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LOT 202
Excellent and Rare, Exhibition Colt Model 1855 Revolving Military Pattern Rifle-Musket - Serial no. 4162, 56 cal., 37 1/2 inch round bbl., bright finish, deluxe walnut stock. This is an excellent example of a Colt Model 1855 military pattern rifle-musket, manufactured for factory exhibition at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial and later Schuyler, Hartley & Graham Display board. The stock and forearm of this example are attractive highly figured factory hand picked select grain varnished American walnut, differing from the standard military muskets. Reportedly, 4,825 of the Colt Model 1855 rifles were manufactured in .56 caliber with 37 1/2 inch barrels out of the 9,310 military rifles manufactured in various configurations between 1856-1864 (reference pages 182-183 of Wilson’s book). The majority of these rifles were purchased during the Civil War, although this excellent example appears to be an exception. Many, like this example, were finished with the same “National Armory Bright” finish found on regulation rifle muskets. Of very interesting note, page 312 of R.L. Wilson’s “The Book of Colt Firearms” shows a photograph of the Hartley & Graham display board of 1877, containing an identical example of a Model 1855 musket with serial number 4161, one serial number before this gun bearing serial 4162, and a Model 1855 full stock sporting rifle with serial number 4163, one serial number after this gun. The aforementioned guns are also photographed on pages 193 and 196 of the book. This example has old red painted inventory number “119” located on the rear of the buttplate. Its high state of condition along with its factory hand picked select grain varnished walnut stocks strongly suggest this example was also used for exhibition purposes, with the guns one serial number above and below it known to have been from the Hartley & Graham display board. As mentioned on page 313 of Wilson’s book, Schuyler, Hartley and Graham had multi-gun permanent displays in their showrooms in New York City, as well as a number of other trusted Colt dealers, so it is likely this example may have been in one of these displays, or possibly even in a Colt factory display. Page 314 shows another Schuyler, Hartley and Graham display along with a different Cooper and Pond display, both displays containing Colt 1855 muskets, at one of the benefit
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fairs held in New York during the Civil War. This military type revolving musket is finished “National Armory Bright” with niter blue finished rear sight along with the cylinder nipples and some of the small screws. The barrel has 7-groove rifling, a block front sight that serves as a lug for a socket bayonet, and three-leaf folding rear sight graduated for 100, 300 and 600 yards. A steel cleaning rod is mounted below the forearm (absent tip). Factory sling swivels are located on the middle barrel band and
trigger guard tang.