Documented Alvin White Master Engraved and Gold Inlaid Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum 1996 Gala Special Colt Single Action Army Revolver Originally the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage Museum, the Autry Museum of the American West known simply as The Autry is located in Los Angeles, California, and was founded in 1988 by legendary cowboy actor and businessman Gene Autry (1907-1998). Today, The Autry boasts a diverse collection of more than 600,000 artifacts related to the American West and opens its doors to 150,000- 200,000 annual visitors. Offered here is a SAA in a series of ten highly embellished revolvers commissioned by The Autry for its annual fundraising auction and dinner gala. For the 1991 gala it was decided to commission and auction off a custom Colt Single Action Army revolver to commemorate the opening of the museum. The SAA, the "peacemaker" of the Western frontier, perfectly symbolized Gene Autry's cowboy stardom. This revolver proved to be a great success, and other gala revolvers by Alvin White and later in a joint effort between White and Andrew Bourdon followed, but the complexity and cost to building such highly embellished works of art resulted in the replacement of the revolver with other auction items in later years. This is the 1996 gala revolver masterpiece by Alvin White. Most of the surfaces feature fine engraved deluxe floral scrollwork on a punch dot background accented with gold inlaid borders on the frame. The barrel has the Colt Hartford address on the top and "Guns of the Wild West/Autry Museum Gala Revolver" on the left side. These markings are inlaid in flush gold. The barrel also features several silver and gold high relief inlays of iconic Western small arms: Sharps "Breecher's Bible" carbine (gold), pair of Custer's S&W No. 2 revolvers (silver) and Billy the Kid's Whitney carbine (gold) on the right side and double barrel sawed-off stagecoach shotgun (gold) and flintlock Indian trade musket (silver) on the left side. The theme of Wild West imagery in relief gold inlays continues on the frame and includes Dodge City Cowboy Band leader Jack Sinclair's Colt SAA on the left side, a portrait of Wild Bill Hickok above his Colt Model 1851 Navy revolver on the recoil shield, a Remington double barrel derringer based on the Buffalo Bill's presentation derringer in The Autry's collection on the loading gate and a relief gold inlaid Stevens Lord Model 36 pistol presented by Buffalo Bill to gunfighter Ben Thompson on the right side. All of the inlaid miniature arms are based on examples in The Autry Museum collection, and the actual arms are pictured in either "The Peacemakers Arms and Adventure in The American West" or "The Peacemakers: Indians, Arms of the First Americans." The left side of the frame also has "US" and the two-line Colt patent marking inlaid in flush gold next to a Rampant Colt in relief gold. The underside of the frame has the Colt serial number and "AWHM-1996" indicating that this Colt was for The Autry's 1996 gala. These markings are inlaid in flush gold. The custom made, partially fluted cylinder has The Autry's cowboy on horseback logo inlaid in flush gold and cowboy star Buck Jones' holster rig by Edward Bohlin in relief gold, each positioned between two chambers. The ejector rod housing has an entwining line motif in gold inlay, the back strap has the signatures of Samuel Colt and Oliver Winchester in gold, and the butt has the Wells Fargo "W.F.&Co." in gold inside a fancy entwining line engraved motif. The hammer has a wolf's head engraving that was popular in the 19th century. The hammer, ejector rod head, cylinder pin and trigger are gold plated. The screw heads and cylinder pin release are niter blue. The frame is casehardened. The barrel and grips straps are blue. The grips are replacements. The winning bidder at the 1996 gala was Western actor and stuntman Richard Fansworh (1920-2000) known for his roles in "The Grey Fox" and "The Straight Story." Comes with a letter by renowned Colt historian and Autry Museum board member R.L. Wilson describing the revolver's history and ornamentation in great detail and a Colt factory letter stating that the revolver was originally shipped on May 25, 1978 to Dave's House of Guns of Dallas, Texas. Note that the revolver was property of The Autry at the time the revolver was shipped to Alvin White for engraving. The Autry had acquired a collection of about 500 SAAs from the Frontier Museum in Temecula, California, and this collection was the source for the gala revolvers. The revolver is pictured in Wilson's "The Colt Engraving Book, Vol. 2" on page 673 along with the other gala series of revolvers. Wilson's two volume set is also included. Manufacturer: Colt Model: Single Action Army BBL: 7 1/2 inch round Stock: Gauge: 45 LC Finish: blue/gold Grips: hard rubber Serial Number: 99580SA Class: Modern Handgun Condition: Near mint as master embellished with replacement grips and showing the slightest handing marks. If you are looking for an extraordinary Colt SAA embellished by one of the most renowned master engravers, here it is! This Alvin White masterpiece will be the envy of the collector fraternity!

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by Rock Island Auction Company
September 10, 2017 9:00 AM CDT
7819 42nd Street West
Rock Island, IL, US 61201

Rock Island Auction Company

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $199 $10
$200 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 + $10,000