Page 132 - 83-BOOK1

“The completion of six NMA revolvers in 1864 was recorded in Colt’s financial ledgers. One pair was charged to the Presentation Account along with four individual pistols, two of which were also charged to
that account. The other two revolvers were also presentations, but they were paid for by Mr. Jarvis. To the author’s knowledge, none of these pistols have been found.” Pate also notes six revolvers from 1864
with the “IE” or “I.E.” markings in his survey of 153 revolves in the 146000- 154000 range, and he indicates they were all engraved and also notes that two had ebony grips. The consecutive pair, 151388 and 151389, are pictured on page 262 of “The Colt Engraving Book Volume 1” by R.L. Wilson and were owned by Major General Joseph R. Hawley of Connecticut. Pate indicates that pair of revolvers was contributed by Secretary Thomas J. Fales for fundraising for a soldiers’ home in Hartford in 1865. In Pate’s Appendix B, among the shipments noted is a revolver sent to the “New York Sanitary Fair” (Metropolitan Fair) that was charged to the presentation account and noted as cased and engraved, perhaps our present revolver given its owner appears to have been from New York. The Metropolitan Fair was the largest of the of the fairs organized by the United States Sanitary Commission and raised more than $1.3 million for the Union Army. The nearly consecutive 151385 is also known and was owned by Second Lieutenant Huntington Frothingham Wolcott of Massachusetts; it too has
the same style of engraving and an ebony grip. Given this, 151386 was also likely one of these engraved revolvers with ebony grips. As noted, this revolver features the classic late vine scroll. This style omits the punched/beaded
backgrounds used on earlier revolvers and consists of intaglio floral scroll patterns. There are also shell accents and
a wolf head on the hammer. The engraving was likely executed by Georg H. Sterzing. In “Colt
Factory Engravers of the Nineteenth Century,” Herbert Houze attributes the engraving of
Grant’s revolver and the pair owned by Hawley as engraved by Sterzing. The revolver has the
factory “IE” marking by the serial numbers on the barrel, frame, hammer, trigger guard, and butt indicating factory engraving and a special grip.
All of the serial numbers on the various metal components match. Out of caution, the grip
was not dismounted, but we feel very confident it would be numbered to the gun as well. The
barrel is marked “-ADDRESS COL. SAML COLT NEW- YORK U.S. AMERICA-.” The frame has the “COLTS/
PATENT” marking in a banner, and “44 CAL” is on the left side of the trigger guard. It is mounted with a high polish ebony grip. The case contains a “COLTS/ PATENT” martial themed flask with sloped spout, a
Hazard Powder Co. marked cartridge pack, L-shaped combination tool, key, blued “COLTS/PATENT” and “44H” marked bullet mold, pawl, trigger spring, Eley Bros. cap tin, and several lead balls. The lid escutcheon on the case
containing this revolver is inscribed “George W. Bruen./ Maj. A.D.C./10th Army Corps.” The inscription indicates
Major George W. Bruen was an aide-de-camp in the 10th
SIMILAR EXAMPLES PICTURED AND
DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK THE COLT ENGRAVING BOOK, VOL. I BY WILSON
130