April 24-25, 2019 Extraordinary, Sporting, & Collector Firearms
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/24/2019
Manufactured 1862. There are Henrys and then again there are Henrys! When putting together a collection of every lever action Winchester, the Holy Grail and bedrock of that collection has been, and always will be, the Henry rifle. The adage has been that since the Henry is the bedrock of your lever action collection, it was the condition of your Henry that defined the balance of the lever guns. While it is true that finding a Henry is not the real issue in collecting, it is finding a 100% clean, untouched, unmessed with example that still has condition and has never been altered in any way or sense. This is such an example. There was a time when Winchester was as concerned with aesthetics as the English gunmakers. Both tang screws and the buttplate screw were perfectly set to line up at 12 o'clock. The balance of the screws on this gun are near perfect and not deformed which would indicate that this gun has never been apart since it left the factory. The octagon barrel top flat has the early small address. The magazine spring is perfectly formed with no distortion. American walnut stock has the early abrupt comb and perch belly shape with the regular varnish finish. Rifle is equipped with factory swivel on right side that rides 2 - 1/2" from top to dead center; referred to as a low swivel with no visible bump and is scarcer on the right side than the left. It has the early style rounded heel brass buttplate with loading gate (no cleaning rod). All stock screws are hand fitted to the contour of the brass receiver tang and buttplate. The nickel silver front sight is the early half moon profile rounded on both front and rear, and can be seen on page 120 in the book "The Henry Rifle" by Les Quick. The rear sight is the earliest type, referred to as Type A, as seen on page 122, with the horizontal sliding bar graduated to 1,000 yards; this sight is located at the rear sight slot in barrel. A factory additional sight slot can be found on frame as well with no sight and no sign that any sight has been in or out of this slot. The lower tang screw, lower frame screws, left frame screws, upper tang screws and buttplate screws have generous amounts of the early high polish nitre blue finish. The standard barrel finish was a highly polished bright blue; this original finish has turned to a soft blue-brown homogeneous patina with flashes of bright blue along recesses with some minor age spotting, sharp octagon edges, and a perfect barrel legend. The bolt is basically gun metal grey patina and the insides, as visible through the top, are extremely clean with sharp edges and no molestation. Rear bolt still has original blue finish. Factory case colored hammer and lever are basically a brown-grey patina. The brass has sharp edges, virtually free of marring with the exception of some small storage marks. Sideplates show no pry marks. Walnut stock is excellent, proud to metal, does not appear to have ever been removed, with the usual minor abrasions and still retaining the majority of its original factory stock finish. We are aware that there are numerous internal parts numbers on this rifle but given the pristine condition of the screws and fit, we have decided not to disassemble as is normally done, as it is obvious by its present condition that it has never been altered in any way and is guaranteed to be just as it left the factory. The action and loading spring work correctly and the strong, clean, bright rifling is devoid of any pitting or abrasions, making this the strongest example of a high condition Henry we have ever examined. To compliment this fine Henry rifle, it is housed in one of the rare surviving walnut factory display cases. An exact example of this case can be found on page 92 in the book "Volcanic Firearms" by Lewis and Rutrer. Given that no photographs of cases are in the Henry Book, one could surmise that these cases were made for the Volcanic and early Henry production, and are never seen on the open market. The walnut case is lined with red velvet and the partitions are identical to the example on page 92, which would allow for the rifle, three full boxes of ammunition, a cleaning rod and sundry accessories. Features four brass hinges and is secured at the front by two swivel locks and center key lock. The lining is in exceptional condition for its age, showing usual wear where the outline of the gun is still visible on the lid lining showing where a Henry rifle has rested for years leaving its indelible outline into the velvet surface. The walnut case itself was refinished at one time, nicely done, and is free of cracks. The last addition to this cased set is a full sealed box of Remington UMC .44 Henry flat (50) rimfire cartridges with green label, sealed on all four sides, and bottom label with guarantee and lot number and has been wrapped for protection. Overall, one of the finest existing standard early commercial Henry rifles extant in fine original walnut display case with a sealed box of rare ammunition. A true gem amongst the Winchester collecting fraternity; sure to be one of your most prized possessions.
Accessories
Case, box of ammo
Caliber/Bore
.44 Henry Rimfire
Manufacturer
Henry Repeating Arms