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CONDITION: Very good with scattered moderate dark colored pitting on the otherwise bright iron surfaces and attractive golden patina on the brass. The wood is fine as lightly sanded and re-oiled, with defined edges, a crack on the bottom rear of the forend, a crack behind the lock, a few chips and a filled in repair behind the frame, a filled in repair at the toe and some scattered light handling marks. The Maynard tape primer components are absent, otherwise functions mechanically fine. This truly rare and unique Washington patent prototype carbine would make an excellent addition to any advanced U.S. martial firearms collection!
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LOT 1116
Unique Documented Thornton A. Washington Patent Symmes Style Prototype Breech Loading Self-Cocking Percussion Saddle Ring Carbine with Maynard Tape Primer, Formerly of the William M. Locke Collection - NSN, 54 cal., 26 inch round bbl., bright finish, walnut stock. This likely one-off prototype breech loading percussion saddle ring carbine is entirely unmarked, and follows the design principles described in U.S. patent number 15,990 originally granted October 28th, 1856 to Thornton A. Washington of the U.S. Army. This exact Washington patent carbine is photographed on page 503 of “The William M. Locke Collection” book, in which it is called a “Symmes carbine” although this writer believes this Washington carbine differs from the Symmes. There is an example of a Symmes carbine photographed on page 635 of “Flayderman’s Guide 9th Edition” that is marked as such and shares slight visual similarities with this carbine although it has an outside located hammer and functions differently as referenced in Symmes U.S. patent numbers 3,946 and 22,094. It is possible though that Lieutenant John J. Symmes may have tested this carbine, as it is directly in the same time frame and shares strong similarities
This Washington carbine functions using a faucet breech mechanism. Upon lowering the breech lever, the hammer cocks simultaneously as the faucet breech block rotates forty-five degrees, providing a funnel style opening through the breech block that lines up with the breech to allow access for loading with a paper contained cartridge, in which the rear edge of the breech block snips the tail of the paper cartridge upon closing in a similar manner of a cigar clipper. It is fitted with a blade front and notch rear sight on the barrel, Edward Maynard’s patented tape p
tape primer components), a saddle ring on the left of t buttstock with brass Kentucky style
patchbox and buttplate.
of other known carbines of the time that the U.S. Army was performing field trials with in limited numbers in the second half of the 1850s including the Schroeder, Smith, Sharps and Merrill, Latrobe and Thomas carbines etc.
rimer mechanism on the lock (absent internal he frame and is mounted in a walnut forend and
Provenance: The William M. Locke Collection; Property of a Gentleman. Estimate: 9,500 - 16,000
AS PICTURED AND DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK THE WILLIAM LOCKE COLLECTION BY SELLERS