GUN FALL 2017
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, October 31, 2017.
RARE AND VERY DESIRABLE FACTORY ENGRAVED CASED COLT MODEL 1848 BABY DRAGOON TRANSITION REVOLVER WITH RAMMER. COLT BABY DRAGOON 13538 .31 Cal. .31. 5" bbl, blue and case color finish with silver grip straps and burl walnut grip. Revolver is engraved overall in a vine scroll design with a fine punch dot background. The engraving has a scalloped border on frame around the recoil shield and at the rear of the bbl lug. Fine line bordering also appears on the frame and the loading lever. The engraving can easily be attributed to Joseph Delaney because of its unique style. Screws have very unique floral decoration which are also rather unique. Engraving appears on the bbl lug with a band at the muzzle, on the flat of the loading lever, frame has almost full coverage, hammer also shows a very distinct decoration that can be definitely attributed to Joseph Delaney. A Colt 1851 Navy is pictured on pg 38 of Colt Factory Engravers of the 19th Century, 2012, Houze that has the same motif. There are small punch dot marks on the bbl lug, frame and trigger guard that indicate special polish for engraving. The inspector mark "T" is usually stamped on the right rear flat of the trigger guard, but in this case, because this part was engraved, the inspector mark was moved to the right rear bow of the trigger guard.
Top bbl flat shows correct 2-line Colt New York City address bordered by dashes. SNs match on frame, bbl lug, trigger guard, backstrap, rammer and cylinder. Partial SNs appear on the arbor, wedge, and written in ink in the backstrap channel of the grip. "COLT'S PATENT" appears on the left forward side of the frame. Revolver is housed in a contemporary Colt factory casing made of mahogany with a pine bottom. Case is lined with purple velveteen. Case contains a correct Colt's Patent bullet mold, a correct eagle flask that is embossed on both sides, an L-shaped combination tool, a box of paper cartridges and a 100-cnt tin of Eley caps. There are a few conical and rnd bullets also in the case. CONDITION: Very good to fine. Bbl has a smooth grey/brown patina with some slight roughness toward the muzzle and traces of orig blue in protected areas. Bbl address was rolled slightly to the side, leaving the upper line slightly faint. Bbl address has not been polished. Engraving is sharp and unmolested. Rammer shows a hint of case color present. Frame also shows a deep grey/brown patina with no roughness. Engraving is sharp and unmolested. Trigger and backstrap retain nearly all of the orig silver finish which is common for Colt revolvers of this vintage. Cylinder shows nearly all of the rolled stagecoach scene with some erosion above the Colt's Patent mark. Patent mark is sharp. SN is sharp. 5-safety pins are intact, 2 are somewhat battered. Hammer is a grey/brown patina, engraving is sharp and unmolested. Grip retains nearly all of the piano varnish finish with slight wear at the bottom of both sides. Bore has dark stains with visible gain twist rifling. Action functions well. Cylinder locks up at full cock, half-cock is crisp. Case is very good with no cracks or breaks and a nice even patina finish. Lining is very good with some wear on partitions and on the bottom where revolver sits. Partitions are intact. Mold is very good with clean cavities and clear "COLT'S PATENT" mark. Flask is fine with no dents, sharp embossing and most of the clear lacquer finish. Combination tool is very good with nearly all of the dull blue finish. Cartridge box is wrapped and intact and appears to have cartridges inside. The Eley cap tin is also very good with most of the lacquer. The label may be a reproduction. A chance to obtain a very rare, low production factory engraved transition Baby Dragoon revolver. 49788-1 JS (8,000-10,000)