The accompanying factory letter lists this revolver with a 5 ½ inch barrel in .38 Colt (a factory error as the 5 1/2 inch barrel in .38 Special on this SAA is original), blue finish, and “wood” stocks when shipped to Ed McGivern of Lewiston, Montana, on October 25, 1935. Ed McGivern (1874-1957) was a famous and colorful exhibition shooter, expert firearms witness, law enforcement defensive shooting instructor in the early 20th century, and the author of "Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting" (1938) of which a first edition and a 1984 anniversary edition are included. At one time he was dubbed "The Fastest Gun in the World" and his feats of speed and trick shooting were legendary in the shooting industry. He held many records in his day for fast and accurate shooting and still holds some, such as drawing and firing 5 shots into a 1 inch group at 20 feet in less than half a second (recorded as 9/20th of a second in August 1932). He could shoot dimes thrown into the air and preformed fast shooting demonstrations with guns in each hand. He preferred double action revolvers and claimed he could shoot faster with a revolver than any semi-automatic pistol could keep up with. In fact, his rate of fire is said to be faster than an AK-47. One of his recorded stunts was hitting a can thrown roughly 20 feet in the air six times with a Colt double action revolver before it hit the ground. He is also known to have presented some Colts at events and did events for Colt. One story he told according to the News-Chronicle on February 16, 1943, was that he once went to Colt's factory to do an exhibition, and one of the higher level officials was surprised at his short stature and asked if he really was the famous trick shooter, to which he replied, "Who the hell do you think I am, Tom Mix!?" Elmer Keith said McGivern was "the fastest and finest double-action revolver shot that ever lived and probably ever will." He even helped develop some of the early pistol training courses and defense shooting techniques for the fledgling FBI. To help document his shooting abilities he even developed his own set of testing and timing equipment to document the speed with which he shot. Many of his Colt and Smith & Wesson handguns are on display in the National Firearms Museum. Very few of his guns are in private hands today. This SAA is pictured in the October 1974 issue of American Rifleman on the top of page 24 (a copy of the page is included). This SAA features a high arched hammer with smooth spur (no checkering or knurling) designed for “hand fanning" of the action and deluxe fleur-de-lis pattern checkered walnut grips. The barrel has the one-line Hartford address on top and "COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY 38 SPECIAL" on the left side. The left side of the frame has the two-line patent dates marking followed by a Rampant Colt. Matching serial numbers are on the frame, trigger guard, back strap, both grip panels and cylinder (“61”). The back of both grip panels are also marked with the number “3” in pencil. Comes with an unmarked brown leather holster.

Excellent plus overall with 99% of the original bright blue finish with just light cylinder drag lines. The frame and loading gate area are also excellent with a solid 99% of the vivid original casehardened finish with just a hint of fading on the loading gate, probably from handling. The grips are also in excellent plus condition with nice sharp checkering. Mechanically excellent. The holster is fine with minor handling/storage marks. Even without all the historical attachment with this pistol, the condition is just an outstanding, certainly a one-of-a-kind historical pistol in exceptional condition. Certainly this is one of those beautiful and historic pistols that is for the advanced Colt SAA Collector. You can't afford to miss it, as it will only come around once! Acquisition of this Colt SAA for one's collection is paramount.