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Frontier Firearms from the Lifetime Collection of Larry Ness
|
- Sale 1987
Live
| Cincinnati
Jun 8 | 10:00 AM EDT
Live
| Cincinnati
Sale 1987
| Cincinnati
| Cincinnati
Estimate$3,000 – $5,000
.45-70. 24" round barrel with full length tubular magazine under barrel. SN: 313. Manufactured in 1880. Blued finish, smooth walnut stock and forend, carbine butt. Bolt action, tubular feed repeating rifle with exposed hammer. Adjustable ladder rear sight, front sight blade on carbine style barrel band. Standard three-line Remington address and patent markings on top rear of bolt. Top of chamber marked with an "{ARROW}" motif indicating Indian Police along with "WWK/P" inspection. William W Kimball was a civilian armory employee who primarily inspected U.S. Navy contract arms for the government during this period, including the Navy Rifle version of the Remington-Keene, Remington Model 1879 Navy Rifles and Hotchkiss 2nd Model Navy Rifles. The left barrel flat and receiver are also marked with the sub-inspection "HN" mark of Henry Nettleton, whose script cartouche was also applied to the wrists of these guns, although it is often worn. In this case the outline of the cartouche remains visible. Left side of receiver correctly marked in individual dies "U.S.I.D. 313", for "U.S. Interior Department" and gun #313. The U.S. Interior Department administered the Bureau of Indian Affairs during this period, which controlled all aspects of Native American life, particularly on reservation land. In 1878 the Bureau of Indian Affairs established the Tribal Police to enforce the law on reservation land, hoping for better results than those obtained by using the military to enforce the law, as the army often operated as oppressors rather than lawmen. In 1880 the U.S. Department of the Interior contracted with Remington Arms to deliver 650 Model 1875 Revolvers and 600 Remington-Keene Frontier Rifles in .45-70 for the use of the Tribal Police. These are extremely rare firearms in their own right, but due to the fact that they saw heavy use, often in harsh conditions, their survival rate is rather low and extant examples tend to be well-worn and heavily used.
The Collection of Larry Ness
About very good. Showing moderate wear and use as it typical of these guns, this one retains some nice amounts of blue on the receiver and along the edges of the barrel and on the magazine tube. The balance of the metal is mostly a moderately oxidized brownish-gray with scattered pitting and some impact marks on the metal and a few small dents in the magazine tube. Markings all remain legible, with the exception of the Nettleton cartouche which is really only a weak outline. Mechanically functional, fair bore with strong rifling, is dark, dirty and pitted. Stock with expected wear, showing bumps, dings and mars but not the level of hard use often found on these guns.
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Tim Carey
Associate Vice President, Head of Department, Arms, Armor and Militaria
