Charter Oak Collection: Historic Cased, Engraved and Inscribed Colt Model 1855 Pocket Sidehammer Revolver with Charter Oak Grip, Presented by the Inventor to Arms Dealer J.I. Spies. Serial number 5886, .28 caliber, 5-shot cylinder with stagecoach holdup roll scene. The backstrap inscription documents the gift of this set to J.I. Spies, with a specific reference to “Charter Oak Stock/from I.W. Stuart.” The grips are a single piece of varnished Charter Oak. The varnished mahogany case includes all accessories.
This lot also includes the carved Charter Oak Cane, 37 inches long, with an inscribed silver collar; a framed lithograph of the fallen Charter Oak with an oak frame crafted from wood of the tree itself; the Charter Oak brochure dated 1856; a copy of the Proceeds at the Dedication of Charter Oak Hall; an authentic log with from the Charter Oak; and other related items.
The Charter Oak has played a significant part in the history of Connecticut, known as the “Constitution State.” In 1639, Reverence Thomas Hooker, founder of Hartford, prepared the “Fundamental Orders,” considered to be the world’s first written constitution giving people – not the English monarch – the right to appoint their own governor and leaders. In 1662, King Charles II granted Connecticut a Royal Charter, based on the “Fundamental Orders.” As other New England settlements were established, they also were granted Royal Charters. However, after Charles II’s death, his brother James II appointed Sir Edmund Andros Governor of all New England, who in 1687 demanded the surrender of all New England Charters. When Connecticut refused, Andros arrived with 35 armed guards to take it in person. In a meeting between Andros and Connecticut leaders with the document on the table, candlelight was suddenly extinguished by Andrew Leete. In the dark and confusion, the Royal Charter was handed off to Captain Joseph Wadsworth, who ran out of town with the document and hid it a hole of the ancient oak.
Despite Connecticut’s resistance, it became part of the Dominion of New England for the next two years. In 1689 James II was overthrown and Andros lost power in the colonies. The Connecticut Charter emerged from hiding and was used to govern Connecticut until 1818.
http://www.yourpublicmedia.org/cont...l-society/connecticut’s-“-legend-charter-oak”
After a ferocious storm, the centuries-old oak fell in 1856. The owner of the property on which the tree stood, I.W. Stuart, supplied some of the white oak’s wood to Samuel Colt. Since 1999, the legendary Charter Oak has appeared on the reverse side of 750 million Connecticut quarters from the U.S. Mint. (Estimate $250,000–$350,000)....
http://www.militarytrader.com/military-trader-news/al-cali-collection-of-colts-crosses-auction-block
