RARE VINTAGE 1950S GENE AUTRY CAP GUN PISTOL WITH HORSE HEAD GRIPS

THIS IS A RARE VINTAGE 1950S GENE AUTRY CAP GUN PISTOL WITH HORSE HEAD GRIPS.

THIS CAP GUN IS MODELLED AFTER GENE AUTRYS OWN PEARL-HANDLED COLT .45 SIX-SHOOTER WHICH HAD BEEN USED BY AUTRY ONSCREEN IN THE 1930S AND 1940S.

TOP BREAK STYLE CAP GUN PISTOL FOR LOADING ROLLS OF CAPS. CIRCA 1950-1960.

CHAMPION THE HORSE IS FEATURED ON THE GRIPS.

THE GUN TRIGGER WORKS BUT DOES NOT REPEAT AUTOMATICALLY AND NEEDS TO BE PUSHED BACK MANUALLY.

ALTHOUGH NOT SURE ABOUT THE MAKER OF THIS GUN SOME OTHER ONLINE SELLERS OF THIS PARTICULAR GENE AUTRY CAP GUN PISTOL SAID IT WAS MADE BY THE LESLIE-HENRY COMPANY, OF WILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA.
 
MARKINGS: GENE AUTRY
 
SIZE: 22,5CM WIDE 11,5CM HIGH
 
CONDITION: THE GUN TRIGGER WORKS BUT DOES NOT REPEAT AUTOMATICALLY AND NEEDS TO BE PUSHED BACK MANUALLY. IN GOOD VINTAGE CONDITION FOR THESE CAP GUNS.
 
GENE AUBREY STORY: To the people of Kenton, Ohio, Gene Autry is certainly a hero in a white hat.
Gene Autry was a singing, movie, and television cowboy superstar. HE WAS NICKNAMED THE SINGING COWBOY. During his career Gene Autry lent his name to a range of items for children, probably the most popular of which was the Gene Autry cap gun.
There are several versions of the cap gun made by several different manufacturers. Perhaps the most interesting story behind the making of a Gene Autry cap gun is the story of Gene Autry and the Kenton Hardware Company.
In 1937, the town was suffering from the Great Depression as its main industry, the Kenton Hardware Company, was failing. Once the largest iron toy manufacturer in the world, the company was forced to drop entire lines of toys due to slow sales and employees were limited to working two days per week.
Convinced that one toy could change their fortunes, Kenton Hardware Company vice president Willard Bixler envisioned a deluxe cap pistol modeled after Gene Autrys own pearl-handled six-shooter. Bixler contacted Genes agent Mitchell J. Hamilburg, who was receptive to the idea. Gene then sent one of his six-shooters to Kenton as a model. Master toy maker Joe Solomon created the mold for the smaller version and added Genes signature. The completed toy had a gun metal finish, simulated pearl grips, and retailed for fifty cents, expensive for 1937.
The Gene Autry Repeating Cap Pistols were extremely popular; by 1939, two million were sold in the United States and abroad, including Latin America and Europe.
 
PLEASE ALSO SEE MY OTHER ITEMS LISTED. I HAVE VARIOUS OTHER VINTAGE TOYS ON AUCTION THIS WEEK INCLUDING A RARE TIN SPINNING TOP.