A Springfield Arms Co navy revolver given to record breaker Captain James E Luce in 1852 is to highlight a sale at Sotheby's with an estimate of $60,000-80,000.
The sale of the Ali Cali collection on May 22 in New York features a selection of American percussion revolvers and civil war era carbines.
 Captain James E Luce was presented with the Springfield revolver in 1852 |
Luce (1806-1879) was awarded the prize after setting a new world record time for a transatlantic crossing, aboard paddle steamer the SS Arctic - a feat for which he was also awarded the coveted Blue Riband.
It features a gold washed loading lever and frame and is kept within a brass bound rosewood case.
Tragically, the Arctic sank two years later off the coast of Newfoundland - taking Luce's son down with it.
A Starr Arms Co model 1863 revolver is another highlight, valued at $30,000-40,000.
The company was briefly commissioned to produce single-action revolvers for the Union army during the American civil war.
Around 32,000 were made before the company folded in the 1860s. The example offered is the deluxe edition, with a walnut grip and elaborate foliate scrolling, and is one of only a handful known to have survived to the present day.
The sale includes weapons from a range of early manufacturers, including Remington, Jacob Rupertus and JB Butterfield & Co.
We have these fragments of wallpaper from civil war president Abraham Lincoln's bedroom.
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