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LOT 1077
William Billinghurst Percussion Revolving Rifle - NSN, 43 cal., 27 3/4 inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened/brass finish, walnut stock. William
Billinghurst of Rochester, New York, was one of the most famous firearms makers of his day and was particularly known for his revolving rifles based on the Miller patent. The barrel has a small blade front sight and a notch rear sight and is signed “W. BILLINGHURST/ROCHESTER, N.Y.” on top at the breech. The seven-shot cylinder is finely serrated for easier grip and has been fitted with small percussion nipples for use with caps instead of pill primers. The back action lock and action feature some light floral and scroll engraving. The smooth walnut forearm has a single barrel wedge and a brass spacer at the frame. The smooth walnut straight grip stock has a brass crescent buttplate and an added decorative strip with pierced floral designs. A wooden ramrod is fitted under the barrel.
CONDITION: Good with dark brown patina overall and some mild oxidation and pitting. The brass has attractive aged patina. The ramrod is warped and cracked. The wood is good and has some horizontal cracks visible on the left side of the buttstock, repairs at wrist, dings, and scattered scratches. Mechanically fine. Estimate: 2,250 - 3,500
LOT 1078 German Silver Inlaid Percussion American Revolving Rifle - NSN, 45 cal., 27 3/8 inch octagon bbl., unknown finish,
maple stock. This six-shot revolving rifle is unmarked aside from the “WARREN/ALBANY” mark on the back action lock. The barrel has a blade front sight and an elevation adjustable sporting rear sight. A small left on the left frees the cylinder for rotation. The
maple stock has a variety of German silver inlays, including several stars. CONDITION: Fair with dark patina overall, two broken nipples, and mild oxidation and pitting. The ramrod assembly is a crude handmade
replacement. The stock is also good and has distinct checkering, mild scrapes and dings, and general moderate wear. Mechanically fine. Estimate: 2,000 - 3,000
LOT 1079 Six-Shot Percussion Revolving Shotgun - NSN, 20 gauge, 32 inch part octagon bbl., blue finish, deluxe walnut stock. This shotgun is loosely based on the Miller patent design but with a percussion cylinder and a second trigger within the trigger guard that releases the cylinder for manual rotation. The First Model Miller style cylinder cap has light scroll engraving. The smoothbore barrel has a blade front sight, an adjustable sporting rear sight, and scroll engraving on top at the breech. The cylinder has the chambers numbered 1 through 6. The back action lock, upper tang, and German silver furniture have scroll engraving, and the buttstock is nicely figured. CONDITION: Fair with dark patina and moderate pitting on the iron, most of an older blue finish on the cylinder, and general moderate wear. The
replacement stock and forearm are very good and have minor wear, and the buttstock has stunning figure. Mechanically fine. Estimate: 2,000 - 3,000
LOT 1080 H. Vulpius Marked Percussion Miller Patent/Billinghurst Type Percussion Revolving Rifle - NSN, 36 cal., 22 3/4
inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened finish, walnut stock. This Miller patent/Billinghurst style revolving rifle is adapted for use with percussion caps rather than the usual pill primers. The cylinder is inscribed “H. VULPIUS.” This is likely for Herman Vulpius (listed as Volpius in some references) who was active as a gunsmith around the 1860s-1870s in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Pottsville, Pennsylvania. The rifle has a German silver blade front sight in a dovetail right near the muzzle, a blank in a dovetail 8 inches back from the muzzle, and a peep sight with a 8 1/4 inch long base fitted via a dovetail near the breech end of the barrel and an elevation adjustment screw threaded into the upper tang. The back action lock has some light scroll engraving that was mostly filed off when the lock was modified, an empty tap towards the front, and added iron at the front
to fit the lock to the breech plate. CONDITION: Good as period modified (including a shortened barrel) with mostly dark brown and gray patina, some minor oxidation, filing marks, and general mild
wear throughout. The wood is also good and has some scattered dings and scratches, small flakes and some repairs around the lock, and some other small slivers absent at the edges. The cylinder is currently frozen, and one nipple is currently absent, although the replacement lock and the trigger function fine. Provenance: The Mark Aziz Collection; Property of a Gentleman. Estimate: 2,000 - 3,000
LOT 1081
Percussion Miller Patent/Billinghurst Type Revolving Rifle - NSN, 42 cal., 28 1/8 inch octagon bbl., brown/casehardened finish, walnut stock. James Millar patented this system in
1829. At least fifteen gunsmiths made the revolving rifle under the Miller patent in the Northeast, and it’s estimated that only a few hundred total were produced. This rifle has no visible maker’s mark. The barrel has a small blade front sight and a notch rear sight.
The seven-shot cylinder has some fairly crude serrations to make it easier to grip and rotate and has been fitted with percussion nipples. The back action lock has scroll engraving. The forend cap is pewter, and the furniture is iron. A star is carved into the left stock flat. CONDITION: Good with mottled gray and brown patina, mild oxidation, absent middle ramrod pipe, some cracks and repairs in the forend and stock wrist, general mild dings and scratches, and moderate overall wear. Mechanically needs work (lock doesn’t hold). Estimate: 1,800 - 2,750