Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have what might be one of the rarest production Colt revolvers you’ll ever see. This is a factory-engraved Model 1877 “Rainmaker” in .32 Long Colt – one of maybe six that exist with factory engraving. The Model 1877 earned nicknames based on caliber – “Lightning” for .38 and “Thunderer” for .41. The .32 version got stuck with “Rainmaker,” probably because it was the lightest shower in the storm family. Only about 200 Rainmakers were ever made, making them scarce even without engraving.
What makes this one special is the work of Cuno Helfricht, Colt’s master engraver for nearly 50 years. Helfricht ran the engraving shop during the height of the decorated firearms craze in the 1880s and 1890s. His signature style is all over this piece – fine floral scrollwork on punch dot backgrounds, fan patterns on the recoil shield, and those distinctive alternating patterns between the cylinder flutes that match documented examples in R.L. Wilson’s reference books.
The factory letter confirms this shipped as a single gun to Hartley & Graham on August 6, 1892. That’s telling – single gun shipments usually meant special orders or presentation pieces. The nickel finish and pearl grips suggest someone wanted the full deluxe treatment on what was already Colt’s most complex revolver mechanism. While R.L. Wilson documented about 725 total factory engraved Model 1877s in .38 and .41 calibers, he didn’t provide numbers for Rainmakers. Given that only 200 basic Rainmakers were made, collectors estimate fewer than six received factory engraving. This puts it in the same rarity class as prototype firearms – the kind of piece that shows up once in a collector’s lifetime.
Most of our POTDs utilize images from our friends at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse their current auctions – who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!
“Factory Engraved Colt Model 1877 ‘Rainmaker’ .32 Colt Revolver.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4095/117/factory-engraved-colt-model-1877-rainmaker-32-colt-revolver. Accessed 12 Aug. 2025.
