During research for this article, five additional “Fitz Special” Colt revolvers were uncovered, all with either documentation from Colt Archives LLC, or having other equally important historic records, with some being auctioned by Greg Martin, James D. Julia or Rock Island Auctions complete with photographs, as follows: 1924, Colt .38 Army Special, No. 505844, nickel-plated (recovered from Clyde Barrow’s car after he and Bonnie Parker were killed by police); 1938, Colt Official Police, No. 624285, blue;1938, .45 Colt New Service, No. 337309, blue; 1939, Colt Police Positive, .38 Special, No. 461175, blue. Pennsylvania State Police; and, 1940, Colt Detective Special, .38 Spl., No. 462217, Buffalo, N.Y.  

Additional guns labeled as “Fitz Specials” are also pictured in the reprint of FitzGerald’s book Shooting but, without details, so while there is little doubt they are genuine, they will not be listed here. Nonetheless, another extremely interesting special-order Colt with a probable connection to J. H. Fitzgerald was found on www.ColtAutos.com. A 2 1/2-inch-barreled .32 Pocket Positive, No. 108963, Colt reports this gun being shipped in 1923, and under Special Features, lists “cutoff hammers” (there were six guns in the shipment). While the trigger guard is unaltered, the gun’s “bobbed” hammer appears exactly as those worked over by FitzGerald.

So far we have listed 11 documented Fitz Specials, plus Col. Rex Applegate’s New Service. We can add one more to the list. Having known this gun in the same large gun collection since 1964, I never paid a great deal of attention to it, but had seen in on many visits and had even shot it on one occasion. There was never a doubt that it was a Fitz Special, as the “VP” mark is stamped on the frame under the crane.

There is an interesting story of this gun connected to a police lieutenant from the state of Oregon. A letter from Colt Archives LLC verified that this gun was a .45 Colt New Service, No. 349449, with a 2-inch barrel, blue finish, grips not listed, but with Special Features, as follows: “Please note that the trigger guard and … rod are were away … and the hammer spur was filed off. In addition, the revolver was fitted with a square butt configuration and a lanyard swivel.” No other Fitz Special is known to have been shipped with a lanyard swivel, and few were requested with a square butt, as both seem a contradiction to the intended purpose.

This gun now has a very old nickel finish that appears to be factory original, except that the swivel stud was cut off at the butt and is also nickel-plated. The mother of pearl stocks fit perfectly, suggesting that they are factory, but there is no notation that the gun was returned to Colt for rework.

Shipped on Nov. 9, 1938, this Fitz Special was delivered to Momsen-Dunnegan-Ryan Co., El Paso Texas, for E.C. Seals Service, of Prescott, Ariz. A number of Colt firearms was shipped to Momsen-Dunnegan-Ryan Co., but this company also made the steel windmills we still see on many old ranches and E.C. Seals Service specialized in photography. How the Oregon police connection happened we may never know.

Renewed interest in the Fitz Special is due largely to a number of magazine articles written about these elusive, rare guns during the past few years, and the reproductions of them it has spawned. More information will certainly be forthcoming, as the search is far from over.