Confederate Dragoon style, .44 caliber, percussion revolver manufactured by J.H. Dance & Brothers in Columbia, Texas, c. 1862-63. This revolver features a flat frame with no recoil shields that distinguishes both the .44 and .36 caliber Dance revolvers from other Confederate handguns. The revolver has a 7 7/8 inch round Colt Dragoon style barrel with seven lands and grooves and a brass front sight blade. The wedge lacks a retaining spring. The six shot cylinder is slightly more than 1 7/8 inches long with rectangular stops, six safety pins and a groove around the front edge. The left side of the frame has a shallow cap release groove. The hammer spur is smooth. The revolver has a brass back strap and thick, square profile trigger guard. The one-piece grip is oil-finished walnut. The barrel and cylinder have a commercial quality blue finish. The loading lever, wedge and frame are casehardened with muted case colors. The hammer is fire blue. The revolver, correctly, has no manufacturer's markings. The full serial number "269" is stamped: (1) on the bottom of the barrel lug, (2) left side of the loading lever, (3) bottom of the frame, (4) trigger guard ahead of the bow, (5) bottom of the back strap, (6) side of the cylinder and (7) left side of the hammer. The partial serial number "69" is stamped on the inside face of the loading lever latch. All of the visible serial numbers match. The wedge is not serial numbered. This revolver is pictured on page 76 of "Confederate Revolvers" by William A. Gary with the caption: "An un-fired, mint condition Dance that is no doubt the finest in existence". Unfortunately author Gary lists the serial number as "296" rather than "269", but the marks on the right side of the grip of this revolver match the photograph perfectly. Included with this revolver is a copy of "Confederate Revolvers" with the inscription: "To Bob Bretherton/owner of the best dance/of all (page 76)/Best Wishes/Bill Gary/2-21-88".

Excellent. The revolver appears to be un-fired and has no flash pitting on the percussion nipples, cylinder, hammer, frame or breech. The barrel retains at least 90% of the original blue finish with some thinning on the lug. The loading lever has 90% of the muted case colors intact. The cylinder has several minor scratches and age spots but retains nearly 95% of the blue finish. There are minimal drag lines between the cylinder stops. All of the percussion nipples are in excellent condition. One safety pin is flattened and one pin is slightly battered but the other four pins remain in excellent condition. The distinctive flat-side frame retains more than 95% of the muted case colors. The hammer retains about 70% of the delicate fire blue finish. The brass trigger guard and back strap have a good-looking patina; wear is limited to a few scattered spots of age discoloration The oil finished walnut grip is in excellent condition; wear is limited to several very minor dents and scratches on the right side which are visible in the photograph of this revolver in "Confederate Revolvers". The frame, grip and trigger guard screws have minimal screw-driver wear. The hammer will not hold at either full or half-cock which may explain why this revolver remains in extraordinary condition after more than 150 years. Irrespective of the mechanical condition, this is the best condition Confederate revolver of any make ever offered for sale by the Rock Island Auction Company and one of the finest Confederate-made revolvers extant. The Dance .44 caliber Dragoon style revolvers are the most impressive of all the Confederate-made handguns. This is an exceptional revolver that would impossible to improve upon.