2020 September Premier, Volume I

2020, whooaaa, where to begin outside the obvious? We hope
that all of you, our clients, and your loved ones are safe and
healthy. Priorities are different for everyone, and we are all
navigating these uncharted waters in our own way through
business, personal and family issues and decisions. There
are so many gigantic, mostly negative buzzwords and topics
being thrown around on a 24 hour, daily basis: lock downs,
masks, volatility of the equity markets, elections and no college
football?? Negativity breeds negativity, and I am an eternal
optimist, but enough on that. On the “cool other side of the
pillow” we have one word, which we and so many others are
using as our north star: opportunity.
Opportunity comes in many forms and applies differently to
all of us. In the face of the pointless to list obstacles 2020 has
spewed, the great people that make up the fabric of Rock
Island Auction Company have stayed calm, cool, collected and
united. We postponed our April Premier auction, and rather than
immediately choosing an arbitrary date in the future, we applied
situational awareness eventually selecting June 5-7. We used
those additional two months as an opportunity to continue to
market the finest auction we had ever amassed. We produced
over 1000 minutes of video content, doubled down our print
and electronic advertising, and had our Premier catalog posted
and open for bidding on our website for an unprecedented 12
weeks. If you were at the sale, you know the precautions and
procedures we put in place: temperature checks, masks, social
distancing in the preview and auction hall, Plexiglas dividers for
phone bidders, check-in with lanyards, additional bathrooms,
and golf carts for getting folks around. We used our extra
building on the south side of our campus as a hospitality lounge
complete with an “offsite” bidding lounge and Sherman tank
bar. Yes, we used a 1944 M4A3 Tank as the bar. The feedback
from those who attended was tremendous. We will be applying
all of these same tactics and procedures come September.
Our June Premier auction was the largest grossing firearms
auction ever held, a watershed moment for Rock Island Auction
and fine and historic arms collecting. Great things command
great competition and June was full of spectacular objects at
virtually every price point. We would like to thank all of you
who participated, near and far, as buyers, under bidders and
consignors. I publicly want to thank our team for handling the
situation, the only way they know how, as utterly magnificent
professionals.
This September sale is very similar to the June Premier auction;
it is a virtual continuation, picking right back up where it left
off in quality and depth. Therefore, as we started working on
this catalog, we thought we had another opportunity. It is no
secret that collectors are passionate. We recognize many of you
do this as an investment in tandem as a hobby but collecting
anything, takes time, energy, patience and study. We saw this
catalog as an opportunity to make studying beyond normal
efforts worthwhile. We want the content of this catalog to inspire
and elevate some small element of a collector’s ambition. Before
you study this catalog, I ask you to apply one basic philosophy:
That no other collecting discipline than fine and historic arms
collecting
brings us closer to the past.
It is a portal to the past; a literal front row seat to history. On
a macro level, you can understand and appreciate “the times”
and even more uniquely on a micro level, you can relate to “the
individual” and actually get to know them. To inspect and study
firearms, from any era, is to see what “they” saw, and to hold
what “they” held. These mechanical objects, these tools, are
what “they “used to wage war, protect their families, feed their
families, and provide an income. In short a necessity of life, to
live. Equally, fine arms have been collected, coveted, presented
and endeared since man advanced beyond a sharpened stick;
they have been given in ceremony and celebration, victory and
defeat for centuries. Which brings me to the collection of John
Fox for example. Mr. Fox collected for well over a half a century
and had an unmistakable passion for the American frontier, the
“wild west”, and “big sky country”. The core of the collection
is composed of working guns of the frontier, tools from those
men and women, some identified, others lost to time and left to
our imagination that tamed that epic landscape and captivating
period. We coined the term “frontier issued” and it will be quite
apparent why. These guns are impartial, unbiased, relatable
and authentic. There is a certain majesty to their appearance. It
is earned and worn with pride. It is very difficult for any firearm
to be both old and in high condition. It takes a very rare series
of circumstances for that to happen. Hence, their value and
collectability. The same can be said of Mr. Fox’s frontier issued
guns. His collection, as far as I am concerned is the finest of its
type.
Next, take the Malcom King collection. Mr. King’s passion for
the best quality firearms is born out of a passion of exploration
to the last truly wild places left on earth. His collection follows
in the footsteps of those men and women who have traveled
through that same bush, up that same mountain and through the
same field.
And finally, the Dr. Gerald Klaz collection. Dr. Klaz dedicated
almost three quarters of a century to his passion. His work
represents not only the finest and most complete Smith &
Wesson collection ever assembled but also one of the finest
groupings of high art European fine arms in private hands. The
selection of fine arms from Dr. Klaz’s collection in harmony
with a few other individual pieces in this sale makes up the
largest offering of world fair/factory exhibition pieces to ever hit
the market. The world fair/exhibition pieces were not only the
pinnacle of technological advancement at the time but also the
highest form of embellishment from the finest artists to ever live.
As you will quickly see and as I said previously, this sale is a
continuation of our June Premier in terms of depth and once in a
lifetime opportunities. We hope you enjoy studying the catalogs.
Additionally, we strongly believe that there is tremendous
opportunity in the myriad of collecting options that make up this
exciting and fascinating world of fine and historic arms.
In closing, we encourage all of you who are considering
attending this sale in person to do so with confidence. We will
be following the exact same protocols we used in June that I
previously mentioned. If traveling is not for you at this time we
understand and are here to assist you in any way we can to
make the bidding process as simple and easy as possible. You
might also consider a preview by appointment leading up to the
auction. As a friend who visited our preview hall for the first time
in June said to me, “your catalogs brings the guns to life and
your preview hall brings your catalog to life.” It is worth seeing
in person at least once! We look forward to seeing everyone in
September!
Respectfully,
Kevin Hogan
About This Auction
Index - Volume I
FRIDAY LOTS 1 THRU 638
TYPE LOTS PAGES
Winchester Lever Action Rifles/
Volcanic/Henry Rifles/Evan Rifles 1 - 55 8 - 65
The John Fox Collection 56 - 114 66 - 126
Colt Percussion Revolvers 115 - 135 127 - 137
Civil War Arms 136 - 162 138 - 155
Colt 1st Generation Single Action Revovlers/
Early U.S. Military Arms/Antique Deringers 163 - 209 156 - 196
The index is an aid to indicate when a genre will be sold by lot # and page # within the auction catalog.
TYPE LOTS PAGES
Antique Smith & Wesson Revolvers 210 - 248 197 - 216
Antique European Flintlock and Percussion Pistols 249 - 287 217 - 253
The Malcolm King Collection 288 - 307 254 - 269
Shotguns/Sporting Arms 308 - 371 270 - 311
U.S. Military Arms 372 - 423 312 - 328
Class III Arms 424 - 434 329 - 335
German/European Military Arms 435 - 501 336 - 353
Sporting Arms/Colt Snakes/Black Sporting Rifles 502 - 638 354 - 386
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