This attractive, engraved Colt Navy comes from the collections of the Texas Civil War museum and merits a place in another discerning collection. This is an early 4^th Model, serial number 89201, made in 1858. The pattern is similar to the late 3^rd Model, having no capping groove and with an enlarged loading cut out on a thick barrel lug, but using a large brass triggerguard. The metal is smooth and largely a muted silver in color with some good blue on the loading assembly and the trigger. The markings are very good: the barrel address is the typical stamped marking: “ADDRESS SAML COLT HARTFORD CT,” but with a checked border along the edges of the top flat, long dashes fore and aft, and an extended geometric and foliate arrow pointing toward the muzzle. The left frame shows an engraved Colt’s Patent marking on the left frame in a kidney shaped cartouche amid the decorative, engraved foliate scrolls.

The scrolls run along the upper side flats below the barrel address and down onto the sides of the barrel assembly, on the right coiling above the wedge and around the lever screw, all highlighted by delicate punch dot stippling on the surrounding ground. On the left the scrolls swirl over the wedge and its screw, but forward of that include a dog’s head just over the lever screw- the mix of floral and animal forms being characteristic of the Third Style of Colt engraving, dating roughly 1852 to 1865, and attributed to engravers working in the Gustave Young style or under his influence, if not done by the master engraver himself. This shows also on the hammer, which uses the typical fish-scale strip on the top and slightly abstract dog’s heads on the sides, a little rubbed, but visible.

There is little left of the cylinder scene or cylinder patent and serial number stamps, just the outlines of the latter are visible, but the engraving on the recoil shield and hammer is equally strong as that on the barrel, frame, hammer, triggerguard and backstrap. The triggerguard has engraved checks along the beveled edges of the plate, around the forward screw, matching that on the underside of the frame and barrel lug just ahead of it, with short scrolls on the shoulders and top and bottom of the backstrap, but extended on the buttstrap, not just around the screw. The engraving on the underside of the triggerguard bow shows some natural wear. Some of the screws and the back of the hammer show muted, but evident blue. The brass shows a mellow, medium, aged tone, with little sign of silvering. The ivory grips have a good surface, with the color shading to a soft yellow with some light brown toward the back on the left side and on the right a more evenly light brown tone. Both sides, and the butt show typical graining and veins, but we see only a few dark stains, a slight gap the back of the right panel along the lower backstrap, a small chip at the bottom. Please see our photos.

The serial numbers appear to all match. That on the cylinder is not discernible, but the overall condition, with natural wear to the raised surface of the cylinder, gives no impression of skullduggery or inadvertent switching of a part. Similarly, there are two short gouges to the last two digits of the serial number on the barrel lug, but the 89 and much of the 2 are clearly visible. The serial numbers, as is proper, show small punch dots indicating the pistol was set aside for special treatment. The mechanics of the pistol are good. The nipples show some corrosion, but no battering. This rates at least Very Good for condition and was an expensive pistol at the time. Engraving was an extra $5 on a Colt Navy and the ivory grips would have run another $6 on top of that. This is a very strong example of a higher grade, classic Colt M1851 Navy. [sr] [ph:L]

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