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The lack of British proofs suggests the rifle was ordered from Winchester in America and delivered directly to the Duke rather than
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LOT 25
Highly Desirable Winchester Model 1876 .50 Express Lever Action Short Rifle
with Historic 7th Duke of Atholl Crest on Silver Stock Escutcheon with Factory Letter - Serial no.
19504, 50-95 Express cal., 22 inch round bbl., blue/ casehardened finish, deluxe checkered walnut stock. The
rifle was manufactured in 1881 and original ownership is identified to Scottish duke and arms enthusiast John Murray. Murray’s crest is engraved on the German silver escutcheon on
the underside of the buttstock. According to our consignor, “The crest has been identified by Stephen Wood, an expert in such matters, as he says, ‘The crest (as it should correctly be described) is that of a duke of Atholl (a
Scottish title). If the rifle dates from the 1880s- as I recall you said it did- the crest is almost certainly that of John James Hugh Henry Stuart-Murray (1840-1917) who was the only son of George Murray, 6th duke of Atholl (1814-64) and who was styled Marquess of Tullibardine from 1846 to 1864. On his father’s death in 1864, he became 7th duke of Atholl. The coronet on the escutcheon of the rifle is that of a British duke.’” It is rare to catalog a pre-1899 Winchester rifle identified to its original owner, let alone a prominent owner such as the Duke. The home of the Dukes of Atholl is Blair Castle located near
the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire in Scotland. The well-known castle dates to the 13th century, and today this remarkable piece of well-preserved Scottish architecture
is opened to tourists. The large entrance hall was built in 1872 by John Murray and is appointed with an extensive collection of arms and animal mounts. In 1979, many of the Blair Castle arms went up for auction.
The accompanying factory letter states the rifle was received in the warehouse on November 11, 1881 and shipped the next day to order number 29192 with a 22 inch round “express” barrel, plain trigger, plain trigger, checkered pistol grip stock, shotgun buttplate, casehardened frame, “inside finish,” and “plate as per letter.” The letter notes the rifle was delivered with “inside finish.” Per Winchester expert and author Herbert Houze, only 175 Model 1876s had “inside finishing.” This is certainly one of the rare features on this rifle. The “plate as per letter” references the inlaid buttstock plate featuring Murray’s crest. Murray must have written a letter to Winchester and included a sketch of his crest for the engraver. It is possible that the engraver was an Ulrich. Both Conrad and John Ulrich were working for Winchester at the time the rifle was ordered. Inlaid plates are rare, and these plates are generally delivered plain.
delivered through a British house where it would have been proofed. In 1881 the Duke visited the United States. His 1881 visit was retold in the “Chronicles of the Atholl and Tullibardine Families:”“May 11, 1881- The Duke set out from Blair for a tour in America. At Liverpool he was joined by Mr. Wynne
of Peniarth and Mr. Marcus Blake, and on the 12th sailed in the Allan s.s. Moravian for Quebec. From thence
they proceeded to Montreal, and then by Albany to New York. The Duke and Mr. Blake crossed the continent by the Union Pacific route to San Francisco, stopping at Chicago and Salt Lake City en route. After an expedition to the Yosemite Valley, they returned by the Southern Pacific line to Montreal (his Grace making a detour to Winnipeg during the journey), and on July 16th again embarked in the Moravian at Rimouski, New Brunswick, for Liverpool, reaching London on the 25th.”
Traveling south from Canada to New York City in mid-1881 provided Murray with opportunities to special order his deluxe Model 1876 express short rifle, either through
a visit to the Winchester factory in Connecticut or through dealers along the way. The rifle was likely shipped directly to the Duke and arrived in Scotland having bypassed
the British proofing authorities. The rifle was then available to the Duke in January 1883 when he toured the world from west to east. The rifle likely saw use in Egypt, India, Ceylon, China, Japan, and the Sandwich Islands, now Hawaii. He travel to San Francisco, Yosemite and to New York with possible stops in Idaho and Colorado before arriving home to Scotland that summer. His 1883 around the world tour was also referenced in the “Chronicles of the Atholl and Tullibardine Families,” and this rifle certainly would have made a great companion during the trip.
Long before the Duke made his epic journeys to the United States in the 1880s, the Murray family had already left their mark on America. Atol, Massachusetts, was originally called Pequoiag, and the area was first settled by five families in September 1735. When the township was incorporated in 1762, the name was changed to Athol. John Murray, the 3rd Duke of Atholl, was one of the proprietors of the land and chose the name because the hills reminded him of his ancestral home of Blair Atholl, Scotland. Atholl means “pleasant place.”
This .50-95 Express Short Rifle Model 1876 is configured similarly to the Model 1886 Lightweight in that it has a short 22 inch barrel (although not tapered), rifle style forearm, and shotgun butt. This example has a full length magazine, a seldom seen feature as most of the short rifles had a half magazine. In “The Winchester Model 1876 Centennial Rifle,” author Herbert Houze details around 2,500 short rifle and 2,500 carbines, all with 22 inch barrels. Approximately 65,000 Model 1876s were manufactured; however, only 3,310 were chambered in .50-95 Express. Based on Houze’s research, around 30 of the 3,310 were in deluxe configuration. Adding to the rarity is that the rifle lacks London proofs.