GUN SPRING 2017
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, April 11, 2017.
RARE SMITH & WESSON COMMERCIAL FIRST MODEL SCHOFIELD SINGLE ACTION REVOLVER THAT BELONGED TO THE FAMOUS OUTLAW COLE YOUNGER.SMITH & WESSONMDL 1 SCHOLFIELD1345Cal 45 S&W. Blue finish with 7" keyhole shaped bbl, pinned half-moon front sight & V-notch rear sight in the bbl latch. Both sides of the ejector housing have Smith & Wesson address & patent dates. Mounted with smooth 2-pc walnut grips matching numbered to this revolver. Accompanied by a period, orig slim-jim russet brown leather holster with belt loop on the back attached with 4 copper harness rivets. Also accompanied by an undated, handwritten 2 page note over the signature of Mrs. George Willson which states that this revolver was given to her husbands grandfather who had been the defense counsel for Cole Younger in Northfield, MN after he was captured subsequent to the attempted holdup of a bank. She states that he (Cole Younger) "was touring the country giving talks to young men at churches and clubs and while he was in Rome, NY. My father-in-law went to the hotel to meet him". He (Cole Younger)"went and called on mother and father Willson and presented them with the gun. In later years the gun was given to my husband George F. Willson and my husband gave it to my brother Mr. Winton Wilkes". Additional information regarding this revolver is provided in a letter on Wm Dykes Antiques of Wiscasset, ME letterhead which briefly describes this revolver and provides the additional information regarding George Potter Wilson (sic) who states that Mr. Willson was the Minnesota Attorney General at the time of the Northfield, MN attempted bank holdup which resulted in the capture of Cole Younger. He states that Mr. Willson was a state Senator in 1898 and in 1899 introduced a bill known as the "Younger Bill" for the parole of life sentence prisoners. The bill was initially defeated but was reintroduced and passed. Cole Younger was paroled through the effort of George P. Willson who was also apparently responsible for Cole Younger finding employment and setting up speaking arrangements at churches and civic groups with the subject of "crime doesn't pay". It was apparently for Mr. Willson's efforts in getting Cole Younger pardoned and assisting him with employment that Mr. Younger gave this revolver to Mr. Willson. The revolver has passed down through the Willson descendants until obtained by the consignor. The information regarding the "Younger Bill" was apparently extracted from the book Biography of Minnesota and is found on page 283 of that publication under the heading of "George P. Wilson" (sic). There have been many firearms with very sketchy provenance to members of the James-Younger Gang attempted bank robbery in Northfield, MN that have come to light in past years. Only one other had any decent provenance comparable to this revolver and that was a Smith & Wesson First Model American revolver documented to another gang member, Clell Miller who was killed during the attempted robbery. According to The Blue Book of Antique American Firemans & Values, Fjestad & Allen there were 3,035 First Model Schofield revolvers produced in 1875. Three thousand of that number were sold to the U.S. Military with only 35 being civilian models, of which this revolver is one, making it one of the most rare Smith & Wesson revolvers. CONDITION: Very good, all matching including cylinder & grips. Overall retains about 40% orig blue, strong in sheltered areas, thin and turning silver elsewhere. Backstrap is a gray/brown patina. Trigger guard & hammer retain traces of faded case colors. Trigger retains about 75% orig fire blue. Cylinder is a gray/brown patina. Bottom edges of grips has a series of light marks otherwise grips are sound with a hand worn patina. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore. Holster shows heavy wear with restitching. 51438-1 JRL (50,000-70,000)