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29th Classic Auction

AT-1220 Wien, Kagraner Platz 9  

Auction on Thursday, November 7, 2019 from 16:00  | Auction ended

Completed | Physical auction
Lot: 210

Smith & Wesson model 3 Russia, Ludwig Loewe - Berlin, Presentation Version, .44 S&W Russian, #without, § B

Starting price 2.500 EUR
Result:
18.000 EUR

Barrel length 6.5 inches, Single Action, tilting barrel, six-shooter. Ordnance revolver produced by Ludwig Loewe & Co. in Berlin under license from Smith & Wesson for the Tsarist Empire. Faint pitting e.g. at the front of the cylinder beneath a renewed finish. Beautifully marbled tortoiseshell grips with fine chequering (slightly shrunk) and the manufacturer‘s monogram. No proof, in original leather-covered wooden box lined with dark purple velvet and silk, with accessories (cleaning rod and turnscrew) as well as 17 original cartridges .44 S&W Russian. manufactured about 1880. Signed “LUDW: LOEWE & Co BERLIN“ on the barrel rib, inlaid with gold band around the muzzle. The revolver is engraved on the frame and on the cylinder, on the trigger guard with finger rest as well as on the barrel with foliate scroll in bas-relief, interspersed with grotesque masks and mythical creatures. This first-class engraving corresponds exactly to a second known example, which can be seen in the collection of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Beautifully restored luxury weapon in condition II-III.

Provenance:
Prince Alexander I of Bulgaria
Alexander I (* 1857 in Verona; † 1893 in Graz), born Prince Alexander Joseph von Battenberg, was elected Prince of Bulgaria from 1879 to 1886. Born as the second son of Prince Alexander of Hesse-Darmstadt and Countess Julia Hauke, a court lady of his aunt, the Russian Tsarina Maria Alexandrovna. In 1877 he took part in the Russian-Ottoman War of 1877/78 in Bulgaria in the headquarters of Grand Duke Nicholas. He was soon transferred to the Garde du Corps in Berlin.

Prince of Bulgaria
As a result of the Berlin Congress, the autonomous Principality of Bulgaria was created. Alexander‘s participation in the campaign against the Turks and his close relationship to Tsar Alexander II of Russia, whose nephew he was, predestined him to become the head of state of the young principality. Alexander was unanimously elected Prince by the Bulgarian National Assembly on 29 April 1879. He moved to Tarnovo on 8 July and swore an oath to the new constitution of the Principality and then moved into his residence in Sofia.

Personal life
In 1883 he became engaged to Princess Victoria of Prussia, daughter of the later Emperor Frederick III and his wife Victoria of Great Britain. But their grandfather, Emperor Wilhelm I, and Prince Bismarck were against engagement for political reasons and forbidden to marry. For years Victoria fought in vain against the ban, but Bismarck in particular opposed it decisively. In 1888 the engagement was finally dissolved for reasons of reason of state. In 1889 he married the opera singer Johanna Loisinger (1865-1951) in Menton/France. After the marriage the couple took the name of a count or a countess of Hartenau and retired from the public. Alexander joined the Imperial Austro-Hungarian Army and lived with his family in Graz. The marriage produced two children.

Our exhibit comes from their estate.