Inspector at the Colt factory on December 8, 1876. The revolver has the military blue finish on the barrel, ejector housing, cylinder, trigger guard and back strap. The frame, hammer and loading gate have a color casehardened finish with vivid case colors. The one-piece walnut grip has an oil finish. The ejector rod has the bullseye head used on earlier production Single Action Cavalry Revolvers. The top of the barrel is roll-stamped with "-COLT'S PT.F.A.MFG.Co.HARTFORD.CT.U.S.A.-" found on revolvers in the 30,000-35,000 serial number range. The underside of the barrel is stamped with the "J.T.C." inspection mark of ordnance Sub-Inspector John T. Cleveland and a "P' proofmark. The left side of the frame is roll-stamped with the Colt 'Two-Date/Two-Line' patent markings and stamped with the "U.S." property mark. The bottom of the frame is stamped with the "L.D." inspection mark of Ordnance Sub-Inspector Lewis Draper. Draper's "L.D." mark is found on government-inspected Single Action frames made in 1876-1877. The side of the cylinder is stamped with a "J.T.C." sub-inspection mark and a "P" proofmark. The left grip heel is also stamped with a "J.T.C." sub-inspection mark. The left side of the grip is stamped with the date "1876" over the script "DAL" initials of Ordnance Inspector LT. David F. Lyle. The "DAL" initials are surrounded by an oval border. The lower right side of the grip is stamped with the script initials "JTC" with an oval border. The full serial number, "31855" is visible on the bottom of the revolver frame, trigger guard and back strap. The partial serial number"1855" is stamped on the side of the cylinder. The barrel serial number is covered by the ejector housing. All of the visible serial numbers match. The loading gate is stamped with the assembly number "5302". "H" Colt sub-inspection marks are stamped in the hammer well above the firing pin hole and on the rear face of the cylinder. A Colt "S" sub-inspection mark is also stamped on the rear face of the cylinder. This exact 1876 Cavalry revolver is photographed in color on pages 44, 46, and 47 of "Colt Cavalry & Artillery Revolvers" by John Kopec and H. Sterling Fenn. The caption on page 44 states, "This revolver remains today in nearly-new condition and clearly illustrates how really handsome these revolvers were when first issued. The probability of a U.S. Cavalry revolver surviving in this condition is less than 1%." Provenance: Richard R. Atkinson Collection.

Excellent. The revolver appears to be un-issued and shows only storage wear. The barrel has about 70% of the original blue finish with wear on the contact points of the left side. Nearly all of the military blue finish is present on the bottom and right side of the barrel and on the side and top of the ejector housing. The 'feathered' factory polishing marks are visible on either side of the front sight blade and above the ejector housing stud. The factory legend and Ordnance proof and inspection marks are crisp. The cylinder retains at least 90% of the original blue finish with turn marks but no firing wear. At least 90% of the original finish is present on the trigger guard and back strap. The frame, hammer and loading gate have 97% of the original color casehardened finish with fiery case colors. Most of the niter blue finish is present on the frame screws, cylinder pin and trigger. The grip is in outstanding condition with extremely crisp, un-handled, date and inspection marks and almost no handling or storage wear. All of the serial numbers, factory and Ordnance markings are extremely sharp. The action is crisp and functions perfectly. This is an outstanding example of an early production L. Draper/J.T. Cleveland inspected Indian War Colt Single Action Cavalry revolver that would be nearly impossible to improve upon and is quite possibly the finest Draper inspected U.S. Colt Cavalry known!