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.