Kermit Roosevelt's Parker Bros. Shotgun and Silver Set

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  Lot #1501  (Sale Order: 502 of 674) 
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Kermit Roosevelt's Historic Extensively Family Documented Parker Brothers 20 Gauge VH Grade Double Barrel Hammerless Shotgun and Four-Piece Silver Drinking Set with Herb Glass Documentation

This is an incredibly rare opportunity to get your hands on a historic firearm documented from the Roosevelt family gun collection, especially one dating to 1903 during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency. The historic shotgun and silver drinking set were owned by Kermit Roosevelt (1889-1943), the second son of Theodore Roosevelt and his second wife Edith Kermit Carow, and includes pieces from different periods in his life, including what was likely his first shotgun. It is accompanied by documentation from 1970 confirming the sale of the shotgun to Herb Glass by Kermit Roosevelt's second son J. Willard Roosevelt on behalf of the Estate of Belle W. Roosevelt (Kermit's wife) as well a 1967 letter discussing Herta Carla Peters's sale of the silver cup and her remembrance of "The Room," a private speakeasy formed around 1931 with Kermit and Theodore Roosevelt Jr. and Vincent Astor among the small number of members and frequented by them and their "lady friends (never the wives)" before it closed in 1938. Peters was Roosevelt's long time mistress, and a postcard with a photo of the couple is included. She indicated the design on the cup was the crest drawn by Carl Rungius for "The Room," and the silver cup was taken by Kermit Roosevelt as a memento when it closed. She had his cup and also one with her name on it and was hesitant to sell his. In an included letter to Peters from Roosevelt on the letterhead of the Machine Gun Training Centre at The Barracks, Mill Hill, he discusses how he missed her and the training, including that "machine gun warfare has changed a lot." An included clipping from the New York Times in 1939 shows him conducting machine gun training. Also included is an inventory of Richard P. Mellon's Theodore Roosevelt collection signed by Herb Glass as Mellon's agent listing among the items the shotgun, flasks, and cup. The shotgun is mentioned briefly in the chapter "The Omen of Death in the Moyowosi" in R.L. Wilson's "Theodore Roosevelt: Hunter-Conservationist." Greg Martin writes, "Early in 1985, I purchased the largest group of Theodore Roosevelt firearms and related memorabilia in private hands, from the Richard Prosser Mellon Collection. Included were guns from Roosevelt's exploits in the Wild West, mementos from his White House years, and...a combination over-and-under rifle-shotgun, given to the President by renowned gunmaker Fred Adolph of Genoa, New York. The collection also included Kermit Roosevelt's Winchester Model 1895 .405 big game rifle, as well as his Parker shotgun, and the uniquely notable Holland & Holland .500/.450 Royal Grade Double Barrel Rifle, presented to TR by admiring British citizens for the historic 1909-10 East African safari." While this shotgun remains, Kermit's Winchester Model 1895, TR's presentation combination gun, and a Colt Single Action Army were destroyed in a deadly fire in Africa in 1986 during the production of the documentary film "In the Blood" inspired by Theodore and Kermit Roosevelt's famous East African safari. The double rifle was spared thanks to delays and is now contained in the Frazier Historical Arms Museum. This shotgun is one of the few Roosevelt firearms remaining in private hands. Many of the other surviving firearms, including other pieces from the Mellon Collection, are now off-market in institutional collections, such as TR's Nimschke engraved Frontier Six Shooter Single Action Army and Winchester Model 1876 carbine in The Autry Museum of the American West, and various other pieces are located at various national parks and historic sites connected to Theodore Roosevelt such as the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site which previously displayed many of the firearms from Theodore Roosevelt's arms collection, including the Hawken rifle featured in Lot 1287. The shotgun is one of 4,988 Parker Bros. VH grades in this configuration and was built in 1903 with blued steel barrels with a single nickel bead sight on the matted concave solid rib which is marked “PARKER BROTHERS, MAKERS, MERIDEN, CONN. VULCAN STEEL. ” standard markings, and chambers measured at 2 3/4 inches with single extractor. The barrels are fitted to a casehardened boxlock action featuring double triggers, an automatic tang mounted safety, and light zig-zag border engraving. The gun is mounted with a lightly figured and multi-point checkered forend with Deeley latch release as well as a pistol grip stock with Parker grip cap, silver inscription shield marked “K.R.” for Kermit Roosevelt, and a red rubber recoil pad with black spa
more... Provenance: Kermit Roosevelt; The Estate of Belle W. Roosevelt; The Herb Glass Collection; The Richard P. Mellon Collection; Property of a Gentleman

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This item is part of Premier Firearms Auction - Day 2
 Saturday, May 18, 2024 | 9:00 AM  Central
 
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Kermit Roosevelt's Parker Bros. Shotgun and Silver Set
Kermit Roosevelt's Parker Bros. Shotgun and Silver Set
Lot number: 1501
Seller: Rock Island Auction Company
Event: Premier Firearms Auction - Day 2
Ends: Saturday, May 18 | 9:00 AM  Central

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