GUN FALL 2016
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, October 4, 2016.
RARE AND HISTORIC PAIR OF COLT FLUTED ARMYS OF LT. JOHN LOW, CSN, USED ON THE CSS ALABAMA, GREAT PROVENANCE AND HISTORY.COLT1860923/95944Cal. 44. Standard configuration, Colt Model 1860 fluted Army's shipped to Richmond, VA April 15, 1861 according to Colt factory letter, both guns in same shipment. Other research by John Parsons noted that these guns with others were indeed shipped to Peter Williams & Co., Richmond, VA via Adams Express, April 15, 1861, fully 3 days after the start of the Civil War. Guns in this shipment range in SN from 161 to as high as 1812; the 500 guns in this shipment were shipped to the State of Virginia, but taken by Government of the Confederate States showing how a Confederate naval officer would have received these guns. Later Captain, then Lt. John Low, carried these guns throughout the Civil War after he received his commission in the Confederate Navy in 1861. Ironically, Captain Raphael Semmes also of CSS Alabama fame, carried a fluted Colt Army which is displayed at the Museum of the Confederacy for over 100 years. These guns were photographed along with Low's regulation Confederate navy sword, belt and uniform at the home of his grandson, Malcolm F. S. Low, Cheshire England and published in Stanley Hoole's text Four Years in the Confederate Navy, The Career of Captain John Low, 1964. Stanley Hoole, Professor of History at the University of Alabama started his research on the CSS Alabama in 1957 finding himself "comfortably seated before an open fire in the home [of great-grandson of Captain John Low] in Oxton, England." The great-grandson soon took me "over to the home of his Uncle Malcolm F. W. Low who lives on nearby Cearns Road, and there in his closet, as neat and tidy as it had been put their yesterday, hung the very uniform John Low had worn as a Lieutenant on the Alabama a century before. Uncle Malcolm also proudly displayed the Captain's pistols and sabre, several orig documents from Semmes and from Commander James D. Bulloch, written in 1864 and 1865, and other mementos, each of which we in turn handled with fond care and I with added awe." The orig logs kept by Lt. Low on the Alabama July 28, 1862 thru June 20, 1863 and summarized in Hoole's text speak of the numerous vessels captured by the Alabama, an amazing 180 vessels with value of over three and half million dollars; several of the encounters were met with vigorous resistance with accounts "fierce firing...at close range-so close, indeed that both sides used muskets and pistols..." There is little doubt that this pair of pistols saw use in some of these encounters. John Low spent the remainder of his life in England where he became a prosperous and influential citizen. Hoole, pg 118-119 "Throughout his life, Captain Low was identified as a Confederate - the man who had sailed with Semmes on the fabulous Alabama. His uniform, sabre, pistols and the logbook he wrote while on the Alabama and the Tuscaloosa were meticulously kept and not infrequently displayed..." ..."small wonder that Captain John Low was known during his post-war years as the "Devil of the Alabama". These guns were retained by the Low family from several generations until sold as part of the Estate of Miss Doreen Low at Sotheby Parke-Bernet sale in 1983. Accompanying this lot is a copy of Stanley Hoole's text and the August 1984 issue of The Gun Report with cover story on these pistols written by John G. Hamilton in 1984. PROVENANCE: Lt. John Low, CSN, 1861; Herbert A. Low, 1906; Miss Doreen Low; sold at Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London, 1983; Alan Beadle, London; John Hamilton Collection, 1984; Craig Hamilton. CONDITION: Guns are very good "as found". They show the care that the generations of Low's provided to maintain them, smooth grey metal overall, cleaned with traces of finish in protected areas, staining and pitting. Guns were not disassembled and appear 100% orig and matching. Markings are all discernible, though bbl address on SN 923 is weak and only about 50-70% easily read. Grips are sound, well fit, retaining most of their orig factory varnish. Mechanically, guns have crisp actions and bright, shiny bores with crisp rifling. 51012-1 JS (25,000-50,000)