2129

RARE COL. COLT PRESENTATION ENGLISH ENGRAVED CASED COLT 2ND MODEL 1851 NAVY PERCUSSION REVOLVER.

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Firearms & Armory Start Price:35,000.00 USD Estimated At:70,000.00 - 90,000.00 USD
RARE COL. COLT PRESENTATION ENGLISH ENGRAVED CASED COLT 2ND MODEL 1851 NAVY PERCUSSION REVOLVER.
SN 207. Cal. 36. Blue & color case hardened with 7-1/2" oct bbl, brass pin front sight and New-York City address. Left side of bbl lug & cyl have British proofs. Left side of frame has "COLT'S PATENT" engraved in an ellipse. Cyl is usual 6-chambers with Ormsby Naval Battle scene roll marking and has all six safety pins serviceable. The silver plated brass trigger guard & backstrap contain a beautiful burl, deluxe, 1-pc walnut grip with matching SN in backstrap channel. Trigger guard is very small and square back and is a 2nd type revolver with screw over the wedge and a slotted cyl spindle with a thin lug. This beautiful revolver is wonderfully English engraved with very fine foliate arabesque patterns in full coverage on both sides of frame with foliate & floral patterns on recoil shields. Engraving extends over bbl lug and top side flats with matching patterns on rammer pivot and around muzzle. Bottom of rammer handle is engraved in leaf & vine patterns. Top of backstrap, backstrap ears and heel of backstrap, along with buttstrap & trigger bow are engraved to match the frame. The trigger guard is stamped with a small "2" below the SN. Accompanied by its orig English oak casing with brass medallion inlay engraved in period script "Presented / to / Park Pittar Esqr. / by / Col. Colt". Inside is lined in burgundy velvet and compartmented in bottom for the revolver, a Barlow bag shaped flask, a brass 2-cavity bullet & ball "COLTS PATENT" mold with sprue cutter, a lacquered tin of Eley's caps, an L-shaped nipple wrench/screwdriver, a pewter oil bottle, two combustible cartridges, a spare hammer spring and cast lead bullets & balls. It also has an orig functioning key. Items presented from "Col. Colt" are the most rare of the presentation Colts and are extremely rare on English items. Park or Parke Pittar was born in Dec. 1814 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and died in 1884 at age 69. He was a businessman, entrepreneur and investor in a variety of companies; one of which was the Charles, Nephew & Co. in Calcutta, India which he and his uncle Charles Pittar founded in 1848 assuming the business of an older uncle. They were jewelers, watch makers, gold and silversmiths and became extremely prominent for high quality goods. They opened an additional shop in Simla, India and were also agents for the famous London firm of Elkington & Co. According to research material provided by the consignor, it seems likely that Col. Colt probably became acquainted with Park Pittar during the 1851 Crystal Palace World Exhibit in London. It is known that Col. Colt either sold or provided Dragoon revolvers numbers 10222 and 10223 which were also in the exhibit, to Charles, Nephew & Co. which is inscribed on the rear of the trigger guard. It is speculated that Col. Colt, not wanting to have his approx. 500 firearms inspected and marked by the Tower of London, possibly defacing or damaging them, agreed not to sell any of his displayed firearms within England, but it is believed that he sold and presented a number of those arms to high ranking political persons, military officers and other important people who could aid in promoting his company outside of England. Charles, Nephew & Co. of Calcutta was just such an entity and it is known that they did distribute firearms. So, the logical conclusion is that once the exhibit was finished Col. Colt presented the 1851 Navy being sold here to Mr. Pittar, probably in about 1853. Included in the information provided is a list of seven 1851 London Navy revolvers that are engraved and/or presented, including this revolver with only two having the square-backed trigger guards and the other 5 having small rnd trigger guards. SN 209 is listed as being engraved and nearly identical to this revolver and it also has a small square-back trigger guard. This information is compiled by renowned English collector and dealer Pete Holder. There is also a 1993 dated letter from renowned collector/dealer Joseph G. Rosa wherein he discusses the nearly identical similarity between this revolver and SN 209. He states that the use of the square-back trigger guard intermittently in these early English Navys was simply cleaning up old parts. Additionally accompanied by a handwritten letter from renowned Colt researcher and author, R.L. Wilson, wherein he describes the gun and states that it was presented in 1853. There is a plethora of information regarding the family and history of Park Pittar and some of his business dealings. CONDITION: Very fine to extremely fine. Bbl retains 70-75% glossy orig blue with some light cleaning on both side flats; rammer & handle retain about all of their orig case colors, moderately faded; frame retains about 50-60% faded case colors and the hammer smoky case colors; cyl retains 60-70% strong English blue and about 95% Ormsby Naval Battle scene with one cleaned area and one thin spot; trigger guard & backstrap retain just about all of their orig silver plating, a little thin on the heel with brass showing through on trigger guard. Grip is sound with a few light nicks & dings, showing light edge wear and retains most of its orig varnish. Mechanics are fine, strong sharp bore with a few small scattered spots of pitting. Case is extremely fine with only a few minor nicks & scratches and retains virtually all of its orig varnish; interior is heavily faded to a light rose color with moderate soil; flask retains most of its orig. finish on the body and about 60% gold wash on collar & spout; mold is crisp with balance of accessories fine. A truly exceptional & rare set. 4-48355