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Lot 30
BILL CARLISLE COLT MODEL 1851 NAVY CONVERSION HOLSTER AND RIG. Serial no. 59880, .36 caliber 4 1/2 inch octagonal barrel. Mixed serial numbers. Single line NYC address.
27 – 28 August 2021, 15:00 PDT
Los AngelesSold for US$6,120 inc. premium
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BILL CARLISLE COLT MODEL 1851 NAVY CONVERSION HOLSTER AND RIG.
Serial no. 59880, .36 caliber 4 1/2 inch octagonal barrel. Mixed serial numbers. Single line NYC address. P/GG stamped on cylinder. The walnut grip carved in low relief of left. With Steer's head and on right with Eagle. With leather holster. Condition: Good as reconfigured. Grips worn with both toes chipped.
Provenance: Bill Carlisle to Fred Mazzulla of Colorado, 1961; sold to Jim and Theresa Earle, August 1976.
Bill Carlisle is remembered as the "Gentleman Bandit" and the "Robin Hood of the Rails" for a series of train robberies in 1916. He never shot anyone, never took money from women, children, or servicemen, and gave money to a guard to make up for lost tips. In a September 9, 1976 letter to Jim Earle, former owner Fred M. Mazzula explains the history of the Colt: "Bill told me that he had the gun in his bed roll that had been left with a farmer in Cheyenne, Wyoming for safekeeping before he was captured by the law in 1916 ... After serving 19 years in prison, Governor A.M. Clark paroled him ... Carlisle later visited the farmer in Cheyenne, Wyoming and retrieved his bed rolls, his gun, and other belongings."
Provenance: Bill Carlisle to Fred Mazzulla of Colorado, 1961; sold to Jim and Theresa Earle, August 1976.
Bill Carlisle is remembered as the "Gentleman Bandit" and the "Robin Hood of the Rails" for a series of train robberies in 1916. He never shot anyone, never took money from women, children, or servicemen, and gave money to a guard to make up for lost tips. In a September 9, 1976 letter to Jim Earle, former owner Fred M. Mazzula explains the history of the Colt: "Bill told me that he had the gun in his bed roll that had been left with a farmer in Cheyenne, Wyoming for safekeeping before he was captured by the law in 1916 ... After serving 19 years in prison, Governor A.M. Clark paroled him ... Carlisle later visited the farmer in Cheyenne, Wyoming and retrieved his bed rolls, his gun, and other belongings."

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