Lot 2225 Detail
*Rare and Historic Deluxe Engraved Colt Model 1902 Military Semi-Automatic Pistol,
Inscribed "General Victoriano Huerta"
Serial no. 35832, .38 rimless smokeless, 6-inch barrel, slide with standard markings;
blued finish, with case-hardened hammer; profusely scroll and border engraved on slide and
frame, and inscribed on top of slide: "General Victoriano Huerta",
embellishments by William H. Gough. Gough also checkered the gripstraps and engraved
shading through the slide markings. Checkered mother-of-pearl grips with deep set rampant
colt medallion inlays.
Condition: Excellent; 99% blue and case-hardening; minor marks from
handling; grips with slight brownish hue near top, but other wise strong pearl color.
Pistol appears never to have been fired.
Note: Documented in the Colt factory ledgers as .38 rimless, 6-inch barrel, blued
finish, checkered pearl grips, engraved, with inscription General Victoriano Huerta on
slide, the engraving done by W.H. Gough; shipped to Albert Foster, Jr. (Sales Manager for
the Company, at its New York office), New York, September 10, 1914. Lot accompanied by
copy of documenting letter.
The pistol is unusually profuse in its engraving, and one of the most deluxe arms in the
career of Gough with Colt's.
Compare to Model 1902 pistol no. 35751, similarly engraved and inscribed, but for
General Aureliano Blanquet (on top of slide), pictured and described R.L. Wilson, Fine
Colts The Dr. Joseph A. Murphy Collection, pages 186 and 188. That pistol is believed to
have been a gift from President Huerta, to General Aureliano. Date of shipment: September
3, 1914, to Albert Forster, Jr. Colt's records indicate that the pistol, along with no.
35832, was shipped March 13, 1914, to engraver W.H. Gough.
See also, The Stagecoach Museum book, page 42, which pictured no. 35751. These pistols
were ordered at the same time, and both were shipped to Colt's Albert Foster, Jr.
See R.L. Wilson, The Colt Engraving Book, volume II, chapter XIII, on William H. Gough,
pages 605, 607 quote from a Utica, New York , newspaper article of August 29, 1954, on
Gough: "He'll tell you . . . of the job he did on a Colt's revolver for Gen. Huerta
of General Huerta of Mexico
Estimate: $50000 - $90000
The Colt Model 1905 Automatic Pistol
by John Potocki
Click here for more info
|
