Colt Single Action Army revolver with Colt Factory letter that states it was shipped to W.S. Brown in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on May 22, 1927. The letter describes the revolver as caliber ".38 S&W" with a 5 1/2-inch barrel, "blue" finish, "pearl" grips and factory engraving (The Parsons list states that there are only nine standard frame Colt SAA's in this caliber). The barrel, cylinder, trigger guard and back strap have the Colt commercial blue finish and the frame, loading gate and hammer are color case-hardened. The trigger and screws are niter blue. The hammer spur has border-less knurling. The two-piece, mother-of-pearl grips are inlaid with nickel-silver Colt medallions and the right grip is relief-carved with an American Eagle motif. The revolver is decorated with factory "Grade B" scroll engraving on a lined background. The engraving and grips were executed by Colt master engraver Wilbur A. Glahn (1919-c. 1950). The top of the barrel is roll-stamped with the two-line legend: "COLT'S PT. F.A MFG. CO. HARTFORD, CONN U.S.A./ PAT'D AUG 5, 1884, JUNE 5, 1890, APR 9. 01. JULY 4, 05." in a panel formed by two blocks of engraved scrollwork. "38 COLT" is roll-stamped in an engraved rectangle on the left side of the barrel. The Colt 'Two-Line/Three-Date' patent markings are roll-stamped on the left side of the frame followed by the Rampant Colt trademark. The assembly number, "1939" is stamped on the inside of the loading gate. The assembler's mark "3"and the Colt "Triangle/VP" proof mark are stamped on the left front trigger guard bow. The full serial number, "347236" is stamped on the bottom of the frame and on the right side of the trigger guard and back strap underneath the grip. The partial serial number "7236" is stamped on the rear face of the cylinder. All of the serial numbers match.

Excellent. The revolver retains at 98% plus of the original blue and case-hardened finish and shows only very minor handling and storage wear. The engraving and factory markings are crisp and deep. The grips are in excellent condition with no discoloration. The action functions perfectly. This is a superb example of a Wilbur Glahn factory-engraved Colt Single Action Army revolver with carved, mother-of-pearl, American Eagle grips.