Page 25 - 4090-BOOK2

Credit Exhibition Showcase sample consignment June 5, 1917, Order number 821746T
I.L. Lippincott is noted as the Sales Manager of the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. in the 1920s.
Mexico. He held business ties throughout Latin America
and gained additional wealth through his connections with
the Canada based British American Oil Company, which operated
from 1906-1969. It was reported that he spoke several languages fluently and
As the Sales Manager, he would have played an important role in Winchester’s exhibits. The January 5, 1915, and February 25, 1916, dates coincide
with the Panama-Pacific International Exposition,
a World’s Fair held in San Francisco from February 20 to December 1915. Winchester participated in the exposition and won the coveted “grand prix” and used it in advertisements in sporting publications that year. For example, Winchester advertised the San Francisco based “Breeder and Sportsman” magazine in 1915: “The Grand Prix at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition Awarded to Winchester Guns and Ammunition – The Highest Possible Honor Bestowed Upon the W Brand” adding “The International Jury of Award of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition has awarded Winchester rifles, repeating shotguns, metallic cartridges, shotgun shells, etc., the Grand Prix, which is the highest honor that this body can bestow upon a manufacturer’s goods. Consequently
no other manufacturer of such goods has been so honored at this exposition. This award adds to the long list which Winchester products have received in other expositions in
this country and thruout [sic] the world, and is additional evidence why the Winchester Repeating Arms Company is the only manufacturer of guns and ammunition that is by invitation member of Rice Leaders of the World Association.”
These two dates along with the December 29, 1914, and March 2, 1916, dates and
order numbers are shared with another known John Ulrich sighed engraved Winchester exhibition rifle. This second Ulrich masterpiece is no. 161786, a Model 1894 that spent over 20 years as a Winchester factory exhibition piece. We had the honor of selling that rifle in December 2017 (lot 2016, price realized $207,000). In its factory letter, I.L. Lippincott is also referenced among these dates. This is evidence confirms that this rifle and Model 1894 no. 161786 traveled together as exhibition guns.
Received in warehouse on June 11, 1917
Shipped to Capt. J.W. Flanagan, c/o Waldorf Astoria, New York City on June 11, 1917 Returned and repaired on June 14, 1917
In 1917, the rifle was released from Winchester and shipped to James Wainwright Flanagan (1873 – 1950). When the rifle was shipped in 1917, Flanagan’s residency was at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, but he was a native Texan. He was born to a poor Rusk County farmer in 1873 and left the family farm in his teens to find fame and fortune. As his obituary explained, Colonel Flanagan was an “internationally known mining engineer and soldier of fortune, who was identified with several big engineering projects in Central and South America.” Flanagan struck it rich in the early 1900s with ore mining operations in
was generous with his wealth. In 1939, Flanagan entertained King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England at his 140 acre estate near Toronto, Canada. As reported by the Tyler Morning Telegraph, “The [Flanagan] household furniture is an art collection itself gathered at staggering cost from all over the world.” The estate had, as the newspaper put it, “the regal spender of Buckingham palace” (May 19, 1939). His home was so impressive and grand that several Canadian magazines published elaborate illustrated articles covering the home’s architecture and art. Flanagan was an art collector. The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas, possesses at least one piece of artwork from his collection. Certainly this Ulrich Winchester Model 1886 masterpiece was among his prized artworks. Flanagan was the nephew of David Webster Flanagan (1832-1924), a prominent Texan Republican leader and a Unionist who served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
The rifle features a factory engraving and gold inlay pattern, which is signed “J. ULRICH”
in small font behind the trigger. A pair bull and cow elk, mountain lion, bear, and moose’s head are inlaid in solid gold on the receiver. The receiver, upper tang, bolt, takedown collar, hammer, lever, and barrel breech are engraved with arabesque scrollwork and artistic borders. The scrollwork and engraved borders are accented with numerous gold inlaid borders. A gold inlaid band appears on the barrel at the muzzle and breech. The deluxe, fancy grade walnut stock and forearm feature Winchester Style A, relief carved pattern
and oil finish. The rifle is fitted with a Lyman beaded blade front sight and an adjustable elevation rear sight. The left side of the barrel is stamped with the two-line Winchester legend, two-line nickel steel marking, and “33 WCF.” A Winchester factory oval proof is stamped on the barrel and receiver at the breech. The upper tang has the three-line model/trade mark information. The lower tang has the patent date marking and the serial number. The buttstock is fitted with a Winchester hard rubber shotgun type buttplate. CONDITION: Excellent, a historically significant piece of Winchester artistry. The rifle retains 90% plus original blue finish with thinning to brown on the balance. The engraving is
crisp. 85% original nitre blue remains on the loading gate. 75% original case colors remain on the hammer and lever. The wood is extremely fine with a couple slight stress lines at the upper tang, minor handling marks, and crisp carving. Mechanically excellent. Do not miss your opportunity to acquire an exquisite John Ulrich signed Winchester masterpiece commissioned as a factory exhibition display piece and shipped to a Texas entrepreneur. Winchester exhibition guns are rare and are missing from even the most
advanced collections.
Estimate: 275,000 - 425,000
23