*EXTRAORDINARILY RARE CUNO HELFRICHT ENGRAVED COLT SMALL FRAME LIGHTNING MAGAZINE RIFLE.

*EXTRAORDINARILY RARE CUNO HELFRICHT ENGRAVED COLT SMALL FRAME LIGHTNING MAGAZINE RIFLE. SN 36389. Cal. 22. Very well known and extremely rare Lightning rifle with 24″ tapered oct bbl, ivory bead hunting front sight, semi-buckhorn rear sight and Lyman combination tang sight. Top flat of bbl has the 2-line Colt company name & address with patent markings. Top left flat of bbl, over chamber area, has the hand engraved caliber marking. Rifle is mounted with beautiful, deluxe maple stock & forearm with checkered sgl schnable forearm and pistol grip stock with checkered grip cap and rampant Colt hard rubber buttplate. Receiver is, most unusually, engraved with stick, grape vine, leaf & clusters of grape motif with grape vines & leaves over the top & bottom of receiver, trigger bow and both tangs. Rear face of receiver is engraved in a rosette around the bolt opening. SN was observed on bottom tang, left side of top tang under the wood and on front face of the buttstock under the metal. This exact rifle, identified by SN, is pictured in color on p. 495 of The Colt Engraving Book, Wilson, with credit to the George S. Lewis, Jr. Collection. It is also pictured on p. 502 of The Book of Colt Firearms, Wilson, with credit to the Robert Q. Sutherland Collection, at which time it was accompanied by a deerskin carrying case. A similarly engraved rifle with a small bear on right side is pictured on p. 356 of the book Colt Engraving, Wilson. Accompanied by a Colt factory letter identifying this rifle with oct bbl, blue finish, fancy pistol grip maple stock, factory engraved, charged to “Account of Lewis C. Grover, President of Colt Company”, delivered to Mr. Cyrus D. Skinner on Dec. 21, 1904 in a 1-gun shipment. PROVENANCE: Cyrus D. Skinner; Robert Q. Sutherland Collection; George S. Lewis, Jr. Collection; Wes Adams Estate Collection. CONDITION: Extremely fine, all matching. Overall retains 97-98% glossy orig factory blue with only light sharp edge wear; forearm has a hairline from the front tip to the screw hole, otherwise wood is sound with a few light handling & storage nicks & scratches and retains most of its orig factory finish. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore. 4-44530 JR333 (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
	2157	$77,625.00	EXTRAORDINARILY RARE CUNO HELFRICHT ENGRAVED COLT SMALL FRAME LIGHTNING MAGAZINE RIFLE. SN 36389. Cal. 22. Very well known and extremely rare Lightning rifle with 24″ tapered oct bbl, ivory bead hunting front sight, semi-buckhorn rear sight and Lyman combination tang sight. Top flat of bbl has the 2-line Colt company name & address with patent markings. Top left flat of bbl, over chamber area, has the hand engraved caliber marking. Rifle is mounted with beautiful, deluxe maple stock & forearm with checkered sgl schnable forearm and pistol grip stock with checkered grip cap and rampant Colt hard rubber buttplate. Receiver is, most unusually, engraved with stick, grape vine, leaf & clusters of grape motif with grape vines & leaves over the top & bottom of receiver, trigger bow and both tangs. Rear face of receiver is engraved in a rosette around the bolt opening. SN was observed on bottom tang, left side of top tang under the wood and on front face of the buttstock under the metal. This exact rifle, identified by SN, is pictured in color on p. 495 of The Colt Engraving Book, Wilson, with credit to the George S. Lewis, Jr. Collection. It is also pictured on p. 502 of The Book of Colt Firearms, Wilson, with credit to the Robert Q. Sutherland Collection, at which time it was accompanied by a deerskin carrying case. A similarly engraved rifle with a small bear on right side is pictured on p. 356 of the book Colt Engraving, Wilson. Accompanied by a Colt factory letter identifying this rifle with oct bbl, blue finish, fancy pistol grip maple stock, factory engraved, charged to “Account of Lewis C. Grover, President of Colt Company”, delivered to Mr. Cyrus D. Skinner on Dec. 21, 1904 in a 1-gun shipment. PROVENANCE: Cyrus D. Skinner; Robert Q. Sutherland Collection; George S. Lewis, Jr. Collection; Wes Adams Estate Collection. CONDITION: Extremely fine, all matching. Overall retains 97-98% glossy orig factory blue with only light sharp edge wear; forearm has a hairline from the front tip to the screw hole, otherwise wood is sound with a few light handling & storage nicks & scratches and retains most of its orig factory finish. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore. 4-44530 JR333 (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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