^Lot 3379 J.P. LOWER RETAILER MARKED COLT MODEL 1878 DOUBLE

ACTION REVOLVER ID'D TO DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL WILLIAM THOMPSON WITH HOLSTER, FACTORY LETTER, & PROVENANCE. Cal. 45 Colt. S# 4338. Bbl. 4". Model 1878 double action revolver mfg. by Colt in 1880. Top of the bbl. is faintly marked with Colt's 2-line address. Left side of the frame is retailer marked "J.P. LOWER", with "45 CAL." marked on the left side of the forward trigger guard bow. Frame is mounted with 2-piece checkered wood grips. Standard fixed blade front sight and frame notched rear sight. Frame and bbl. mfg. without provision for ejector rod housing, with no provision for lanyard swivel on butt. Interior of grip panels match the frame via a handwritten "4338" (very faint on left panel). Accompanying documentation indicates that this revolver was used by Deputy U.S. Marshal in the shooting of Edward Meeks Dalton, whom was wanted on a misdemeanor charge of Polygamy for having two wives, and ultimately was considered a martyr by the Mormon community across the United States at the time. To this day, Dalton is the only Mormon to have been killed at the hands of a Federal Marshal, and is the only known death over polygamy before the church's October 6, 1890 declaration to abolish the plural marriage custom. UNATTACHED ACCESSORIES: finely tooled brown leather holster, featuring a tool Mayan pattern glyph on the front of the body, an unmarked brown leather belt, as well as a Deputy U.S. Marshall badge. Revolver is accompanied by a range of documentation, including: a Colt factory letter stating: "Serial Number: 4338/ Caliber .45/c/ Barrel Length: 4"/ Finish: Blue/ Type of Stocks: Not Listed/ Shipped To: J.P. Lower and Sons/ Address: Denver, Colorado/ Date of Shipment: February 5, 1880/ Number of Same Type Guns in Shipment: 6", a letter dated March 2nd of 1951 from the wife of a previous owner indicating that this revolver was given to her husband by Oscar Thompson (son of William Thompson Jr.), an article detailing the shooting of Edward Meeks Dalton by William Thompson on December 16th of 1886, scans of Dalton's grave, as well as additional documents detailing the shooting and its significance. CONDITION: metal components have faded to a gray/brown patina, exhibiting scattered handling marks and scattered spots/patches of mild pitting overall. Bore is relatively bright, exhibiting consistent mild to moderate pitting, while retaining strong rifling throughout. Proper manual mechanics. Grips show moderate smoothing, as well as scattered marks and impressions from handling and storage, with the right panel exhibiting a repair along the rear edge. Holster is very good overall, remaining malleable, and exhibiting consistent crazing on the belt. PROVENANCE: From the Buckstix Collection. (01-28592/MLW). ANTIQUE. $4,000-6,000.