Project Description
This is a factory engraved Little .45 toy cap gun revolver made by the American Miniature Gun and Cartridge Co. of Hollywood, California in the 1950’s. Designated as U20 in Bob Urso’s book The Tiniest Guns, Third Edition, the following description from his book is used with his permission:
“Manufactured by the American Miniature Gun Mfg. Co. of Hollywood, California, and marketed as the Frontier “45”. On much of it’s literature it was also referred to as the “Little 45”. A difficult to classify miniature, although modeled after the Colt Frontier Single Action revolver, it is not a true miniature of that gun. The Frontier “45” is a six shot, single action, revolver with a hand rotated barrel (cylinder). At 3 1/2″ OAL, this little beauty is much nicer than a toy, but not quite a true miniature. Manufactured in the 1950’s it has more detail, and is more functional than the best of the toy miniatures. It’s cylinder rotates. It has full and half cock. It has a flip down side loading gate, and fires brass, percussion cap-like ammunition. Expended shells are ejected with a functioning spring loaded ejector, just like on the real thing. It is unusual in that the complete trigger guard acts as its trigger and is pulled back to fire. This part is delicate and many of these guns are found with the tab that holds the trigger assembly in place broken. The clean finish on these guns suggest that they are sturdy little pieces. They were however, cast in a pot metal. It is the care that was taken in finishing these guns that makes them look more substantial than they actually are. …This is a popular gun with collectors and a relatively difficult gun to find. Prices are considerably higher than for even the best of the toy miniatures such as Armodelli or Hubley guns.”
These un-engraved nickel plated sets sold for $27.50 back in the late 1950’s, & an engraved nickel & gold plated one like this sold for $47.50, which was a huge sum to pay for a toy cap gun revolver! This would be the equivalent of over $500.00 in today’s dollars! This example is serial number 2286. Like most, this set does have some minor condition issues. The trigger is not broken & still functional, as are the loading gate & ejector rod button. The nickel finish retains about 99% original nickle plating, but the fragile gold plating is about 50% on the triggerguard, and the hammer shows only about 95% of the gold plating. The two piece pearl grips with a single screw entering from the left side are excellent with no cracks or chips. The piece is incredibly clean & may be unfired! Included is the original plastic cartridge looking cap container. The case made of brass colored plastic and headstamped in raised letters “LITTLE .45”, with a gray lead colored plastic bullet. As is typical of these, there is a small hairline crack near the case mouth. Inside are a 18 of original caps, and the original cotton wadding. The original case is walnut, has a slide latch, and a un-adorned rectangular plaque mounted to the case top by two small brass nails. The case is in excellent condition with the plaque and hinges showing some tarnish. The interior bottom of the case French fit and lined in a very dark burgundy/purple velour. The lid interior with a rectangular gold with brown print sticker reading “LITTLE .45, American Miniature Gun Mfg. Co., Hollywood, 16, Calif.”. There’s a small spot of sticker at the bottom middle. These factory engraved Little 45 revolvers are very rare, even more so with no problems, as they are fragile & prone to broken trigger guards, ejector rod buttons, & loading gate hinges. I have only seen maybe six or eight in over 30 years, a couple which were double cased sets, so maybe only four singles like this. Of the ones I’ve seen, this one may be in the finest condition! Price: $950.00.
