A Mexican “Eagle & Snake” Engraved Winchester | Presented in Arms, Armor and Militaria

The Winchester Model 1866 Rifle revolutionized the firearms industry and became the first product to be offered by the famous Winchester Repeating Arms Company. 

Nicknamed the “Yellow Boy” due to the use of “gunmetal,” a brass-bronze alloy, for the gun’s frame, the 1866 quickly became a popular repeating rifle used throughout the American West by settlers, lawmen, outlaws, and Native Americans alike. The guns were produced in three primary models, a 24” barreled rifle, a 27” barreled musket, and a 20” barreled saddle ring carbine. While never adopted by the US military, the 1866 was acquired in some numbers by the French during the Franco-Prussian War, by the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War, and by the Mexican government as well. Despite becoming somewhat outdated by the introduction of Winchester’s Model 1873 Rifle which fired the new centerfire, rather than rimfire ammunition, the Model 1866 remained in production for slightly more than three decades with some 170,101 being produced between 1866 and 1898.

For collectors, one of the most desirable variants of the 1866 is the Saddle Ring Carbine, as these shorter, handier versions of the gun were popular with horsemen in the American West. The carbines were also produced in fewer numbers than the rifles, making them less common on today’s collector’s market.

The most desirable of these guns are either those with provenance connecting them to a specific western luminary or those enhanced with engraving by the most famous engravers of the period—Nimschke, Young, or the Ulrichs. This particular example was produced in 1887 and is engraved with the Mexican “Eagle & Snake” motif. Several similarly decorated Model 1866s are attributed as engraving done by the Ulrich Brothers. The decoration suggests that this gun may have stories to tell of bandits and Federales south of the boarder during the turbulent decades that preceded the Mexican Revolution.

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TO BE OFFERED, OCTOBER 23, CINCINNATI
Lot 179 Engraved Winchester Model 1866 Saddle Ring Carbine
Attributed to the Ulrich Brothers
Estimate: $9,000 - 12,000