Page 63 - 4096-BOOK2

LOT 1043
Antique First Year Production, Factory Panel Scene Engraved, Special Order Marlin Deluxe Model 1891 Lever Action Rifle with Factory Letter - Serial no. 55707, 22 RF cal., 24 inch octagon bbl., blue/casehardened
finish, walnut stock. Manufactured in 1894, this engraved, deluxe Model 1891 is a highly sought after rarity in Marlin collecting. Only a few early factory engraved Model 1891s are known to exist, with this example having
been produced in the very first year of production. The included factory letter with this rifle lists it in .22 caliber with a 24 inch barrel and pistol grip stock when shipped on 16 September 1891. Marlin records are notoriously
incomplete, as noted Marlin expert William Brophy explained, “Unfortunately, the few remaining factory records do not, with any regularity, indicate if the gun was factory engraved or not.”, as is the case with this example,
despite it being undoubtedly factory engraved. The Marlin engraving patterns, including the one on this rifle, were designed by Conrad F. Ulrich who was influenced by the 19th century masters L.D. Nimschke and Gustave
Young. Ulrich spent a lifetime embellishing some of the finest high art firearms of the late 19th century to early 20th century, and he is known to have executed most of the engraving for Marlin between 1881 and 1910.
The engraved motif on the special order casehardened receiver is very similar to both the No. 2 pattern and the No. 3 pattern, as illustrated in Brophy’s “Marlin Firearms” on p. 531-534. The engraving consists of extensive
scrollwork and scroll borders along with finely detailed game scene vignettes. The left side of the receiver features a hunter shooting a whitetail buck in an oval panel, and the right side features a whitetail doe in a circular
panel. The breech of the barrel has flourishes of scrollwork. Additional scrollwork is featured on the forend cap. The top of the barrel has the standard two-line address and patent dates. The top of the receiver has the Marlin
Safety marking and the serial number is on the bottom. The matching serial number is marked in the stock inlet and inside the buttplate. It is fitted with a gold washed Beach type combination front sight, a fixed notch rear
sight, and a combination peep sight on the upper tang. It is mounted with a nicely figured “No. B” pattern checkered forearm and pistol grip stock with a crescent buttplate.
CONDITION: Fine, retains 80% plus of the original blue finish,
25% of the original case colors in sheltered areas, and 50% of
the original nitre blue on the loading gate with the balance
mostly a silvered or smooth grey patina, some scattered patches
of surface freckling, and crisp engraving. The wood is also fine
with some scattered minor dings/scratches and mostly crisp
checkering. Mechanically excellent. These early production,
factory engraved Marlin Model 1891 rifles are rarely offered,
don’t miss this opportunity!
Provenance: The Tom Selleck Collection.
Estimate: 35,000 - 47,500
61