EXTREMELY RARE GENUINE BUFFALO HUNTER’S RIFLE COMPLETE WITH CARRYING CASE & HUNTER’S EQUIPMENT.

Revised: 3/6/2012

Additional Information: It has recently become known that this rifle and accessories were originally purchased by Mr. Gideon Burgess of New Haven, Indiana on 29 May 1873. Mr. Burgess appears in Gilbert’s Encyclopedia of Buffalo Hunters. The article on this rifle by Chuck Suydam which appeared in the September 1981 issue of Gun Report, and was also on the cover of that issue, states that this rifle was subsequently given to Mr. Burgess’ Son-in-Law, Nathaniel Risdon and that Mr. Burgess then ordered a similar rifle for himself. According to Mr. Risdon’s son, who inherited this rifle, box and accessories in about 1918, the two men then went to Kansas to hunt Buffalo in 1874 or 1875. Mr. Risdon’s son sold the complete outfit in about 1958.

EXTREMELY RARE GENUINE BUFFALO HUNTER’S RIFLE COMPLETE WITH CARRYING CASE & HUNTER’S EQUIPMENT. SN C52981. Cal. 50-70. Wonderful heavy bbl Sharps Sporting Rifle, 12 lbs. 6.08 oz, with 30″ oct bbl that measures 1-1/8″ across muzzle with homemade front sight replacement blade in an orig Sharps dovetail. Rear sight is an orig Lawrence Patent ladder sight and it has an orig sporting windgage tang sight with 3-5/8″ staff without graduations. Top flat of bbl has the Sharps Hartford address with no “OLD RELIABLE” marking with the caliber marking over chamber area. Left side of receiver has usual Sharps patent markings. Mounted with uncheckered, highly figured, center crotch American walnut with pewter tipped Sharps forearm and straight stock with smooth Sharps steel buttplate. It has dbl set triggers. SN was observed on top tang, bottom flat of bbl under forearm, inside bbl channel of forearm, on lockplate, trigger plate and inside the toe of buttplate. Front face of buttstock is also matching numbered. Tang sight is not numbered. Accompanied by an authentic, period of use oak & mahogany custom transport case that is 49″ long x 6-1/8″ deep x 7-1/4″ high with molded decorations around the lid and base. Molded base has early style dovetailed corners. Front of case is mortised for a lock, which is missing and it has three early brass hinges. Lid is secured with early strap iron latches with swinging locks for the corresponding staples. Also accompanied by an orig black leather covered, purple satin & velvet lined sight case embossed on lid with the Sharps Rifle Company Bridgeport address. All the contents are missing. In addition there are the following items accompanying: an orig Sharps 50 cal. mold with sprue cutter; a Hall rifle 50 cal. nutcracker ball mold; an orig box of ten Sharps Rifle Co. 50 cal. cartridges with buff colored label on both sides; an empty du Pont FFG Indian Rifle gun powder tin; an H. Boker brass & iron buffalo hide scale; an iron lead pot with wire bale and an early hand forged lead ladle with pigtail hook; a leather cartridge belt with shoulder harness and 32 sewn-on cartridge loops for large cartridges; twenty-four 50-70 cal. cartridges; a pair of buffalo hide gauntlets; an early handmade dbl knife sheath & belt with shoulder harness containing a “GEO. W. HAMM” knife with pewter ferrule & smooth homemade wood handle and a Russell Green River skinning knife along with a wood handled sharpening steel and a vinegar horn with hand forged belt hook used when sharpening knives. (Please note: buffalo hide in photo is not included in this lot.) This is a wonderful and probably complete buffalo hunter’s kit from the 1870s rarely encountered today. According to Mr. Howard’s collection notes this rifle and accessories appeared on the cover of The Gun Report, Sept. 1981. PROVENANCE: C.W. Slagle (1994); Robert Howard Estate Collection. CONDITION: Very fine. Bbl retains 90-92% orig blue with sharp edge wear and some thinning around the muzzle; receiver, lockplate & hammer retain most of their orig case colors, strong & bright in sheltered areas, thinned & fading on the high exposed areas; lever & bottom tang retain case colors in sheltered areas with the balance a dark, smooth brown patina; tang sight retains a smooth brown patina with traces of orig blue; wood is sound with minor nicks & scratches and retains virtually all of its orig varnish on buttstock with about 40-50% varnish on forearm with balance a hand worn patina. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore. Case is fine with some expected wear but retains most of its orig finish; leather accessories are fragile but mostly intact with some light losses. Knives & sharpening steel show heavy wear; lead pot & ladle are sound with a dark brown patina; cartridges are oxidized with heavy verdigris; gauntlets show heavy wear with old repairs and a couple of minor holes with some losses of hair; horn is sound. 4-45412 JR192 (25,000-40,000)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2012

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	1699	$86,250.00	Revised: 3/6/2012 Additional Information: It has recently become known that this rifle and accessories were originally purchased by Mr. Gideon Burgess of New Haven, Indiana on 29 May 1873. Mr. Burgess appears in Gilbert’s Encyclopedia of Buffalo Hunters. The article on this rifle by Chuck Suydam which appeared in the September 1981 issue of Gun Report, and was also on the cover of that issue, states that this rifle was subsequently given to Mr. Burgess’ Son-in-Law, Nathaniel Risdon and that Mr. Burgess then ordered a similar rifle for himself. According to Mr. Risdon’s son, who inherited this rifle, box and accessories in about 1918, the two men then went to Kansas to hunt Buffalo in 1874 or 1875. Mr. Risdon’s son sold the complete outfit in about 1958. EXTREMELY RARE GENUINE BUFFALO HUNTER’S RIFLE COMPLETE WITH CARRYING CASE & HUNTER’S EQUIPMENT. SN C52981. Cal. 50-70. Wonderful heavy bbl Sharps Sporting Rifle, 12 lbs. 6.08 oz, with 30″ oct bbl that measures 1-1/8″ across muzzle with homemade front sight replacement blade in an orig Sharps dovetail. Rear sight is an orig Lawrence Patent ladder sight and it has an orig sporting windgage tang sight with 3-5/8″ staff without graduations. Top flat of bbl has the Sharps Hartford address with no “OLD RELIABLE” marking with the caliber marking over chamber area. Left side of receiver has usual Sharps patent markings. Mounted with uncheckered, highly figured, center crotch American walnut with pewter tipped Sharps forearm and straight stock with smooth Sharps steel buttplate. It has dbl set triggers. SN was observed on top tang, bottom flat of bbl under forearm, inside bbl channel of forearm, on lockplate, trigger plate and inside the toe of buttplate. Front face of buttstock is also matching numbered. Tang sight is not numbered. Accompanied by an authentic, period of use oak & mahogany custom transport case that is 49″ long x 6-1/8″ deep x 7-1/4″ high with molded decorations around the lid and base. Molded base has early style dovetailed corners. Front of case is mortised for a lock, which is missing and it has three early brass hinges. Lid is secured with early strap iron latches with swinging locks for the corresponding staples. Also accompanied by an orig black leather covered, purple satin & velvet lined sight case embossed on lid with the Sharps Rifle Company Bridgeport address. All the contents are missing. In addition there are the following items accompanying: an orig Sharps 50 cal. mold with sprue cutter; a Hall rifle 50 cal. nutcracker ball mold; an orig box of ten Sharps Rifle Co. 50 cal. cartridges with buff colored label on both sides; an empty du Pont FFG Indian Rifle gun powder tin; an H. Boker brass & iron buffalo hide scale; an iron lead pot with wire bale and an early hand forged lead ladle with pigtail hook; a leather cartridge belt with shoulder harness and 32 sewn-on cartridge loops for large cartridges; twenty-four 50-70 cal. cartridges; a pair of buffalo hide gauntlets; an early handmade dbl knife sheath & belt with shoulder harness containing a “GEO. W. HAMM” knife with pewter ferrule & smooth homemade wood handle and a Russell Green River skinning knife along with a wood handled sharpening steel and a vinegar horn with hand forged belt hook used when sharpening knives. (Please note: buffalo hide in photo is not included in this lot.) This is a wonderful and probably complete buffalo hunter’s kit from the 1870s rarely encountered today. According to Mr. Howard’s collection notes this rifle and accessories appeared on the cover of The Gun Report, Sept. 1981. PROVENANCE: C.W. Slagle (1994); Robert Howard Estate Collection. CONDITION: Very fine. Bbl retains 90-92% orig blue with sharp edge wear and some thinning around the muzzle; receiver, lockplate & hammer retain most of their orig case colors, strong & bright in sheltered areas, thinned & fading on the high exposed areas; lever & bottom tang retain case colors in sheltered areas with the balance a dark, smooth brown patina; tang sight retains a smooth brown patina with traces of orig blue; wood is sound with minor nicks & scratches and retains virtually all of its orig varnish on buttstock with about 40-50% varnish on forearm with balance a hand worn patina. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore. Case is fine with some expected wear but retains most of its orig finish; leather accessories are fragile but mostly intact with some light losses. Knives & sharpening steel show heavy wear; lead pot & ladle are sound with a dark brown patina; cartridges are oxidized with heavy verdigris; gauntlets show heavy wear with old repairs and a couple of minor holes with some losses of hair; horn is sound. 4-45412 JR192 (25,000-40,000) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2012 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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