September 10-12, 2024 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/10/2024
This beauty was the cover gun in the 2021 fall edition of The Texas Gun Collector magazine, with the accompanying article on pages 22 & 23. Rifle is accompanied by a Sharps research letter written by Dr. R.L. Moore on November 27, 1990. The letter lists as follows: Number 155696 was invoiced on December 23, 1875 to Sharps agent E.S. Harris of NYC, noted as a Model 1874 Long Range Target Rifle #3. The caliber is .44 and was sold complete with target sights and spirit level (with accessories) and was produced at the Hartford plant. The long range tang sight has a matching serial number on the right side of base; according to Tom Rowe, this is an extra long range with a 6" elevation and a rarity rating of 5. The full octagon barrel measures 34". The walnut stock and forearm are factory hand checkered with a slight Schnabel to the tip. The steel butt plate is coarsely factory checkered. There is no provision for any rear barrel mounted sporting sight. Barrel breech is stamped for .44 caliber (.44-90). Barrel is also stamped "SHARPS RIFLE CO. E. HARTFORD CONN". The left side of the receiver is stamped SHARPS RIFLE CO. PAT APR 6, 1869. Original factory finish is blue and case color. Rifle is also accompanied by a copy of the original shipping ledger. CONDITION. Excellent. There is still some nice case color, mostly on the left side and top of the receiver, while majority has simply patterned and darkened. All legends are crisp. There are still flashes of nitre blue on some screws with some slight slot distortion. The barrel shows high edge wear on the razer sharp edges and retains vast majority of dulling blue with some patina bleeding. The front sight glass level and bubble are still viable. The beautiful stocks have a piano finish with sharp checkering and just the usual scattered minor impressions. The bore is well defined but frosted a bit with very minor abrasion. It is believed that only 13 Long Range models were ever made at the Hartford plant. Rarity, condition, and history; always a winning combination.
Caliber/Bore
.44-90 Sharps
Model
1874 Long Range No. 3
Paperwork
Factory Letter Copy, Publication