VERY RARE ENGRAVED PRESENTATION SHARPS MODEL 1853 SPORTING RIFLE.

VERY RARE ENGRAVED PRESENTATION SHARPS MODEL 1853 SPORTING RIFLE. SN 9505. Cal. 60 bore (About 44). Beautiful deluxe sporting rifle with 26″ medium weight oct bbl, globe front sight, Sharps leaf rear sight and early style tang sight secured with one screw. Bottom tang/trigger plate has Sharps dbl set triggers. Lockplate & left side of receiver have the usual Sharps patent markings with the company name misspelled as “SHARP’S” instead of the correct manner “SHARPS”. Mounted with nicely figured, uncheckered American walnut with standard rnd Sharps forearm that has a small, smooth pewter tip and straight stock with Sharps semi-crescent carbine style buttplate. Right side of buttstock has a 2-pc patch box. Receiver, lockplate, top tang, bottom tang, lever, about 1-1/2″ of bbl over chamber area, buttplate tang & patchbox are wonderfully engraved with intertwined, very well executed foliate arabesque patterns with a Gustave Young style flower blossom on the lever pin boss and another on raised right panel of receiver. The left raised panel of receiver is wonderfully engraved with a hunter seated in front of a spreading tree, holding his rifle with his hunting dog under his right hand. Patch box lid is engraved with vignette of a screaming spread winged American eagle perched on a tree limb. Left side of buttstock is inlaid with a large silver shield, 2-1/2″ wide x 2″ high inscribed “PRESENTED BY THE / STUDENTS / in the / COL. & COM. INSTITUTE, / to their Military Instr. / LIEUt LYMAN BISSELL U.S.A. / 1855”. This rifle along with an 1866 Winchester was the subject of an 8-page article by Ed Lewis which appeared in Vol. 28, No. 1, 2006 issue of Man at Arms for the Gun and Sword Collector, the collector magazine produced by the National Rifle Association. This exact carbine appears in full color on the cover of the referenced publication. The article identifies Lt. Lyman Bissell as having been the military & drilling instructor at The Collegiate & Commercial Institute (CCI) in New Haven, CT. At the same time he was a member of the local militia, and in 1847, in the War with Mexico, was commissioned a Lieutenant in the 9th U.S. Infantry and fought at the Siege of Pueblo where he was in command and at the Battles of Plano del Rio & The National Bridge as well as the bombardment of Vera Cruz. In Sept. 1847 he was promoted to Captain. After the war when Capt. Bissell returned to New Haven he was proclaimed a hero for his courage, bravery and leadership skills. He was later appointed Chief of the newly formed New Haven Police force, which position he held from 1849-1854, all the while continuing as the military & drilling instructor at CCI. During this time, in March 1854, a riot broke out between CCI students and local toughs. The locals broke into the Artillery Arsenal, stole two cannons and were preparing to fire on the CCI Campus but somehow Capt. Bissell was able to spike the cannons, and ultimately quell the riot. In 1855 Capt. Bissell was recalled to the Army as a 1st Lieutenant in the 9th Regiment which was deployed to Oregon to put down an Indian Uprising. During the Civil War he was promoted to Captain and, with his company, assigned to San Juan Island in Pugeot Sound. In 1864 he was promoted to Major and rejoined his orig unit in New York and later served in various posts with his regiment in Texas. In 1870 he was placed on disable list because of war wounds incurred in Mexico which were aggravated by the cold weather of the Northwest. He retired in 1870 and died in Nov. 1888. Additionally accompanied by a copy of the Sharps Collector’s Association magazine SCA Report, Summer 2001 Volume VIII No. 3 which contains a 6-page article by Tom Seymour, also about this Sharps rifle. Additionally accompanying is a large volume of research material regarding Maj. Bissell, his military service and his retirement. It is surmised that after Capt. Bissell so ably quelled the New Haven riot in 1854 and prevented the CCI campus from being shelled that the grateful students presented him with this rifle. According to the chart listed on p. 49 of Sharps Firearms, Sellers, only 2,970 Model 1853 sporting rifles were produced in the period July 1854 to December 1859 in three calibers, in three bbl styles, oct, rnd and half oct bbls. Of this total 2,025 were plain oct guns, 582 were plain rnd guns and only 38 were oct with extra fine engraving. According to this article, noted Sharps author, authority & historian Frank Sellers, examined this rifle and found it “an original rifle with many extra features”. He does refer however to the bird engraved on patch box as a “buzzard”, when in fact it is an eagle. He also states that the engraving quality is between “fine and extra fine grades”. Additionally accompanying is a copy of a photograph of Bissell as a Lieutenant in 1840’s uniform. PROVENANCE: Tom Seymour Collection; Dr. Ed Lewis Collection. CONDITION: Fine. Rifle was not disassembled to check for matching serial numbers. Bbl retains an even dark brown patina with old scattered pin prick pitting. All other metal, which would be originally color case hardened has traces of case colors in the most sheltered areas is mostly a dark gray metal patina. Hammer is a replacement. Breech block top edge retains bright blue. Wood is sound with scattered nicks & scratches and some light oil staining around receiver & lockplate and overall retains most of its orig factory finish with some dulling on forearm. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore. 4-41352 JR99 (20,000-30,000)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2011

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
	2511	$24,725.00	VERY RARE ENGRAVED PRESENTATION SHARPS MODEL 1853 SPORTING RIFLE. SN 9505. Cal. 60 bore (About 44). Beautiful deluxe sporting rifle with 26″ medium weight oct bbl, globe front sight, Sharps leaf rear sight and early style tang sight secured with one screw. Bottom tang/trigger plate has Sharps dbl set triggers. Lockplate & left side of receiver have the usual Sharps patent markings with the company name misspelled as “SHARP’S” instead of the correct manner “SHARPS”. Mounted with nicely figured, uncheckered American walnut with standard rnd Sharps forearm that has a small, smooth pewter tip and straight stock with Sharps semi-crescent carbine style buttplate. Right side of buttstock has a 2-pc patch box. Receiver, lockplate, top tang, bottom tang, lever, about 1-1/2″ of bbl over chamber area, buttplate tang & patchbox are wonderfully engraved with intertwined, very well executed foliate arabesque patterns with a Gustave Young style flower blossom on the lever pin boss and another on raised right panel of receiver. The left raised panel of receiver is wonderfully engraved with a hunter seated in front of a spreading tree, holding his rifle with his hunting dog under his right hand. Patch box lid is engraved with vignette of a screaming spread winged American eagle perched on a tree limb. Left side of buttstock is inlaid with a large silver shield, 2-1/2″ wide x 2″ high inscribed “PRESENTED BY THE / STUDENTS / in the / COL. & COM. INSTITUTE, / to their Military Instr. / LIEUt LYMAN BISSELL U.S.A. / 1855”. This rifle along with an 1866 Winchester was the subject of an 8-page article by Ed Lewis which appeared in Vol. 28, No. 1, 2006 issue of Man at Arms for the Gun and Sword Collector, the collector magazine produced by the National Rifle Association. This exact carbine appears in full color on the cover of the referenced publication. The article identifies Lt. Lyman Bissell as having been the military & drilling instructor at The Collegiate & Commercial Institute (CCI) in New Haven, CT. At the same time he was a member of the local militia, and in 1847, in the War with Mexico, was commissioned a Lieutenant in the 9th U.S. Infantry and fought at the Siege of Pueblo where he was in command and at the Battles of Plano del Rio & The National Bridge as well as the bombardment of Vera Cruz. In Sept. 1847 he was promoted to Captain. After the war when Capt. Bissell returned to New Haven he was proclaimed a hero for his courage, bravery and leadership skills. He was later appointed Chief of the newly formed New Haven Police force, which position he held from 1849-1854, all the while continuing as the military & drilling instructor at CCI. During this time, in March 1854, a riot broke out between CCI students and local toughs. The locals broke into the Artillery Arsenal, stole two cannons and were preparing to fire on the CCI Campus but somehow Capt. Bissell was able to spike the cannons, and ultimately quell the riot. In 1855 Capt. Bissell was recalled to the Army as a 1st Lieutenant in the 9th Regiment which was deployed to Oregon to put down an Indian Uprising. During the Civil War he was promoted to Captain and, with his company, assigned to San Juan Island in Pugeot Sound. In 1864 he was promoted to Major and rejoined his orig unit in New York and later served in various posts with his regiment in Texas. In 1870 he was placed on disable list because of war wounds incurred in Mexico which were aggravated by the cold weather of the Northwest. He retired in 1870 and died in Nov. 1888. Additionally accompanied by a copy of the Sharps Collector’s Association magazine SCA Report, Summer 2001 Volume VIII No. 3 which contains a 6-page article by Tom Seymour, also about this Sharps rifle. Additionally accompanying is a large volume of research material regarding Maj. Bissell, his military service and his retirement. It is surmised that after Capt. Bissell so ably quelled the New Haven riot in 1854 and prevented the CCI campus from being shelled that the grateful students presented him with this rifle. According to the chart listed on p. 49 of Sharps Firearms, Sellers, only 2,970 Model 1853 sporting rifles were produced in the period July 1854 to December 1859 in three calibers, in three bbl styles, oct, rnd and half oct bbls. Of this total 2,025 were plain oct guns, 582 were plain rnd guns and only 38 were oct with extra fine engraving. According to this article, noted Sharps author, authority & historian Frank Sellers, examined this rifle and found it “an original rifle with many extra features”. He does refer however to the bird engraved on patch box as a “buzzard”, when in fact it is an eagle. He also states that the engraving quality is between “fine and extra fine grades”. Additionally accompanying is a copy of a photograph of Bissell as a Lieutenant in 1840’s uniform. PROVENANCE: Tom Seymour Collection; Dr. Ed Lewis Collection. CONDITION: Fine. Rifle was not disassembled to check for matching serial numbers. Bbl retains an even dark brown patina with old scattered pin prick pitting. All other metal, which would be originally color case hardened has traces of case colors in the most sheltered areas is mostly a dark gray metal patina. Hammer is a replacement. Breech block top edge retains bright blue. Wood is sound with scattered nicks & scratches and some light oil staining around receiver & lockplate and overall retains most of its orig factory finish with some dulling on forearm. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore. 4-41352 JR99 (20,000-30,000) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2011 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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