Lot #1019
Lot #1021

Lot 1020: Ulrich Factory Exhibition Engraved Winchester Model 1886 Rifle

Historically Significant, Documented, Exquisite John Ulrich Signed Factory Engraved, Gold Inlaid and Carved Winchester Deluxe Model 1886 Takedown Lever Action Rifle Commissioned as a Factory Exhibition Display Piece and Shipped to Texas Entrepreneur J.W. Flanagan with Factory Letter

Auction Location: Bedford, TX

Auction Date: December 9, 2023

Lot 1020: Ulrich Factory Exhibition Engraved Winchester Model 1886 Rifle

Historically Significant, Documented, Exquisite John Ulrich Signed Factory Engraved, Gold Inlaid and Carved Winchester Deluxe Model 1886 Takedown Lever Action Rifle Commissioned as a Factory Exhibition Display Piece and Shipped to Texas Entrepreneur J.W. Flanagan with Factory Letter

Auction Location: Bedford, TX

Auction Date: December 9, 2023

Estimated Price: $275,000 - $425,000

Historically Significant, Documented, Exquisite John Ulrich Signed Factory Engraved, Gold Inlaid and Carved Winchester Deluxe Model 1886 Takedown Lever Action Rifle Commissioned as a Factory Exhibition Display Piece and Shipped to Texas Entrepreneur J.W. Flanagan with Factory Letter

Manufacturer: Winchester
Model: 1886
Type: Rifle
Gauge: 33 WCF
Barrel: 24 inch round
Finish: blue
Grip:
Stock: walnut
Item Views: 3334
Item Interest: Very Active
Serial Number:
Catalog Page: 19
Class: Curio & Relic Long Gun
Description:

This beautiful special order, carved deluxe Winchester Model 1886 rifle was engraved and gold inlaid by celebrated Winchester factory Master Engraver John Ulrich, who has signed his masterpiece behind the trigger. This is a historically significant, highly finished Winchester with factory records clearly identifying it as a well-traveled factory exhibition gun showcasing Ulrich’s superb artistry and indicating it ultimately ended in the hands of Texas entrepreneur J.W. Flanagan. The combination of factory artistry and interesting exhibition history make this rifle a one-of-a-kind work-of-art. It will certainly be a standout Ulrich masterpiece in the most advanced collection. The accompanying factory letter for this astonishing work of firearms art confirms the round barrel in .33 Winchester caliber, half magazine, takedown configuration, fancy pistol grip stock with style “A” carving and oil finish, hard rubber shotgun butt, and engraving and gold inlay by John Ulrich at a cost of $100 and 297 grains worth of gold. Note the factory records specifically lists the engraver, leaving no doubts that the embellishment was carried out by renowned Master Engraver John Ulrich. The factory letter also provides a large series of dates which is typical with Winchester’s well-traveled exhibition pieces that were showcased at various World's Fairs, other international exhibitions, American exhibitions, and sometimes at important dealers. Included with many of these dates are references to certain individuals, a detail often missing from the factory ledgers. The following is the series of entries along with our analysis. Received in the warehouse on August 21, 1914 Shipped from the warehouse on October 7, 1914, to F.H. Simonds, New York City-sample consignment account Credit Simonds Commercial Photo Company sample consignment account on December 29, 1914, Order number 607026 Frank H. Simonds was a well-respected historian and journalist in the period and spent many years covering international affairs for The Hartford Courant. He also published multiple volumes on the U.S. involvement in the First World War and international politics. He was also one of the incorporators of the Simonds Commercial Photo Company, Inc., at 818 Chapel Street in New Haven, Connecticut, the hometown of Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The business was a wholesale and retail photographic business credited in period publications for photographs. The rifle appears to have been sent to Simonds for photography for Winchester advertisements or possibly another publication. Sample consignment December 29, 1914 Charge I.L. Lippencott, sample consignment January 5, 1915, Order number 606933a Returned February 25, 1916, Order number 74086 Charge Exhibition Showcase sample consignment account on March 2, 1916, Order number 770529 Credit Exhibition Showcase sample consignment June 5, 1917, Order number 821746T I.L. Lippincott is noted as the Sales Manager of the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. in the 1920s. As the Sales Manager, he would have played an important role in Winchester’s exhibits. The January 5, 1915, and February 25, 1916, dates coincide with the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, a World’s Fair held in San Francisco from February 20 to December 1915. Winchester participated in the exposition and won the coveted “grand prix” and used it in advertisements in sporting publications that year. For example, Winchester advertised the San Francisco based “Breeder and Sportsman” magazine in 1915: “The Grand Prix at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition Awarded to Winchester Guns and Ammunition – The Highest Possible Honor Bestowed Upon the W Brand” adding “The International Jury of Award of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition has awarded Winchester rifles, repeating shotguns, metallic cartridges, shotgun shells, etc., the Grand Prix, which is the highest honor that this body can bestow upon a manufacturer’s goods. Consequently no other manufacturer of such goods has been so honored at this exposition. This award adds to the long list which Winchester products have received in other expositions in this country and thruout [sic] the world, and is additional evidence why the Winchester Repeating Arms Company is the only manufacturer of guns and ammunition that is by invitation member of Rice Leaders of the World Association.” These two dates along with the December 29, 1914, and March 2, 1916, dates and order numbers are shared with another known John Ulrich sighed engraved Winchester exhibition rifle. This second Ulrich masterpiece is no. 161786, a Model 1894 that spent over 20 years as a Winchester factory exhibition piece. We had the honor of selling that rifle in December 2017 (lot 2016, price realized $207,000). In its factory letter, I.L. Lippincott is also referenced among these dates. This is evidence confirms that this rifle and Model 1894 no. 161786 traveled together as exhibition guns. Received in warehouse on June 11, 1917 Shipped to Capt. J.W. Flanagan, c/o Waldorf Astoria, New York City on June 11, 1917 Returned and repaired on June 14, 1917 In 1917, the rifle was released from Winchester and shipped to James Wainwright Flanagan (1873 – 1950). When the rifle was shipped in 1917, Flanagan’s residency was at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, but he was a native Texan. He was born to a poor Rusk County farmer in 1873 and left the family farm in his teens to find fame and fortune. As his obituary explained, Colonel Flanagan was an “internationally known mining engineer and soldier of fortune, who was identified with several big engineering projects in Central and South America.” Flanagan struck it rich in the early 1900s with ore mining operations in Mexico. He held business ties throughout Latin America and gained additional wealth through his connections with the Canada based British American Oil Company, which operated from 1906-1969. It was reported that he spoke several languages fluently and was generous with his wealth. In 1939, Flanagan entertained King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England at his 140 acre estate near Toronto, Canada. As reported by the Tyler Morning Telegraph, “The [Flanagan] household furniture is an art collection itself gathered at staggering cost from all over the world.” The estate had, as the newspaper put it, “the regal spender of Buckingham palace” (May 19, 1939). His home was so impressive and grand that several Canadian magazines published elaborate illustrated articles covering the home’s architecture and art. Flanagan was an art collector. The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas, possesses at least one piece of artwork from his collection. Certainly this Ulrich Winchester Model 1886 masterpiece was among his prized artworks. Flanagan was the nephew of David Webster Flanagan (1832-1924), a prominent Texan Republican leader and a Unionist who served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. The rifle features a factory engraving and gold inlay pattern, which is signed “J. ULRICH” in small font behind the trigger. A pair bull and cow elk, mountain lion, bear, and moose’s head are inlaid in solid gold on the receiver. The receiver, upper tang, bolt, takedown collar, hammer, lever, and barrel breech are engraved with arabesque scrollwork and artistic borders. The scrollwork and engraved borders are accented with numerous gold inlaid borders. A gold inlaid band appears on the barrel at the muzzle and breech. The deluxe, fancy grade walnut stock and forearm feature Winchester Style A, relief carved pattern and oil finish. The rifle is fitted with a Lyman beaded blade front sight and an adjustable elevation rear sight. The left side of the barrel is stamped with the two-line Winchester legend, two-line nickel steel marking, and “33 WCF.” A Winchester factory oval proof is stamped on the barrel and receiver at the breech. The upper tang has the three-line model/trade mark information. The lower tang has the patent date marking and the serial number. The buttstock is fitted with a Winchester hard rubber shotgun type buttplate.

Rating Definition:

Excellent, a historically significant piece of Winchester artistry. The rifle retains 90% plus original blue finish with thinning to brown on the balance. The engraving is crisp. 85% original nitre blue remains on the loading gate. 75% original case colors remain on the hammer and lever. The wood is extremely fine with a couple slight stress lines at the upper tang, minor handling marks, and crisp carving. Mechanically excellent. Do not miss your opportunity to acquire an exquisite John Ulrich signed Winchester masterpiece commissioned as a factory exhibition display piece and shipped to a Texas entrepreneur. Winchester exhibition guns are rare and are missing from even the most advanced collections.



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