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LOT 3124
Very Scarce Henry Harrington Patent Percussion Nineteen-Shot Volley Gun - NSN, 24 cal., 19 1/8 inch round bbl., blue finish, walnut stock. Henry Harrington (1796-1876) of Southbridge, Massachusetts, patented his “volley gun” design in 1837 and intended to manufacture or license the production of long guns, handguns, and cannons based on his design. He is actually best remembered outside of gun collecting as a manufacturer of cutlery. In
fact, his company, founded in 1818, is credited as the first U.S. cutlery manufacturer and remains the largest manufacturer of cutlery within the country today. He produced a limited number of long guns and handguns of various patterns based on this “volley” design, including some with an incredible number of individual chambers like this nineteen-shot example. All of these firearms are incredibly rare and desirable, and most are
fairly unique given the variety of calibers, single versus double hammer varieties, barrel lengths, different materials, etc. Norm Flayderman indicated
a three-shot was the norm, if a norm could really be established among the extant examples. We sold a cased pistol version in December 2020 for
$34,500 demonstrating how desirable these volley guns are among serious antique arms collectors. This example could be used as a long range fowling gun with greater accuracy than a shotgun. Its barrel group has a central rifled bore and smoothbore outer bores. The rear plate of the breechblock pivots on a screw whereas most we have
examined have a screw on plate. The breech block is marked “HENRY/HARRINGTON/PATENT/1837/SOUTHBRIDGE/MASS” with the “PATENT/1837” in larger text. The gun features some classic scroll engraving, a small bead style front sight behind the decorative band at the muddle, a U-notch rear sight on the rear of the frame, and a lever on the left that pivots to allow the breechblock to lift out. With a spare block, the gun could be reloaded quickly. The stock is plain and has a silver plated brass buttplate with scroll and floral engraving. CONDITION: Good with a dark brown patina and some mild pitting on the iron, mostly distinct engraving, crisp breechblock markings, traces of original silver on the buttplate along with attractive aged patina overall, and moderate overall wear. The trigger guard is a modern made artificially browned replacement. The stock is also good and has some chips, numerous hairline cracks/drying checks, and mild wear. Mechanically fine. Estimate: 6,000 - 9,000
LOT 3125 Scarce H. Pieper Rolling Block Seven-Shot Volley Rifle - Serial no. 51, 22 RF cal., 25 3/4 inch round bbl., blue/casehardened finish, walnut stock. This unusual rolling block volley rifle has a 7-round barrel cluster housed in a single iron sleeve which is 1 inch across. The rolling block action has a 7-round removable rimfire breech face/ejector. The sides of the action have repeating banding that is repeated on the upper tang. The barrel sleeve is fitted with a dove tail beaded front sight and a sporting type rear sight, with the left side near the breech stamped with three proofs, including the circle Liege “E/LG” proof. Nicely figured checkered walnut forearm and pistol grip stock with
engraved steel grip cap and checkered hard rubber “H. PIEPER/LIEGE” embossed shotgun style buttplate. Absent barrel end cap. CONDITION: Fine, retains 80% period refinished blue finish on the barrel with scattered light to mild freckling and spotting, and the casehardened surfaces exhibit smooth brown and gray patina. The lightly reoiled wood is fine with recut checkering, a filled in crack behind the upper tang and a large crack visible on the left of the wrist, with some small chips visible around the edges of the lower tang. The buttplate has one chip at the toe. Mechanically excellent. Estimate: 4,000 - 6,000
LOT 3126
Scarce Engraved Adirondack Arms Co. Orvill M. Robinson Type II Breech Loading Tube Magazine Repeating Rifle - Serial no. 101, 44 RF cal., 23 1/4 inch octagon bbl., blue/nickel finish, walnut stock. Fewer than 600 total repeating rifles based on Orvill M. Robinson were manufactured in the early 1870s. There were two major variations based on the action design, but many of these Type II rifles also show considerable variation between rifle to rifle, making each an interesting example of scarce early cartridge repeater. They were only manufactured c. 1872-1874. This design is based on U.S. patent number 125,988 “Improvement in Breech-Loading Firearms” granted April 23, 1872, to Orvill M. Robinson of Upper Jay, New York. A.S. Babbitt of Plattsburgh, New York, may have manufactured these arms while the Adirondack Firearms Company of Plattsburgh, New York, was formed to market them. Winchester purchased the company in 1874 and did not use the design. This rifle is a later variant and features a hammer at the rear, a hand-operated pivoting rear breechblock connected by a link to a sliding breech bolt, tube magazine, and a built in cartridge elevator. A sliding lever on the left limits the length of cartridges that will feed into the cartridge elevator allowing the use of different length .44 rimfire cartridges. The barrel features blade front and sporting rear sights. The right side of the barrel and bottom right of the frame are marked “101.” The front part of the ents, and the rear of the bolt is marked “ROBINSON’S PAT. APR. 23D 72./MF’D BY ADIRONDACK FIRE ARMS Co./PLATTSBURGH, N.Y.” The rifle has a smooth walnut buttstock with a crescent brass buttplate. It features engraving consisting of scroll, dog, and deer patterns and punch dot backgrounds. CONDITION: Very good with 90% plus of the period refinished blue on the barrel and 85% original nickel finish remaining on the receiver, some light oxidation, repaired crack on the lever, and mild overall wear. The refinished stock is also good has spliced repairs in the wrist and some light handling and storage marks. Estimate: 3,000 - 4,500
LOT 3127 Scarce Roper Repeating Rifle Company Revolving Shotgun - Serial no. 177, 12 gauge, 28 inch round bbl., blue/ casehardened finish, walnut stock. This is an example of a Roper Revolving shotgun that was produced at Amherst, Massachusetts, from 1867 to 1868 by the Roper Repeating Rifle Company. This shotgun is stamped “ROPER REPEATING RIFLE CO./AMHERST. MASS./PATENTED. APRIL 10, 1866” on the hinged dust cover over the revolving mechanism. The serial number is marked on the barrel and on the frame under the forearm. Equipped with the Roper patent removable choke ring at the muzzle. This shotgun used special steel cartridges. The four shot carriers (consisting of a series of fins) are enclosed within a large round housing with a hinged loading gate on top. The hammer pulled the sliding breechblock to the rear, removing the fired case from the barrel, then revolving the cloverleaf carrier, and when the trigger was pulled, pushing the next cartridge into the barrel and fired it. The barrel is blued, frame, while the trigger guard, and housing are casehardened, and the forearm end is pewter. Smooth forearm and straight grip stock with a steel shotgun butt. CONDITION: Fine. The barrel retains 50% of the original blue with the balance of a smooth blue/brown patina while the remaining metal parts have a smooth mottled grey patina. The wood is very good with horizontal cracks visible in the wrist, scattered minor dents, and scratches. The markings are crisp. Mechanically fine. Estimate: 2,750 - 4,250
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breechblock is marked with 1857 and 1871 pat