181

Colt 1851 Navy revolver, .36 caliber percussion, serial number 32488 in fair to good condition showi

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Firearms & Armory Start Price:3,750.00 USD Estimated At:7,500.00 - 15,000.00 USD
Colt 1851 Navy revolver, .36 caliber percussion, serial number 32488 in fair to good condition showi
All items are as is, no warranty or claims and All SALES ARE FINAL. Please examine prior to bidding as it is the bidder's responsibilty to establish condition, age, genuineness, value or any other determinative factors.
Colt 1851 Navy revolver, .36 caliber percussion, serial number 32488 in fair to good condition showing a deep brown patina finish with back strap script engraved “Frank James”. The Navy is accompanied by an old paper tag identifying this Navy and the accompanying holster as being purchased from the family with other belongings in 1939 by noted Midwest collector Dr. J. S. De Jarnette. The accompanying folder shows very old black-and-white photos with identification numbers which we know to be of the type used by the De Jarnette collection for inventory purposes. There is a tin type of a lady identified as Zerelda James holding a baby and missing her right arm and also a photograph of an American Standard tool hideout pistol identified to Jesse James. Included is also a book entitled “Life and Adventures of Frank and Jesse James” by J. A. Dacus printed by the W. S. Bryan in 1880. With a tooled leather flap holster showing old repairs and tie down added. We have been familiar with this Navy Colt for more than 35 years as a Southern California dealer in the 1970s bought the majority of the De Jarnette collection from his heirs. Dr. De Jarnette began his collection before the turn-of-the-century and had the opportunity to meet many James family members and people that knew them. There was a pamphlet published on his collection over 50 years ago but we have not been able to locate or find this or any other research on this pistol. In collecting historic artifacts particularly outlaw items they are almost never provable beyond a shadow of a doubt. A collector must put his faith in the previous collectors who obtained it, maintained it and exhibited it. Most of the old Master paintings are authenticated by exhibition history and provenance alone as the majority are not signed and cannot be proven by period documentation. Gale and Kim Kennedy Collection. Est.: $7,500-$15,000.