May 18, 2022 Extraordinary Firearms
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/18/2022
1907 Vintage Colt Single Action Army revolver, serial number 298413. 4 - 3/4" barrel marked with roll-die inscription on left side "COLT FRONTIER SIX SHOOTER .44-40". Correct 2-line barrel address "COLTS PT. F.A.MFG. Co. / HARTFORD.CT. U.S.A.". Chambered in .44-40 WCF cartridge. Blue with case hardened frame and hammer. Left side of frame marked with 2-line, 3 patent dates, and Rampant Colt motif in circle. 2-piece Mother of Pearl grips. Shipped to S.E. Aldrich c/o McIntosh Hardware Co. Albuquerque, New Mexico on August 19, 1907 in a shipment of 3 guns of the same type. Stephen E. Aldrich was born on April 25, 1845 in Cranston Rhode Island. During the Civil War, he enlisted in Battery E, 1st Rhode Island Artillery on March 15, 1865, and served during the latter part of the war. In 1870 he enlisted in the 3rd United States Cavalry and was sent to Arizona. Later was assigned to Company D, Sixth U.S. Cavalry, where he served in most the Indian campaigns from 1870-1880. Leaving the military, he was in the cattle business in Arizona until 1882 when he moved to Manuelito, New Mexico, and was engaged in the mercantile business for the next 30 years. Mr. Aldrich was a staunch supporter of the Republican party and is noted for serving his party with honor and trust. In 1903 and 1904 he was county commissioner of McKinley County, New Mexico. In 1907 he was a member of the New Mexico House of Representatives. In 1909 and 1910 he was trustee of the town of Gallup, New Mexico, and from 1908-1911 was a member of the territorial republican central committee. In the November 5, 1892 edition of the Albuquerque New Mexico paper the "Evening Citizen" is an article reporting several thousand Navajo Indians in Manuelito were threatening an uprising and bodily harm to the local Indian Agent and anyone else tempting to get their children to attend the agency school or any other government school. This was a very tense event alerting the local militia. The article also reports S.E. Aldrich sent a telegram to merchant Mandell Bros. & Co. telling them to ship him on the next train a dozen Winchester Rifles and 4,000 rounds of ammunition, which was delivered to him the next day in Manuelito, speculative to arm the Militia. Interesting to note that a recent book was published in 2009 titled "High Desert Adventures of Stephen E. Aldrich" CONDITION: Excellent overall with 85-90% original blue remaining. Strong case color on frame and hammer beginning to fade. Nice unmolested original screws. Pearl grips fit very well showing little wear. Action is tight and crisp. Bore is bright. Overall a very interesting pre-war Colt SAA that deserved further research. -MKS-
Model
Frontier Six Shooter