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ca. 1875-1880 DOUBLE LOOP BLACK LEATHER HALF SKIRT
HOLSTER AND CARTRIDGE BELT FOR A LARGE FRAME SINGLE
ACTION REVOLVER 7 ½ BARREL LENGTH BELT WITH .44
CALIBER LOOPS AN EXCELLENT EARLY MATCHED SET:
This is a very attractive
matching set consisting of a classic double loop holster
designed for a large frame single action revolver such
as the Colt Single Action with a 7 ½ barrel, mated with
a matching leather looped cartridge belt. This holster
and belt obviously saw regular use during its service
life, worn by a man who felt the need to keep his
revolver close at hand on a daily basis; however neither
have been abused or worn out.
More than long enough to fit a Colt Single Action with a
7 ½ barrel, this is very well made quality holster.
The pouch is secured in a truncated half length skirt -
a characteristic believed by some students of early
civilian gun leather to indicate an early manufacture
and to have been a common feature incorporated by Texas
makers.
When seated on the belt in its natural position, the toe
of the holster has a decided cant to the front,
suggesting this was an intentional feature to facilitate
a faster and smoother motion when drawing the
revolver.
There is a decorative line of stamping along the seam
and on the edges of the skirt, now somewhat faded with
age, but still legible. The top front of the pouch,
just below the throat, is stamped with a makers stamp
in the form of a thistle or a cactus blossom. The top
loop is stamped 114, likely a makers model number,
and 44 indicating the caliber, and therefore the size,
i.e. large frame of the revolver the holster will
accommodate. The bottom loop is stamped 7 ½
indicating the barrel length the pouch will accept.
The leather surface retains a bright, clear, shiny
surface - smooth with no crazing or flaking, and only
some minor stressing from the leather being stretched
over the end of the pistols extractor housing. The
leather is supple and holds its shape with no
weaknesses. The seam is fully intact down through the
rounded toe with no loss of the stitching. The holster
measures 11 ½ OAL and 5 Ύ OAW. The belt loop formed
by the skirt easily accepts the matching 3 wide belt.
The very well made looped cartridge belt is constructed
of a single piece of substantial weight leather. The
body of the belt measures 32 ½ long and 3 wide, with
an additional 9 of the billet extending beyond the end
of the belt body.
Matching the holster, the
leather surfaces of the belt retain a bright, clear,
shiny surface - smooth with no crazing or flaking. The
body of the loop is dyed black and the loops are an even
dark brown. Upon close inspection, it is obvious that
this is the way this belt was originally made and not
evidence of the loops having been replaced, and the
contrasting colors make for an attractive belt. The
belt features 30, .44 caliber cartridge loops,
all full form and intact
with no wear to the top or bottom edges, no tearing, and
the stitching is intact between the loops. The nickel
plated buckle is secure in its stitched billet.
This holster and cartridge belt present as a matched set
made to carry a large frame revolver and the large
caliber pistol cartridges, and showing enough age and
evidence of use to indicate that it was worn regularly
during the period by a man who had a need for such a
rig, while at the same time having survived in very good
condition and still retaining a pleasant appearance with
all the components intact.
Matching leather cartridge belt and holster sets from
this early period are anything but common, and those
which were intended to carry the larger framed, full
length barreled, heavy caliber revolvers are so much in
demand by modern collectors that they simply do not
appear on the market very often. Think long and hard
before you pass on this opportunity.
(0912)
$2250
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