GUN FALL 2015
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/5/2015
VERY RARE NEW HAVEN ARMS VOLCANIC LEVER ACTION CARBINE. NEW HAVEN ARMS VOLCANIC CARBINE 108 41 Cal. .41. Rare special order carbine with 16-5/8" oct bbl that has integral magazine with half ribs. It has rnd top, nickel silver front sight & no provision for a rear bbl sight and orig wheel adjustable sight in top flat of receiver. Mounted with uncheckered American walnut straight stock & crescent buttplate. Receiver & buttplate are rare nickel finished. SN is found on left side of lower tang, under the wood with matching number under the buttplate tang on the stock and inside buttplate tang. Top flat of bbl has the 1-line address "NEW HAVEN CON. PATENT FEB. 14. 1854". Volcanic arms were patented by Horace Smith & Daniel Wesson in 1854, based on earlier patents of the Hunt & Jennings rifles which also utilized a self-contained cartridge which consisted of a hollow base conical bullet with the primer and propellant in the hollow base. They only produced about 1700 pistols, in two sizes 1854 to 1855. In July 1855, the name was changed to the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company with Oliver Winchester investing heavily in the company. In April 1857, the company name was changed to The New Haven Arms Company and continued in operation until about 1860. The cartridges for these pistols, and later carbines were severely underpowered and once chambered were very difficult to unload. All that combined to dampen sales, and so after only a few thousand were produced, the company went out of business. However, the design of the Volcanic evolved into the Henry rifle which began production in 1860 and ran through 1866 with about 14000 Henry rifles produced during that time. The Henry was then succeeded by the venerable Winchester Model 1866 and, as the saying goes the rest is history. With the Volcanic design figuring so heavily in the Winchester dynasty, these diminutive pistols and carbines occupy a revered niche in American firearm history, and as such are highly collectible today. Carbines are very scarce with only about 3000 produced 1857-1860 in 3-bbl lengths. PROVENANCE: The Estate Collection of Phil A. Bleakney, Jr. CONDITION: Very fine, all matching including stock & buttplate (no additional disassembly was affected to check for other matching numbers). Bbl & magazine tube retain about 80-85% strong orig blue turning a little plummy. Bbl has a couple of small nicks in the sharp edges on the left side. Receiver retains about 70% strong orig nickel showing wear on the right side with a small area of flaking on the left side. Buttplate retains virtually all of its orig nickel. Lever & hammer are a dark patina. Buttstock has a repaired crack in the wrist and has a few scattered small nicks & scratches and overall retains about all of a restored finish, probably a result of the wrist repair. Mechanics are fine. Bright shiny bore. 49059-5 JR (15,000-25,000)