GUN FALL 2017
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, October 31, 2017.
RARE SHAWK & MCLANAHAN BRASS FRAMED REVOLVER, SN 1. SHAWK & MCLANAHAN REVOLVER 1 36 Cal. 36. Silver plated brass frame, blue and case hardened. This rare gun was made in St. Louis, Missouri. just prior to the Civil War firm owned by Abel Shawk and J.K. McLanahan. This Navy cal. revolver, with a 7-3/4" totally rnd bbl, is based somewhat on Whitney's design and functions quite well. This gun and the original silver plated holster that always accompanied this gun had an interesting recent history. This pistol was stolen from a good client of ours, but at the time it was stolen, the gun thief could not also steal the holster, only the pistol. After the discovery of the loss of the pistol, our client put in a claim with their insurance company and collected for the loss. Most recently the crook offered the gun for auction (with a competitor). It was then that the insurance company discovered the unique gun that they had paid a settlement on. We are fortunate to have been selected by the insurance company to sell this rare and historic pistol for their account. We knew that the client still had the holster and so approached him about consigning it to this same auction. This rare, beautiful, inscribed holster will be sold immediately after this pistol is sold. Its very unfortunate that we could not reunite this holster and pistol, but as you can understand, they each belong to different individuals. We certainly hope that the winning bidder of the pistol will acquire, and once again reunite, this rare and historic pistol with the important rare and inscribed silver holster so that they can once again be together as they have been for about 150 years previously. The separate silver repoussé inscribed holster will be sold immediately after this pistol and as its description states, the inscription on the holster reads "FROM FELLOW OFFICERS / OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA / RESERVE FORCE / JAN 3RD 1865 / TO A FINE MAN AND OFFICER / BRIGADIER GENERAL / JAMES CHESTNUT CSA". This gun and silver holster are both discussed (only gun is pictured) in an article by Frank Graves December 2013 issue of Arms Heritage magazine. It together with the holster also is illustrated and discussed (both the holster and the pistol) in Topper's "Relics of South Carolina" on pg 81. Only 8 of these unique guns are known and each was handmade and finished with minor differences as noted in referenced article. This example is complete, all orig and once associated with a Confederate general. Gun is now missing its orig silver holster with Confederate inscription. This particular example is marked just like SN "2", only marked "WM. TEGETHOFF" on bbl and cylinder. Frank Graves in his exemplary research shows that Tegethoff probably designed this pistol and was an early gunsmith working for Hawkens. This is the only example known which is silver plated. PROVENANCE: Confederate Brig. General James Chestnut, January 3, 1865; Ted Meredith Collection; pictured pg 81 "Civil War Relics From South Carolina", Celeste & David Topper, 1988; Butterfield & Butterflied Auction. CONDITION: Very good overall. Bbl and cylinder retain about half their blue finish with staining and pitting. Brass frame and trigger guard 95% plus silver plate with edge wear and pitting with scattered stains, nicks and scratches. Stocks are sound and solid with strong traces of orig varnish. The last 1-1/4" of loading assembly is spliced 2-pc construction, but appears absolutely orig from its manufacture. SN "1" is only found on left side of grip frame and penciled inside each grip. Mechanically gun functions well with crisp bright bore. 52428-2 JS (20,000-30,000)