GUN SPRING 2016
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/14/2016
INCREDIBLY RARE SAMUEL COLT PRESENTATION CASE FOR A MODEL 1855 ROOT REVOLVER PRESENTED TO ELISHA KING ROOT.Spectacular rosewood case of unusual design and configuration. Case measures 10-1/8" long x 6" wide and 3" deep, silver bound with a large escalloped plaque in the lid, which undoubtedly was engraved by Gustave Young with very fine flourishes of foliate arabesque patterns and a full chip & dot border. The inscription is quite large in script: "Presented to / E. K. Root / by Col. Saml Colt / Prest Colts Pt F. A. Mfg. Co / May 16th 1857". Corners of the case are bound with 3 silver straps & it has an engraved escalloped lock escutcheon. Interior is extremely unusual with an inside glass lid framed in rosewood, secured with sliding silver latches; lock & hinges are also silver. Interior, inside the lid & bottom have been relined in cream colored chamois leather. This case was part of a set presented to Mr. Root upon his resignation & retirement as the Superintendent of the Colt plant, a position he had held from 1849. Prior to coming to work for Colt, Mr. Root had been the Superintendent of the Collins Axe Factory, in which position he had reorganized and made the company into a leading producer of cutting tools. At the time Mr. Root moved to Colt, he became the highest salaried person in the State of Connecticut. Elisha Root was without peer in the design & implementation of manufacturing machinery with some of the machines he designed for Colt still being used today. Mr. Root is credited with the design of the Model 1855 revolver & revolving rifle, along with assisting in the design of innumerable other firearms and machinery. Samuel Colt and the Board of Directors of the company regarded Mr. Root so highly that when he tendered his resignation for health reasons, the Board of Directors ordered "that in testimonial (of his valuable and faithful services) and in testimonial thereof (he be presented) a full and complete set of all the different kinds of arms manufactured by the company made and finished in the best style be presented to him". Currently there are only a few sets of these firearms known with the remainder yet to be discovered. Elisha Root was so well respected and held in such high regard by Mr. Colt that upon Samuel Colt''s death in 1862, Mr. Root was selected as one of his 8 pallbearers and then became the President of Colt, a position he held until his death in 1865. During those years as president, Colt reportedly produced as many firearms as had previously been produced by the company in total. Mr. Root''s genius as a designer and superintendent obviously extended to relationships with his working personnel in the plant. Reportedly, when this case first came to light, its interior had been reconfigured and a subsequent owner restored it to conform to the interior of other known E. K. Root presentation cases. Unfortunately, the whereabouts of the orig revolver is unknown. Accompanied by a 40-pg letter from renowned author & Colt historian R. L. Wilson. SIZE: CONDITION: Very fine, as noted. Left bottom edge of the case end is missing a corner reinforcement and a sliver of veneer, with some other chips of veneer missing on the right end. Otherwise, case is sound with nicks, dings & scratches and retains about 90% orig varnish. Interior is also fine. 50142-15 JS108 (20,000-30,000)