This factory engraved Winchester Model 1886 Fancy Sporting Rifle was manufactured in 1889 and is illustrated and described on page 163 of "Winchester Engraving" by R.L. Wilson. The Wilson description states that this rifle was part of the Winchester display at the Exhibition Universelle (World's Fair) in Paris in 1889. The description further states that this rifle was discovered in South America and returned to the United States in 1977. The presentation case lid has a plaque inscribed for a "CARLOS DOSE/ARMSTRONG." The exact details on Carlos Dose Armstrong are somewhat difficult to pin down. Most would refer to him as Carlos Dose as that is his first surname. He is listed by his full name as having his seal engraved by Agry in Paris in 1880 and as living in both France and Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1862-1924. He was descended from Don Tomás Georges Armstrong, himself a descendant of a noble family from the British Isles, who came to Argentina in 1820 and was a financier/banker. Carlos Dose Armstrong owned the palatial Dose Armstrong mansion in the late 19th and early 20th centuries which had classical European designs. "Bulletin of the Pan American Union Vol. 38" from 1914 records: "A fund of 3,000,000 pesos currency ($1,273,404) known as the ARMSTRONG FOUNDATION has been provided by Dr. Carlos Dose and sister Luisa Dose de Larraviere for the purpose of founding the Santo Tomas de Aquino school an institution whose object is to educate gratuitously 400 Argentine children Grounds have been acquired in the vicinity of Buenos Aires and the necessary buildings are in process of construction." A funeral service for him is noted in Paris. This provides an insight into how wealthy the family was. The rifle is accompanied by a Cody Firearms Museum letter that describes Model 1886, serial number 28694, as: "Type: Rifle, Caliber: 45/90, Barrel Type: Round, Trigger: Plain, Checkered stock, Pistol grip, 1/2 Magazine, Engraved $10.00, Barrel inlaid", and "Blued". The letter further notes that this rifle was received in the Winchester warehouse on March 18, 1889, and that the order number was listed as "Paris." The rifle has a blued barrel, magazine tip, forearm cap, receiver, bolt, loading gate, and crescent buttplate and a color casehardened hammer and lever. The barrel has silver inlays at the breech and muzzle. The forearm and pistol grip stock are highly figured, 3X or 4X, fancy grain walnut with Winchester "Style H" checkering and a piano finish. The bottom of the pistol grip has an ebony inlay. The muzzle, breech, forearm cap, buttplate heel, bolt, hammer, lever and the sides, top and bottom of the receiver are decorated with factory engraving which consists of scroll, border and outline patterns. There are game scenes on either side of the receiver. The right side of the receiver above the ejection port is engraved with a small scene that depicts a hound chasing a rabbit. The left side of the receiver features a highly detailed woodland scene showing a hunter shooting a bull elk. The rifle has the tiny, block letter, "J.ULRICH" signature of Master Engraver John Ulrich immediately in front of the trigger. The barrel has a sporting style front sight with nickel-silver blade and a buckhorn, sporting style rear sight with screw-adjustable center piece. The upper tang is factory drilled and tapped. The top of the barrel is roll-stamped: "-< MANUFACTURED BY THE >-/-< WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS CO. NEW HAVEN CONN.U.S.A.>-" in two lines ahead of the rear sight. The caliber: "45-90 W.C.F." is roll-stamped on the barrel center-line between the rear sight and the receiver. The upper receiver tang is roll-stamped "-MODEL 1886-". The 1884 and 1885 patent dates are stamped behind the trigger, and the serial number, "28694," is stamped in script numerals between the lower tang screws. The rifle is complete with a leather covered, oak frame case with a round brass plaque on the top engraved "CARLOS DOSE/ARMSTRONG". The inside of the case lid is gold embossed: "EXHIBITION UNIVERSELLE/1889/GRAND PRIX". The case contains ten cartridges and cleaning tools.

Very fine. 70% of the blue finish is present on the barrel; wear is limited to some finish loss at the muzzle and some scattered traces of surface discoloration. The fine original silver inlays are untouched and attractively tarnished. The scroll engraving and factory markings are crisp. The blue on the forearm cap is thin and 50% remains. 70% of the blue is present on the receiver with thinning on contact points. The flawless scrollwork and highly detailed game scenes are crisp. Nearly 85% of the blue finish is present on the bolt. The blue on the loading gate is thin and 40% remains. The crescent buttplate retains about 70% of the blue finish. The hammer has strong case colors with crisp engraving. The case colors on the lever show handling wear and have faded to a mottled gray patina. The highly figured revarnished walnut stock and forearm remain in very fine condition with a few scattered and scattered insignificant handling marks. The checkered panels are in very good condition and show moderate handling wear. This is both a very fine and well-documented example of a Winchester factory display Model 1886 Fancy Sporting Rifle engraved and signed by John Ulrich and fitted with an exposition marked special presentation case.