LOT Amoskeag Auction Company, Inc.  /  Auction No. 144. Rare and Historic Firearms!  / 

529

Rare Early H&R Automatic Vest Pocket Pistol Reportedly Owned by Colt For Patent Infringement Review

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1,300.00 USD Estimated At:NA
Rare Early H&R Automatic Vest Pocket Pistol Reportedly Owned by Colt For Patent Infringement Review
Description Update 11-20-2024: Another H&R Automatic serial #20 identified as the actual pistol described in the Guns magazine article as the patent infringement gun has been brought to our attention. So, this pistol remains something of a mystery, as it is a second example with the same serial number “20”.
serial #20, 25 ACP, 2 1/8'' barrel with a bright near excellent bore. This is an extremely rare First Model 25, the first 20-25 of this model are generally considered to be prototypes by advanced collectors. An article in ''Guns'' magazine from October 1970 was written about this pistol which describes how serial #20 was acquired by Colt's patent attorney Carl J. Ehbets for assessment. A note accompanied the gun when this article was written, it is no longer present but the article has a good scan of it. Colt was concerned that the gun was infringing on their patent #566367 (Aug. 25, 1896) covering the combination of a pivoting trigger and sear trip connection. Ehbets also noted that an extra patent date (April 9) applied on the slide of the H&R which did not seem to cover anything. Indeed, only the first handful of guns had this date stamped on them, with standard production guns omitting it. There is no record of Colt pursuing a full lawsuit and it is conjectured given the rather short amount of time left covering the patent that they disregarded it altogether or worked out a short licensing deal with H&R behind the scenes. There is a peculiar discrepancy however in the pistol referenced by Colt as serial #20 and photographed in that article and the pistol offered here. The gun has a curious extension neatly added onto the back of the frame which is not in the 1970 photograph. Note these early First Models had slightly shorter frames than the standard production guns but this would not explain the time discrepancy, just another mystery with this piece! The metal surfaces retain about 97% original bright blue showing some mild flaking and high edge wear. The triggerguard remains mostly bright while the safety lever is a smoky gray patina and the trigger shows nice case-hardened colors. The markings remain strong with the left side of the slide showing ''H.& R. AUTOMATIC'' designation, rather than the later ''Self-Loading''. The black checkered hard rubber grips remain in excellent condition. The serialized parts are matching and one original magazine is included. This is a very fine, rare and interesting example for the advanced H&R or Webley collector. (13B11777-63) {C&R} [The Richard Littlefield H&R Collection] (1800/2200)
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