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LOT 1020
Extremely Rare, Well-Documented, and Exceptional, Special Order, “Browning Brothers
Shipped”, Winchester Model 1873 “One of One Thousand” Lever Action Rifle, the Only
Example in .38-40 W.C.F., with Factory Letters and Scarce Sight Case - Serial no. 435498, 38
WCF cal., 24 3/8 inch part octagon bbl., blue/casehardened/nickel finish, deluxe walnut stock. The
Winchester Model 1873 remains one of the most iconic American firearms, and the One of One
Thousand Model 1873s are among the most desirable of all antique American firearms. Only 132
of the iconic One of One Thousand Model
1873s were ever manufactured out of over
720,000 Model 1873s manufactured making
them among the rarest and most valuable
of all Winchester firearms. This particular rifle
is the only example recorded in .38 W.C.F.
The rest were the standard .44-40 W.C.F. The
caliber along with the other highly optioned,
special order features make this stunning
rifle a truly one-of-a-kind example of what is
already the most desirable of all Winchesters.
It also remains in extraordinarily high
condition compared to many of the One
of One Thousand rifles which often display
signs of hard use.
The other noted special features on this
rifle are the Swiss cheekpiece and buttplate
which were rarely ordered on Winchester
Model 1873s. On page 141 of “Winchester’s
New Model of 1873: A Tribute, Volume I” by
James D. Gordon, the author wrote, “One of
the most unusual features to be found on a
Model 1873 is the cheekpiece.” George Madis
similarly wrote: “The cheekpiece stock…
was produced in very limited numbers
on any models.” It is somewhat surprising
more customers did not order cheekpieces,
particularly for their One of One Thousands,
given how popular they had been on rifles
since the early wheellocks and on through
the Kentucky rifles and Hawken rifles.
As pictured and described in the books The Story of the Winchester 1 of 1000
and 1 of 100 Rifles by Lewis & Winchester: An American Legend by Wilson
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