197

Stem bridge marked Colt SAA Revolver

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:1,250.00 USD Estimated At:NA
Stem bridge marked Colt SAA Revolver
Auction Location:

16600 Aston Street
Irvine, CA
Stembridge Marked Colt Single Action Army Revolver, #172544, .44-40 cal., 5-1/2'' barrel, blue finish, one-piece walnut grips, with single line barrel address, two-line patent dates, and definitive Stembridge ''S'' just ahead of serial number on frame of revolver. Mfg'd 1897. It is of note that Stembridge was the single largest supplier of firearms to the movie industry from the post-WWI era to the modern period. Stembridge Gun Rentals was started in about 1920 by James Stembridge and Cecil B. DeMille to supply firearms to the movie industry. After the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the commander of Fort MacArthur in Los Angeles called Stembridge and told him that he didn't think there were enough firearms at the Fort. Stembridge immediately sent over several hundred rifles and a large quantity of Thompson sub-machine guns. Individual firearms from this Hollywood armory were rented out for many different pictures, and it is not unusual to find one particul!
ar gun that was used by James Stewart in one movie and John Wayne in another. Having personally examined many Stembridge firearms in the past, this example personifies the condition and modifications of nearly all the first generation Single Actions used in the motion picture industry, namely the later overall non-factory blue. Stembridge manufactured one-piece slightly oversized wooden grip, but with minor dings and scuffs to highpoints such as front sight, heavy dragline, and replaced small parts such as sear screws and cylinder arbors. This revolver is also uniquely Stembridge in the fact that, although showing defined lands and grooves in the barrel, the erosion is quite heavy from the use of corrosive 5-in-1 movie blanks, also known as ''flash powder blanks'' mfg'd by Stembridge and loaded with black powder. Past recorded sales of Stembridge associated firearms and ephemera have realized remarkable prices for firearms such as this. Est.: $2,500-$3,500.