Rock Island Auction Company is honored to be able to offer this absolutely stunning example of an engraved and silver plated Henry rifle, bearing serial number 1449, as manufactured in 1863 during the middle of the Civil War. Factory engraved Henry rifles are scarce and among the most desirable of all the antique firearms by collectors today thanks to their important place in the development of lever action firearms and the Winchester Repeating Arms Co., as well as their place in the history of the American Civil War, the West, and popular culture. This highly attractive factory engraved Henry is about as desirable as it gets, with a factory silver plated brass frame and buttplate, along with a deluxe select grain walnut stock. The combination of silver plating and engraving was a $10 special order option offered from the New Haven Arms Company starting in 1862, and the frequency of Henry rifles made with these options quickly declined due to the company discouraging special order features during the peak of production at the height of the Civil War in order to meet production demands. Many of these special ordered Henry rifles were known to have been presented to officers and prominent individuals. This rifle is featured on the cover of the October 1957 issue of the Gun Report magazine, and page 31 states; "The Henry rifle on this month's cover is certainly a presentation model even though it bears no inscription. It is in excellent condition and apparently fired very little as the bore is almost like new." This rifle is also featured on page 16 of "The Book of Winchester Engraving" (1975 publication) and page 22 of "Winchester Engraving" (1989 publication) both by R.L. Wilson, in which the photo captions indicate that its engraving pattern makes it nearly a twin to serial number 1441 pictured in the books. The engraving is similar to those on other Henry rifles of the period and consists of scrollwork, decorative borders, and floral blooms with punchdot backgrounds on the frame, side panels, and first type buttplate. Equipped with a provision for a blade front sight (absent), with a dovetail mounted fixed notch rear sight on the barrel and a flip-up notch sight mounted in the dovetail slot on top of the frame. The top of the barrel is marked with the two-line Henry patent and New Haven Arms Co. address markings ahead of the rear sight and the serial number is located at the breech. Includes an original early type Henry four-piece hickory cleaning rod with iron ferrules located inside the butt compartment. Provenance: The Wayne Kramer Collection; The Stanley R. Andrus Collection; The John R. Woods Collection; Butterfield & Butterfield auction, October 22, 1991, lot 5596; Property of a Gentleman

Excellent. The barrel retains 90% plus original bright blue finish with some minor finish loss visible at the muzzle end. 95% plus original silver plating remains on the frame and buttplate, exhibiting a highly attractive untouched original evenly aged blue-black patina. 85% of the vivid original case colors remaining on the hammer, with strong traces of original blue finish visible on the lever with scattered light freckling. Absolutely crisp factory engraving and barrel markings. The stock is also excellent with captivating deluxe grain pattern, a few minor storage handling marks, all of the original glossy piano varnish finish, and tight fitment. Absent front sight blade. Mechanically excellent. The four-piece cleaning rod is fine. This outstanding factory engraved Henry rifle would be a significant addition in even the most elite antique firearms collection.