Echoes of Issac Bell
This is one of the coolest things I have ever had a chance to hold.
Sure, you have seen Colt Police Positives.
And you have seen weapon-mounted lights.
But how many circa 1915 Colt Police Positives have you encountered with a Seely Night Sight weapon light (Patent US1029951A) from that era?
Boom:
The light assembly is under the barrel, while the battery and pressure switch are in the replacement grip. The device featured precise craftsmanship, including spring-and-rubber cushioning for the bulb.
They are joined by a fine wire that rests in a shallow milled passage through the frame that looks to have been done by perhaps a jeweler or a watchmaker.
Its inventor, Mr. George A. Seely of San Francisco, seemed an interesting chap and, besides his short-lived “night sight for firearms,” also patented a curious curtain pole, a threshold, a table leveler, a conveyor device, and a stamp affixing machine, among others.
Some lightbox images:
This seems right out of a Clive Cussler Isaac Bell novel. You know, the circa 1914-1950 investigator for the Van Dorn Detective Agency with titles like The Chase, The Wrecker, and The Bootlegger? I mean, it should. The only other example I’ve ever seen of one of these was from the Cussler Collection (formerly of noted collector/dealer Randall Bessler of Carson City) and sold at auction in 2021 for $3,750.
We have it for auction at GDC starting at an incredibly low $2,199 with like a day left, and somebody better get it because if they don’t, well, I may be forced to grab this bad boy for myself and just feel somewhat of a Van Dorn.