
Cecil Coe [Cole] Agee was born November 1, 1901, in Runge, Texas where
the population was largely of Mexican descent. Cole spoke Spanish fluently and
maintained connections in Mexico where he was known to prospect for gold and
uranium. In his younger years Mr. Agee had been a lawman wearing a deputy’s
badge in several places including Texas and Mexico.
Later as a bartender in New Mexico he reportedly had to shoot a man dead
when trouble erupted between two patrons, one of whom pulled a pistol.
While in San Antonio Cole Agee had the opportunity to observe a gun
engraver a few times and without a single lesson, he practiced on scrap steel until
he “scrolled out” his first pistol.
In 1935 in Carlsbad, while engraving, Cole caught a flying steel shaving in
his left eye. There was no doctor who could treat such a delicate injury. The
treatment administered only made the matter worse. Cole lay for hours in pain in a
dark room with wet compresses over the eye. Finally his young wife, Maria took
him to a specialist in Houston. He obtained relief and began a long road to recovery.
The splinter was never removed and Agee suffered permanent damage to his eye.
In 1942 Cole was turned down for military service because of his defective
left eye. He loved flying and according to Weldon Bledsoe, Cole claimed to have
flown with the forces of Pancho Villa during the Early Mexican Revolution Period.
Cole worked with W. T. McTeer Engraving Company in Ft. Worth which
was one of the best known engraving companies in the country. He and McTeer
helped each other and the firm drew work engraving guns for leading sportsmen,
dealers, and collectors near and far. After 3 years with McTeer, he decided to
resign and establish his own shop at his home on Christine Street in Ft. Worth.
Soon Mr. Agee was engraving pistols for his former law enforcement
friends. He used time consuming detailed work and much of his engraving was
embellished with gold inlays and gold washing. His scroll style was of the bold,
tip-up interlock technique.
As a result of his connections in Mexico, President Miguel Aleman
commissioned Cole in the late 1940’s to do a Colt Single Action asking him to use
his own imagination to create an unusual one of a kind. Some say his wife, Maria,
suggested the Texas cattlebrands and presented him with a booklet entitled A
Century of Texas Cattlebrands published for the 1936 Texas Centennial. He
selected 20 brands for the Mexican president’s .45 Colt Single Action. President
Aleman was very pleased with the creation.
Cole Agee turned out beautiful pistols for Col. Homer Garrison, Jr., of the
Texas Department of Public Safety, and for Texas Ranger Capt. M. T. “Lone Wolf”
Gonzaullas, and Ranger Capt. Clint Peoples.
At the time of his death in June, 1955, Cole Agee was reported by his
widow, Maria, to have engraved 15 to 20 “cattle brands.” The number of “scrolls”
that he cut is unknown. Agee did not keep records and was not known for signing
his work. Therefore, there have been copies sold as Agee to uninformed collectors.
It is reported that Cole Agee sometimes engraved the hammers on his scroll
guns, but never engraved the hammers on his cattle brand guns.
the population was largely of Mexican descent. Cole spoke Spanish fluently and
maintained connections in Mexico where he was known to prospect for gold and
uranium. In his younger years Mr. Agee had been a lawman wearing a deputy’s
badge in several places including Texas and Mexico.
Later as a bartender in New Mexico he reportedly had to shoot a man dead
when trouble erupted between two patrons, one of whom pulled a pistol.
While in San Antonio Cole Agee had the opportunity to observe a gun
engraver a few times and without a single lesson, he practiced on scrap steel until
he “scrolled out” his first pistol.
In 1935 in Carlsbad, while engraving, Cole caught a flying steel shaving in
his left eye. There was no doctor who could treat such a delicate injury. The
treatment administered only made the matter worse. Cole lay for hours in pain in a
dark room with wet compresses over the eye. Finally his young wife, Maria took
him to a specialist in Houston. He obtained relief and began a long road to recovery.
The splinter was never removed and Agee suffered permanent damage to his eye.
In 1942 Cole was turned down for military service because of his defective
left eye. He loved flying and according to Weldon Bledsoe, Cole claimed to have
flown with the forces of Pancho Villa during the Early Mexican Revolution Period.
Cole worked with W. T. McTeer Engraving Company in Ft. Worth which
was one of the best known engraving companies in the country. He and McTeer
helped each other and the firm drew work engraving guns for leading sportsmen,
dealers, and collectors near and far. After 3 years with McTeer, he decided to
resign and establish his own shop at his home on Christine Street in Ft. Worth.
Soon Mr. Agee was engraving pistols for his former law enforcement
friends. He used time consuming detailed work and much of his engraving was
embellished with gold inlays and gold washing. His scroll style was of the bold,
tip-up interlock technique.
As a result of his connections in Mexico, President Miguel Aleman
commissioned Cole in the late 1940’s to do a Colt Single Action asking him to use
his own imagination to create an unusual one of a kind. Some say his wife, Maria,
suggested the Texas cattlebrands and presented him with a booklet entitled A
Century of Texas Cattlebrands published for the 1936 Texas Centennial. He
selected 20 brands for the Mexican president’s .45 Colt Single Action. President
Aleman was very pleased with the creation.
Cole Agee turned out beautiful pistols for Col. Homer Garrison, Jr., of the
Texas Department of Public Safety, and for Texas Ranger Capt. M. T. “Lone Wolf”
Gonzaullas, and Ranger Capt. Clint Peoples.
At the time of his death in June, 1955, Cole Agee was reported by his
widow, Maria, to have engraved 15 to 20 “cattle brands.” The number of “scrolls”
that he cut is unknown. Agee did not keep records and was not known for signing
his work. Therefore, there have been copies sold as Agee to uninformed collectors.
It is reported that Cole Agee sometimes engraved the hammers on his scroll
guns, but never engraved the hammers on his cattle brand guns.