{"id":2608,"date":"2024-10-09T15:31:17","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T15:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=2608"},"modified":"2024-10-09T15:31:17","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T15:31:17","slug":"engraving-features-make-these-colts-deluxe-double-actions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=2608","title":{"rendered":"Engraving, Features Make These Colts Deluxe Double Actions"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Colt has produced some beautiful guns through a roster of master engravers whose works embellish classic 19th century firearms on into the 20th century.<\/p>\n

Cuno Helfricht and Wilbur Glahn are just two of the engravers whose relief engraving and inlays have graced Colt handguns and marveled collectors for years, and their influence is obvious on the Colt double action revolvers discussed here. Not all of these revolvers are engraved but they are definitely deluxe \u2013 and they will be available in Rock Island Auction Company\u2019s Dec. 6-8 Premier Auction in Bedford, Texas.<\/p>\n

Deluxe Double Actions and Cuno Helfricht<\/h3>\n

Cuno Helfricht served the Colt Firearms Company from 1871 to 1921, starting as an engraver the company sent to Germany to study the art, then becoming chief engraver about 1876 and serving in that role until he retired. During that time, Colt\u2019s percussion era ended and the Single Action Army rose to prominence. The company produced double action revolvers, dabbled in long guns and added semi-automatic pistols.<\/p>\n

Helfricht\u2019s style, passed on to his craftsmen, was of American scrolls and border motifs that displayed German influences. He led the engraving shop at a time when Colt\u2019s revolvers were put on display at events like the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition of 1876 where 18 Single Action Army revolvers were displayed. As demand for engraved guns faded at the turn of the 20th century, Helfricht did much of the Colt work.<\/p>\n

Engravers didn\u2019t tend to sign their work until well into the 20th century, but this Colt Model 1877 \u201cLightning\u201d double action revolver was likely finished by Helfricht given the time frame. The revolver has stunning factory scrolling \u201cNimschke star\u201d accents as well as beaded backgrounds and shell accents. The engraving extends to the back of the hammer and offers interlacing designs to the frame, trigger guard and backstrap.<\/p>\n

Deluxe Double Actions: A Colt Model 1877 Lightning sent to Wyoming<\/h3>\n

The Model 1877 was Colt\u2019s first double action revolver and the nickname \u2013 \u201cLightning\u201d \u2013 was handed down by Benjamin Kittredge, a large Colt distributor who already named the commercially available Single Action Army as the Peacemaker. The Lightning was chambered in .38 caliber, while the 1877 in .32 was dubbed the Rainmaker and the .41 caliber revolver was the Thunderer.<\/p>\n

This revolver pictured below was shipped to Cheyenne, Wyoming on Dec. 12, 1883 to Peter Bergenson, likely a misspelling of noted Cheyenne gunsmith and competition shooter Peter Bergerson, who lived in Cheyenne from 1853 to 1930. It has floral scrolling on both sides of the frame, starbursts on the recoil shield and loading gate, likely executed by Cuno Helfricht or under his watchful eye.<\/p>\n

Deluxe Double Actions: Factory Engraving<\/h3>\n

Colt offered three levels of factory engraving: \u201cA\u201d was the minimum level of engraving, followed by \u201cB\u201d which provided more coverage and \u201cC\u201d is \u201cthe most ornamental\u201d according to the company\u2019s 1932 catalog. Engraving styles changed with shop leadership. Taking over for Gustave Young, Helfricht\u2019s patterns were strongly Germanic but evolving so a more American-style scrolling was added as well as border designs and rare panel scenes for the guns produced by Colt from 1871 to 1921.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have always taken special pride and given the greatest attention to such ornamanented Arms,\u201d Colt states in a catalog of the day. \u201cSilver and gold mountings, inlays, engravings and etching of special designs that delight fastidious sportsmen are done in a separate department by skilled artisans whose work recalls the celebrated armorers of old.\u201d<\/p>\n

This Colt Model 1877 Thunderer manufactured in 1889 is an example of \u201cB\u201d level or \u201cStyle 2\u201d engraving with Germanic scrollwork on a punch dot background with double line borders. Demand for engraved firearms declined in the late 1890s. Helfricht\u2019s staff went from six regular craftsmen from 1875 to 1885 to fewer than two. By 1900 guns were only engraved by special order.<\/p>\n

The following Colt Frontier Six Shooter Model 1878 also has factory engraving but is much more ornamental, produced two years earlier than the Thunderer when it was shipped in July 1887 in .44 caliber to E.C. Meacham Arms Co. in St. Louis.<\/p>\n

Deluxe Double Actions: Surprisingly, Matthew Quigley\u2019s Frontier Six Shooter<\/h3>\n

Along with television private eye Thomas Magnum, Matthew Quigley might be one of actor Tom Selleck\u2019s most iconic characters, known for his dead eye with a Sharps Model 1874 rifle. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the film \u201cQuigley Down Under,\u201d Selleck commissioned Doug Turnbull to restore a Model 1878 Frontier Six Shooter, thinking it would be the sidearm Quigley would carry in the Australian outback. The gun is beautifully blued with only light floral scrolling surrounding \u201cM. QUIGLEY\u201d on the back strap.<\/p>\n

“While Matthew Quigley clearly had handled many revolvers of the period he was rightfully partial to Colts. Having walked in his boots and knowing this Sharps was a state-of-the-art prototype of the 1874 model, I felt over time he would have settled on the Colt 1878 Double Action,” Selleck wrote in a letter that accompanies the cased revolver.<\/p>\n

Deluxe Double Actions: Wilbur Glahn<\/h3>\n

Wilbur Glahn\u2019s family arrived in the United States in 1829 and Wilbur was born in 1888. He worked for Remington from 1905 to 1919 before joining Colt where he worked in the factory until 1923 when he set up a home workshop but engraved primarily for Colt. Among his work were revolvers for the King and Queen of Siam and the Prince of Wales. He also engraved pieces for cowboy actor Tom Mix, stripper Sally Rand, as well as for Texas Rangers including Frank Hamer. For Auto Ordnance he engraved a silver plaque mounted on a Thompson submachine gun that was presented to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. His death in 1951 was the end of the Germanic engraving family dynasties.<\/p>\n

The Officer\u2019s Model introduced in 1904 was a medium frame double action target revolver and served as Colt\u2019s premium revolver until the Python came out in 1955. The second issue had an improved action based on the Army Special of 1908. The revolver was produced until 1972. The following revolver was part of the \u201cThe Colt Officers Model Revolver 1904-1971\u201d display at the 2014 Colt Collectors Association show.<\/p>\n

Deluxe Double Actions: Colt Police Positive<\/h3>\n

The Police Positive arrived in 1907 and was produced until 1973. This gun had an internal hammer block safety that Colt called the \u201cpositive\u201d lock. The cylinder rotated clockwise and Colt marketed that as a difference with Smith & Wesson that rotated the opposite direction, advertising \u201cAll Colt cylinders TURN TO THE RIGHT.\u201d The advertising implied the cylinder locked up tighter with the frame for better barrel alignment. The positive lock prevented the firing pin from striking the primer of the cartridge unless the trigger was deliberately pulled, preventing accidental discharge. This allowed all six chambers to be loaded.<\/p>\n

Deluxe Double Actions: Detective Special<\/h3>\n

The Detective Special is a small frame revolver with a two-inch barrel and swing-out cylinder based on the Police Positive that was introduced in 1927. The first modern \u201csnubnose\u201d revolver, its pocket size made it a preferred revolver for police detectives, undercover officers and as an off-duty carry. Because of its intended use as a working gun, it is rare to encounter a factory engraved Detective Special. Smith & Wesson didn\u2019t have anything to compete with the Detective Special until 1950 when the company released the Model 36, or Chief Special.<\/p>\n

Deluxe Double Action: Fitz Special<\/h3>\n

John Henry Fitzgerald, or \u201cFitz,\u201d was a bare-knuckle boxer and champion pistol shooter who worked for Colt in a number of roles from 1918 to 1944. He published a book on shooting and developed the concept of a gun that would be the prototype of the Detective Special in the 1920s. His gun had a 2-inch barrel with a shortened ejector rod, the front half of the trigger guard was cut away, the hammer spur was bobbed and the butt was also rounded to prevent snagging when pulling from a pocket. Fewer than 200 were made and were only done at special request for law enforcement officers or FBI agents.<\/p>\n

Tom Selleck\u2019s character on \u201cBlue Bloods,\u201d Frank Reagan, carries a Fitz Special, the third generation of police officer to do so since it was given to him by his father who, in turn, had received it from his father.<\/p>\n

The gun shown below was shipped to Col. Lynn G. Adams, with the Pennsylvania State Police who bought it for his friend, Col. William G. Fisher. The factory letter reports that it was shipped as a \u201cFitzgerald cutaway special\u201d when it was sent to Adams in 1939.<\/p>\n

Deluxe Double Actions for Sale<\/h3>\n

Deluxe means sumptuous or luxurious and the previously mentioned Colt double action revolvers certainly meet that definition, whether it is through engraving, restoration, or special orders. Nicely embellished Wild West guns, an improbably engraved 20th century wheelgun, a super special order and one from a Hollywood star\u2019s collection, are among the deluxe double action Colt revolvers in Rock Island Auction Company\u2019s Dec. 6-8 Premier Auction.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/h3>\n

\u201cSteel Canvas, The Art of American Arms,\u201d by R.L. Wilson<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s a Fitz Special? Yesterday\u2019s Cutting-Edge Gun Designs of Tomorrow,\u201d by T. Logan Metesh, American Handgunner<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Colt has produced some beautiful guns through a roster of master engravers whose works embellish classic 19th century firearms on into the 20th century. Cuno Helfricht and Wilbur Glahn are just two of the engravers whose relief engraving and inlays have graced Colt handguns and marveled collectors for years, and their influence is obvious on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2609,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2608\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}