RARE ELABORATELY C.F. ULRICH ENGRAVED WINCHESTER MODEL 1866 LEVER ACTION RIFLE.

RARE ELABORATELY C.F. ULRICH ENGRAVED WINCHESTER MODEL 1866 LEVER ACTION RIFLE. Cal. 44 CF. SN 80492. Spectacular engraved ’66 with 24-3/8″ oct bbl, full magazine, German silver Rocky Mountain front sight & Henry style 900 yard ladder rear sight. Mounted with very highly figured, about 3X, fiddle back American walnut with straight stock & crescent brass buttplate with trap. Receiver is spectacularly engraved probably as a factory promotional item, with very unusual patterns consisting of full side very busy vignettes consisting of a tiger hunting scene on the left with a hunter kneeling & shooting at a charging tiger with another tiger crouching over a supine human figure, a running hunter with a very distressed look on his face with another human figure running in background, probably the gun bearer. There is a horse tied to a tree in foreground who is trying to escape with another horse running away in background. All of this is in great detail with flowers & trees. Top of vignette has a long arrow with ribbon wound around it which bears inscription “HUNTING THE TIGER WITH SINGLE SHOOTER”.

Right side vignette is entitled “WINCHESTER REPEATING RIFLES” on a similar arrow & ribbon. Vignette depicts a colonial style hunter in frock coat looking through field glasses with his Indian gun bearer holding a lever action Winchester with their faithful hunting dog in foreground & a dead tiger with a wounded tiger in left foreground. Again this vignette is executed in superb detail with foliage & trees. Tree in right foreground has a monkey hanging by his tail. Left front flat has two standing bull elk & a reclining cow elk in a mountain scene & right side front flat has a bull & cow elk, also in a mountain scene. Top edges of receiver, top tang & on each side of trigger have deep relief foliate arabesque patterns with a very fine stippled background. Front flat vignettes have a similar border with front & rear edges of receiver having large scallops with fleur-de-lis. Bottom of carrier has a split circle, mirror image, filled with foliate arabesque patterns. Buttplate tang & forend cap are engraved to match. This fabulous work has Mr. Ulrich’s tiny stamped signature in four places, once behind trigger, again behind serial number & twice below loading gate. It’s very rare to find even one signature, two is almost unheard of & four signatures can only manifest Mr. Ulrich’s pride in the quality of this piece of work. This exact rifle has a full page devoted to it, p. 115, in Winchester Engraving, Wilson. It has factory mounted sling swivels. Assembly number “VXXX” is found on left side of lower tang under wood & inside top tang channel of stock. Buttplate could not be removed as the toe screw is broken in half. This is without a doubt, a one-of-a-kind rifle without peer. CONDITION: Very fine to extremely fine. Bbl retains 80-85% orig blue, strong & bright in sheltered areas, slightly thinned & mixed with patina elsewhere. Edges are very sharp. Magazine tube has blue in sheltered areas with balance a medium smooth blue/brown patina. Receiver retains traces of gold wash, being a medium mustard patina overall with nice edges. Wood is sound with a few minor handling nicks & scratches & retains about all of a professionally restored finish. Mechanics are crisp, strong bright bore with moderate pitting with a few spots of deep pitting. 4-57563 JR387 (125,000-175,000)

Auction: Firearms - Spring 2006

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
	342	$120,750.00	RARE ELABORATELY C.F. ULRICH ENGRAVED WINCHESTER MODEL 1866 LEVER ACTION RIFLE. Cal. 44 CF. SN 80492. Spectacular engraved ’66 with 24-3/8″ oct bbl, full magazine, German silver Rocky Mountain front sight & Henry style 900 yard ladder rear sight. Mounted with very highly figured, about 3X, fiddle back American walnut with straight stock & crescent brass buttplate with trap. Receiver is spectacularly engraved probably as a factory promotional item, with very unusual patterns consisting of full side very busy vignettes consisting of a tiger hunting scene on the left with a hunter kneeling & shooting at a charging tiger with another tiger crouching over a supine human figure, a running hunter with a very distressed look on his face with another human figure running in background, probably the gun bearer. There is a horse tied to a tree in foreground who is trying to escape with another horse running away in background. All of this is in great detail with flowers & trees. Top of vignette has a long arrow with ribbon wound around it which bears inscription “HUNTING THE TIGER WITH SINGLE SHOOTER”. Right side vignette is entitled “WINCHESTER REPEATING RIFLES” on a similar arrow & ribbon. Vignette depicts a colonial style hunter in frock coat looking through field glasses with his Indian gun bearer holding a lever action Winchester with their faithful hunting dog in foreground & a dead tiger with a wounded tiger in left foreground. Again this vignette is executed in superb detail with foliage & trees. Tree in right foreground has a monkey hanging by his tail. Left front flat has two standing bull elk & a reclining cow elk in a mountain scene & right side front flat has a bull & cow elk, also in a mountain scene. Top edges of receiver, top tang & on each side of trigger have deep relief foliate arabesque patterns with a very fine stippled background. Front flat vignettes have a similar border with front & rear edges of receiver having large scallops with fleur-de-lis. Bottom of carrier has a split circle, mirror image, filled with foliate arabesque patterns. Buttplate tang & forend cap are engraved to match. This fabulous work has Mr. Ulrich’s tiny stamped signature in four places, once behind trigger, again behind serial number & twice below loading gate. It’s very rare to find even one signature, two is almost unheard of & four signatures can only manifest Mr. Ulrich’s pride in the quality of this piece of work. This exact rifle has a full page devoted to it, p. 115, in Winchester Engraving, Wilson. It has factory mounted sling swivels. Assembly number “VXXX” is found on left side of lower tang under wood & inside top tang channel of stock. Buttplate could not be removed as the toe screw is broken in half. This is without a doubt, a one-of-a-kind rifle without peer. CONDITION: Very fine to extremely fine. Bbl retains 80-85% orig blue, strong & bright in sheltered areas, slightly thinned & mixed with patina elsewhere. Edges are very sharp. Magazine tube has blue in sheltered areas with balance a medium smooth blue/brown patina. Receiver retains traces of gold wash, being a medium mustard patina overall with nice edges. Wood is sound with a few minor handling nicks & scratches & retains about all of a professionally restored finish. Mechanics are crisp, strong bright bore with moderate pitting with a few spots of deep pitting. 4-57563 JR387 (125,000-175,000) Auction: Firearms - Spring 2006 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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