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World’s Fair or in some instances not until after additional World’s Fairs such as the Exposition Universelle of 1878 in Paris indicating that many of these guns remained in the factory’s exhibition collection for many years before being sold or used as presentation pieces. Rock Island Auction Company has sold several confirmed exhibition Model 1866s in recent years, but these gold plated, factory engraved Model 1866 rifles are all very rare.
This rifle features circular buck scenes on the side plates, a “sand dollar” design on the right and left sides at the front of the frame, beautiful entwining scrollwork with punched backgrounds, shell accents, border designs, and an elongated oval panel on the top of the frame. The blued barrel features a German silver blade front sight, notch and folding ladder rear sight graduated out to 900 yards, and the two-line Winchester address and King’s improvement patent marking on top ahead of the rear sight. The lower tang has the serial number in block numerals in an engraved banner behind the lever thumb screw, and an “L” is stamped ahead of the thumb screw.
The Gold Standard "
LOT 1016
Stunning, Gold Gilt, Deluxe Factory Panel Scene Engraved Winchester Model 1866 Lever Action Rifle - Serial no. 124744, 44 Henry RF cal., 24 3/8 inch octagon bbl., blue/gold finish, walnut stock. This beautiful Model 1866 lever action rifle was manufactured in 1874 and features exhibition grade factory engraving from Conrad or John Ulrich as well as a gold gilt frame, forend cap, and buttplate. Other gilt, factory panel scene engraved Winchester Model 1866s are known to have been used as factory exhibition guns in the late 19th century, including in the famous Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, a celebration of the centennial of the Declaration of Independence and the first World’s Fair held in the U.S. Their serial numbers span across several years into the early 1870s. Those that letter often indicate they were not sold until after the 1876