Page 133 - Auction84-Book1

Outstanding Documented Gustave Young Engraved Colt Model 1849 Pocket Revolver with Extremely Rare and Desirable Pipe Case
Gustave Young,” and the case is noted as “unique” and “superbly crafted leather,
lined with silk in the lid and in velvet in the base. Known to collectors as the
‘pipe style,’ this is one of the rarest of all percussion Colt casings.” The engraving
is certainly in keeping with the patterns known to be used by Gustave Young
and seen in Wilson’s publications on Colt engraving. Note the overall style and
quality of the engraving as well as his signature wolf head motif on the hammer.
While Young often situated animal heads among the scrolls, this revolver is
noteworthy for having two eagle heads on the left side: one in the scrolls on the
barrel and another on the recoil shield. The scrolls patterns also feature excellent
floral blooms as well as some shell accents at the base of the barrel lug and top
and sides of the back strap. The “Saml Colt” marking on the barrel and “COLTS/
PATENT” marking on the left side of the frame are hand engraved as is often seen on Gustave Young engraved Colts. The revolver has a small brass cone front sight, the stagecoach holdup scene on
the cylinder, “3” on the left side of the barrel lug and the cylinder, a dot by the main serial numbers indicating selection for factory engraving, and a highly attractive one-piece grip. All of the visible serial numbers match. The equally rare case is as described above and has small containers for caps, cartridges, and spare nipples. In “The Book of Colt Engraving,” Wilson notes, “Casings in this style for Colt revolvers are the utmost rarity.”
CONDITION: Exceptionally fine. 85% plus of the bright original high polish blue finish remaining on the barrel and cylinder. The cylinder retains a crisp roll-scene and all of the safety pins and shows only minor drag lines.
131
LOT 265
Extraordinary and Exceptionally Well-Documented Gustave Young Master
Factory Engraved Colt Model 1849 Pocket Percussion Revolver with One-Off
Fitted Pipe Casing Formerly in the William M. Locke Collection - Serial no. 59826, 31 cal., 6 inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened/silver finish, antique ivory grips. The Model
1849 Pocket was the most popular 19th century Colt revolver and remains very
popular with collectors. People often think of the famous Single Action Army as
the Colt revolver that dominated the 19th century, but the Colt 1849 Pocket was
carried by thousands of men and women across the United States and abroad
before the Single Action Army was even contemplated and formed a strong
foundation for Colt’s success. This model is known to have been very popular in
the gold fields of the West and the cities of the East alike, and while more of this
model were made than any other during the century, high condition, factory
engraved ‘49 Pockets are rare and valuable. This ‘49 Pocket from 1853 remains
in extraordinarily fine condition and has been owned by some of the most well-
respected firearms collectors: Jerry D. Berger, Fred E. Hines, William M. Locke,
and Robert M. Lee. It and its case are pictured on page 54 of “The Book of Colt
Engraving” in the chapter on Gustave Young, page 76 of “The William M. Locke
Collection” by Sellers and pages 178-179 of “The Art of the Gun: Magnificent
Colts- Selections from the Robert M. Lee Collection Vol. 1.” In the first book,
the revolver is noted as engraved with the style listed in the records as No. 2,
and in the latter, the engraving on the revolver is described as “attributable to
AS PICTURED AND DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK OF COLT ENGRAVING & MAGNIFICENT COLTS BY WILSON AND THE WM. M. LOCKE COLLECTION BY SELLERS