EXTRAORDINARY CASED RARE WHITWORTH PERCUSSION TARGET RIFLE.

EXTRAORDINARY CASED RARE WHITWORTH PERCUSSION TARGET RIFLE. SN 039. Cal. 50. Fabulous precision percussion rifle with 33″ bbl overall including chamber area with pedestal mounted windgage globe front sight & a Manchester Ordnance & Rifle Co. 1,200 yard ladder rear sight. Top flat of bbl over chamber area is marked “SAML. EBRALL” and just before rear sight is marked “SHREWSBURY” and in front of sight on top of bbl is engraved “RIFLED BY LORD BERWICK”. Right side of rear sight base has the maker’s name. It has a front action lock with sliding safety marked “SAML. EBRALL / MAKER / SHREWSBURY” with a plain tapered trigger bow mounted on a flat trigger plate. Lockplate, hammer, top tang, trigger guard & trigger plate all have fine line engraved borders with small pattern of foliate arabesque on lockplate with engraved screws & flower blossoms around screw holes. Mounted in very highly figured French walnut with full length stock reaching to within 1-1/8″ of muzzle with two blued bands, a case colored nosecap & its orig brass & iron slotted head ramrod. It has a coarse checkered forearm & straight grip with a smooth case colored steel buttplate, again with engraved screws & flower blossoms around screw holes. Bbl is beautifully browned. Samuel Ebrall purchased a gun making business in Shrewsbury in April 1843, which business remained at that address until 1945. Apparently in about 1887 Mr. Ebrall retired & turned the business over to his sons. Accompanying this rifle is a copy of a British patent dated 1860 granted to the Right Honorable Richard Lord Berwick for “Improvements in Rifling Fire-Arms”. His patent involves cutting an additional groove in the lands of conventional rifling beginning deep at the chamber end & tapering to nothing toward muzzle end. It also involves chamfering or beveling the edges of the lands or rounding them to prevent fouling and facilitate loading & cleaning. This rifling style is somewhat similar to Metford rifling with the addition of the groove in the wider lands. It is well known that the Whitworth rifles of that era were some of the most accurate & won many matches. The Confederacy in the United States during the Civil War use the Whitworth as sniper rifles with telescopic sights to great effect. They were unable to procure sufficient numbers of these fine rifles to make much of a difference. Accompanied by its orig, unlined, English oak casing with an orig Whitworth label inside lid compartmented in bottom for the full length rifle with three covered compartments with bone pulls & four open compartments. These compartments contain the tools & implements required to service & fire this rifle. Included is a fine leather covered brass American Flask & Cap Co. powder flask, its orig 2-pc brass & iron Whitworth bullet mold with hollow base tool numbered “419” & marked on other side “480 G”, apparently 480 grain conical bullet. Also included is an ebony handled reamer, an ebony handled tapered bronze tool, an ebony bullet starter, an ebony & ivory bristle brush, an ebony handled turn screw, a case colored steel & brass, cruciform shaped nipple wrench with pick in the top and empty compartments under brass knobs on the ends of the crossbar, a small case colored spring vice, a bright steel flat tool of unknown purpose, a hexagonal patch cutter, an oct bright metal oil bottle, an unusual screwdriver type tool, a powder measure, a jag & two worms & an unusual brass clamp on spirit level, a lacquered tin of musket caps, a lacquered tin with green & black label for Whitworth felt wads in hexagonal form & a lacquered rectangular tin containing hexagonal shaped wax wads. Altogether a wonderful & nearly complete target rifle. CONDITION: Extremely fine plus. Bbl retains 97-98% strong orig brown finish, slightly thinned over top around rear sight. Bbl bands retain 98-99% glossy orig blue. Top tang & lockplate retain most of their fine English style case colors with only light fading. Hammer retains dark case colors as does the trigger bow with trigger plate retaining about all of its subtle case colors. Buttplate retains about 75% faded case colors. Wood is sound with a few minor handling & storage marks retaining crisp edges & virtually all of its orig oil finish. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore. Case has a couple of grain checks in the lid & another in bottom and has light handling & storage marks and retains most of its orig varnish inside & out. Label is yellowed with some slight edge losses. All the tools & implements are very fine to extremely fine. 4-35797 JR491 (25,000-35,000)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 2008

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
	2558	$20,125.00	EXTRAORDINARY CASED RARE WHITWORTH PERCUSSION TARGET RIFLE. SN 039. Cal. 50. Fabulous precision percussion rifle with 33″ bbl overall including chamber area with pedestal mounted windgage globe front sight & a Manchester Ordnance & Rifle Co. 1,200 yard ladder rear sight. Top flat of bbl over chamber area is marked “SAML. EBRALL” and just before rear sight is marked “SHREWSBURY” and in front of sight on top of bbl is engraved “RIFLED BY LORD BERWICK”. Right side of rear sight base has the maker’s name. It has a front action lock with sliding safety marked “SAML. EBRALL / MAKER / SHREWSBURY” with a plain tapered trigger bow mounted on a flat trigger plate. Lockplate, hammer, top tang, trigger guard & trigger plate all have fine line engraved borders with small pattern of foliate arabesque on lockplate with engraved screws & flower blossoms around screw holes. Mounted in very highly figured French walnut with full length stock reaching to within 1-1/8″ of muzzle with two blued bands, a case colored nosecap & its orig brass & iron slotted head ramrod. It has a coarse checkered forearm & straight grip with a smooth case colored steel buttplate, again with engraved screws & flower blossoms around screw holes. Bbl is beautifully browned. Samuel Ebrall purchased a gun making business in Shrewsbury in April 1843, which business remained at that address until 1945. Apparently in about 1887 Mr. Ebrall retired & turned the business over to his sons. Accompanying this rifle is a copy of a British patent dated 1860 granted to the Right Honorable Richard Lord Berwick for “Improvements in Rifling Fire-Arms”. His patent involves cutting an additional groove in the lands of conventional rifling beginning deep at the chamber end & tapering to nothing toward muzzle end. It also involves chamfering or beveling the edges of the lands or rounding them to prevent fouling and facilitate loading & cleaning. This rifling style is somewhat similar to Metford rifling with the addition of the groove in the wider lands. It is well known that the Whitworth rifles of that era were some of the most accurate & won many matches. The Confederacy in the United States during the Civil War use the Whitworth as sniper rifles with telescopic sights to great effect. They were unable to procure sufficient numbers of these fine rifles to make much of a difference. Accompanied by its orig, unlined, English oak casing with an orig Whitworth label inside lid compartmented in bottom for the full length rifle with three covered compartments with bone pulls & four open compartments. These compartments contain the tools & implements required to service & fire this rifle. Included is a fine leather covered brass American Flask & Cap Co. powder flask, its orig 2-pc brass & iron Whitworth bullet mold with hollow base tool numbered “419” & marked on other side “480 G”, apparently 480 grain conical bullet. Also included is an ebony handled reamer, an ebony handled tapered bronze tool, an ebony bullet starter, an ebony & ivory bristle brush, an ebony handled turn screw, a case colored steel & brass, cruciform shaped nipple wrench with pick in the top and empty compartments under brass knobs on the ends of the crossbar, a small case colored spring vice, a bright steel flat tool of unknown purpose, a hexagonal patch cutter, an oct bright metal oil bottle, an unusual screwdriver type tool, a powder measure, a jag & two worms & an unusual brass clamp on spirit level, a lacquered tin of musket caps, a lacquered tin with green & black label for Whitworth felt wads in hexagonal form & a lacquered rectangular tin containing hexagonal shaped wax wads. Altogether a wonderful & nearly complete target rifle. CONDITION: Extremely fine plus. Bbl retains 97-98% strong orig brown finish, slightly thinned over top around rear sight. Bbl bands retain 98-99% glossy orig blue. Top tang & lockplate retain most of their fine English style case colors with only light fading. Hammer retains dark case colors as does the trigger bow with trigger plate retaining about all of its subtle case colors. Buttplate retains about 75% faded case colors. Wood is sound with a few minor handling & storage marks retaining crisp edges & virtually all of its orig oil finish. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore. Case has a couple of grain checks in the lid & another in bottom and has light handling & storage marks and retains most of its orig varnish inside & out. Label is yellowed with some slight edge losses. All the tools & implements are very fine to extremely fine. 4-35797 JR491 (25,000-35,000) Auction: Firearms - Fall 2008 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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