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ca. 1850 COLT DRAGOON REVOLVER POMMEL HOLSTERS – A
RARE EARLY SET FOR THE LARGE PISTOLS IN VERY GOOD
CONDITION: Far less common that the sets of
pommel holsters made for the Colt Army and Navy Pistols,
and the other revolvers in use during the Civil War,
this set of Saddle Pommel Holsters, dating from the
1848-1850 period, are considerably larger to accommodate
the Colt Dragoon Revolvers. This particular pair of
holsters closely resembles the shape, style and pattern
of the Colt Dragoon Pommel Holsters pictured on page 37
of US Military Holsters and Pistol Cartridge Boxes
by Scott Meadows.
This set was manufactured with a strong, solid yoke to
bear the weight of the larger pistols, and the yoke is
unbroken, the leather is still very solid and live, and
the attachment billet is present. The holsters, made of
heavy weight leather, are full form, retaining their
shape, and the leather is solid to the touch, not
weakened or softened with age as so many of these pommel
holsters are. The seams along the sides of both
holsters are intact, and while the seams connecting the
underside of the ends of the yoke to the lower half of
the holster tubes have separated, this area is still
very solid and there is no risk the holsters will
separate. This open seam is just a function of the
aging of the leather and that area is not weakened.
Both of the attractive domed brass caps are present and
solidly attached to each holster. The holster covers
are not present – not unusual in the case of these early
holsters, as they were normally lightweight leather and
were attached with a tab rather than being sewn directly
to the yoke, hence were easily separated and lost.
Their absence does not affect the attractive appearance
of this set,, nor is it particularly significant given
the rarity of these Dragoon sized holsters. While this
set shows the normal evidence of use and age, overall
the leather is smooth and the finish is very bright and
shiny, with some minor isolated crazing as expected.
These early production US Army Dragoon Holsters were not
manufactured in the larger numbers that the later Colt
Army and Navy sized pommel holsters were. That lower
production coupled with their prolonged use on the
frontier and during the Civil War, resulted in a very
limited number of surviving examples of these larger
pommel holsters today. This is a very nice example of a
fairly rare set of pre-Civil War Pommel Holsters,
complete with a strong, solid yoke for displaying on the
pommel of a saddle, and they would add dramatically to a
display of a Colt Dragoon Revolver.
SOLD
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