Isaac Hollis & Sons Contract French 1846 Style Artillery Carbine

Franco Prussian War

.58 caliber. 24" barrel. SN: 591. Bright finish, brass furniture, European hardwood stock. Single shot percussion muzzleloading rifled carbine with British P1856 type 3-leaf rear sight, dovetailed front sight blade, saber bayonet lug 4" from muzzle with .75" guide key, sling swivels and a steel ramrod with a dished button head. Lock marked with the Hollis & Sons logo at the tail and in three lines forward of the hammer ISAAC HOLLIS & SONS/LATE/HOLLIS & SHEATH. Breech plug tang numbed 591. An interesting Anglicized version of the French Model 1846 Artillery carbine, the design combines typical Enfield-style features like the lock profile, lock escutcheons and carbine leaf rear sight with a standard French design. During the Franco-Prussian War, the English did provide arms on contract to the French of many patterns, ranging from English made copies of the M1866 Chassepot Rifle to more mundane percussion arms like this one. The firm of Isaac Hollis & Sons were gun, rifle and pistol makers who worked under that name from circa 1861-1900 and was the successor to the earlier firm Hollis & Sheath (1849-1861). The company produced a wide array and large number of firearms of all types, serving the British War Department, commercial buyers, the fur trade and even foreign governments. Hollis was one of the contractors to produce French Chassepot under license from the French government. {ANTIQUE}

This lot is located in Cincinnati.

Good. Bore moderately oxidized and lightly rusted with visible rifling. Metal lightly cleaned with a salt and pepper grayish patina on the barrel and some lightly scattered pitting. Markings remain fairly clear and legible. Brass with a medium golden patina. Mechanically functional lock, hammer skirt with a chip missing. Wood lightly sanded with some old added finish and scattered bump, dings and mars.

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Mr. Tim Prince

Senior Consulting Specialist, Arms, Armor & Militaria

[email protected]312 280 1212

Tim Prince has more than 30-years of experience in the field of antique and collectible arms and is a nationally recognized expert in the area of Civil War small arms. A long-time researcher and author, Tim has been a contributing author to two major books about Civil War firearms, including The English Connection: Arms, Material and Support Furnished to the Confederate States of America by Great Britain (2014) and Confederate Shotguns and Southern Agent Marked Shotguns (2017). He was also a major contributor to the recently updated Blue Book of Antique American Firearms & Values – 2nd Edition (2019) as well as the 2010 updates to the Civil War Collector's Price Guide - 12th edition. Over the last decade Tim has authored more than 50 articles on 19th century collectible and military arms, which have been published in such varied publications as Civil War News, North-South Trader, and Military Antique Collector. Since 2016 has appeared as a featured appraiser in the field of Arms & Militaria on the popular PBS television series Antiques Roadshow. He is a member of the American Society of Arms Collectors and currently serves on the board of directors of that organization. He is also a member of and formerly served on the board of directors of the Society of American Bayonet Collectors. Tim is a life member of the Ohio Valley Military Society, the Tennessee Military Collectors Association, the Alabama Military Collectors Association, is a member of the Company of Military Historians and is a member of numerous other colleting groups and societies. He is the owner of College Hill Arsenal, a web based antique and collectible arms retail web site, specializing in the American Civil War and related military items. Tim has engaged in the business of buying, selling, researching, and appraising antique and collectible arms and associated military items for some three decades. Since 2016 he has also served as a senior Consulting Specialist in the field of Arms, Armor & Militaria for Cowan’s Auctions, a Freeman's Company.

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Isaac Hollis & Sons Contract French 1846 Style Artillery Carbine

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