Colt Dragoon Revolver Pommel Holsters / SOLD

Colt Dragoon Revolver Pommel Holsters - Inventory Number: LEA 171 / SOLD

A rare early set for the large pistols

Far less common than 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 Cartridges 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 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 still very solid and there is no risk the holsters will separate.

Both of the attractive domes brass caps are present and solidly attached to each holster.  The holster covers are present and trimmed in yellow leather for dragoon service.  The stitching which affixes the closure tabs is in the form of a federal shield design.  Both tabs are present, one missing the lower half.  While the set shows the normal evidence of use and age, overall the leather is smooth and the finish is sound, with some 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. 

Inventory Number: LEA 171 / SOLD