I recently had the good fortune to add one of the Colt Pre-War Post-War 1st Generation Single Actions to my small collection. I did not get a box or test target, but the gun is near factory new, is published and pictured in Don Wilkerson's excellent book entitled Colt's Single Action Army Revolver Pre-War Post-War Model, is fully documented in the Colt archives, and has fairly impressive provenance.
I won't go into a lot of detail but according to Wilkerson's book, page 40, it was presented by Colt to William A. Purtell on February 1, 1952. Mr. Purtell was President of Holo Krome Screw Company in Hartford and later in 1952 became a U. S. Senator representing Connecticut. Senator Purtell was a self-made man; he grew up in a poor family in Hartford and left high school after only two years. He enlisted in WWI in 1917 and served with the U.S. Army Expeditionary Force in France. He was discharged as a corporal and returned to Hartford in 1919. He then worked as a salesman for 10 years. In 1929, at the age of 32, he founded the Holo Krome Screw Corporation. Senator Purtell was one of the earliest Connecticut Republicans to support Eisenhower's run for the presidency.
The gun was assembled on May 18, 1948 along with 3 other .38 Specials and 1 .45 Colt, all with 5-1/2" barrels - this was the last assembly day for Pre-War Post-War Single Actions in 1948. It was assembled with all pre-war components and would have been housed in a late pre-war box.
Here are a few pictures to support the above comments. You can click on the pictures for a closer look…..
I won't go into a lot of detail but according to Wilkerson's book, page 40, it was presented by Colt to William A. Purtell on February 1, 1952. Mr. Purtell was President of Holo Krome Screw Company in Hartford and later in 1952 became a U. S. Senator representing Connecticut. Senator Purtell was a self-made man; he grew up in a poor family in Hartford and left high school after only two years. He enlisted in WWI in 1917 and served with the U.S. Army Expeditionary Force in France. He was discharged as a corporal and returned to Hartford in 1919. He then worked as a salesman for 10 years. In 1929, at the age of 32, he founded the Holo Krome Screw Corporation. Senator Purtell was one of the earliest Connecticut Republicans to support Eisenhower's run for the presidency.
The gun was assembled on May 18, 1948 along with 3 other .38 Specials and 1 .45 Colt, all with 5-1/2" barrels - this was the last assembly day for Pre-War Post-War Single Actions in 1948. It was assembled with all pre-war components and would have been housed in a late pre-war box.
Here are a few pictures to support the above comments. You can click on the pictures for a closer look…..
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