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I Found a Portrait of my Great-Great Grandfather Holding a Cocked Revolver, circa 1870s. Was That Common?

by | Mar 14, 2019 | Ask the Marshall, Departments

marshall trimble ask the marshall true west magazine
I found a portrait of my great-great grandfather holding a cocked revolver, circa 1870s. Was that common? Renae Sexton Apache, Oklahoma Your great-great grandfather was most likely posing in a photo gallery with an unloaded pistol. The photographer might have provided the gun, as well as the clothing. There are many similar portrait photos from that period. We can’t imagine anyone posing for a photograph holding a loaded, cocked revolver. Marshall Trimble is Arizona’s official historian


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