Very Rare Whitney "Good & Serviceable" US Model 1855 Type Rifle Musket With Functional Tape Primer Lock

American Civil War

.58 caliber. 40" barrel secured by three flat, spring retained barrel bands. SN: D74. Bright finish, iron furniture, brass lock screw escutcheons, pewter forend cap, walnut stock. Single shot percussion ignition muzzleloading rifle musket with functional Maynard tape priming lock, Whitney "mid-range" folding leaf rear sight, Barleycorn combination front sight and socket bayonet lug, sling swivels and a correct style straight shank tulip head ramrod. Lock marked on the lower front in two lines E. WHITNEY/N. HAVEN and dated 1858 at the tail. Tape primer magazine door with {Spread-Winged Eagle}. A spurious CSA is stamped on the left angled breech flat. The Whitney alphanumeric serial number D/74 is stamped on the barrel, behind the rear sight. Buttplate without "US" mark, as is correct. These very rare examples of "Good & Serviceable" Whitney arms were produced using condemned Maynard tape priming locks that Whitney purchased from Harpers Ferry. Whitney had initially tried to obtain 1,000 M1855 pattern locks from Springfield in 1860, but as the M1855 was still in production, locks were not available to for. The Ordnance Department subsequently authorized the sale of as many as 1,000 M1855 pattern locks that were "damaged or otherwise unsuitable for public service" to be sold to Whitney, and in the end he obtained 350 of those locks from Harpers Ferry. He apparently obtained some other parts, primarily furniture, that was likely condemned as well. He assembled the M1855 pattern arms using the Harpers Ferry locks, other arsenal pattern parts like barrel bands, triggerguard and buttplates, and with parts acquired at the Robbins & Lawrence auction that had been intended for use in their Pattern 1853 Enfield Rifle Musket contract. The Enfield pattern parts included things like the band springs, lock screw escutcheons and front sights. Barrels were either finished Robbins & Lawrence barrels that Whitney had obtained in an unfinished state, those that he made, or some surplus US Arsenal barrels. Only 350 were produced and all were sold to the state of Connecticut. Photographic evidence suggests that nearly all of those subsequently saw use with the 8th Connecticut Infantry. A solid example of one of the rarest Civil War era contract long arms.
{ANTIQUE}

From the Lifetime Collection of Robert G. Paulsen

This lot is located in Cincinnati.