The included factory letter lists this unusual rifle as a "1 of 100" (factory error) with an octagon barrel, set trigger, and XXX stock with checkering. It was received in the warehouse on August 9, 1876, and shipped the following day on August 10, 1876 to fill order 6647. An included scanned copy of a Winchester 1873 factory ledger record also reflects this information. "H.G.H. Reed./Milwaukee, Wis./Aug. 3rd 1876" inscribed in fine period script on the left side plate. The rifle is listed by serial number on page 395 of "Winchester's New Model of 1873: A Tribute, Volume II" by Gordon with the same details recorded from the warehouse ledgers along with the finish noted as blue. The inscription is also noted on page 460. Page 381 has a picture of the named inscription on the left side plate of the very first "One of a Thousand" shipped (serial number 3419), which was shipped at an earlier date on April 26, 1875; it is of note that the named inscription on the aforementioned gun is located in the same spot on the left side plate and matches the styling and font as seen on this One of One Thousand. This gun is pictured and discussed on page 77 of "Winchester 1 of 1000" by R.L. Wilson who notes the rifle had no serial number when it was reported to Winchester and Universal Pictures as part of their search for 1 of 1000s in 1950. That same year, E. Hartshorne of Winchester suggested the original serial number was 19675, and that number is now marked on the lower tang. The left side of the lower tang has "XXXX 58," the number "201A" has been noted on the barrel under the forearm, and "S," "32" and "5340" are located inside the upper tang channel of the stock. The rifle has an unusual modification: the smoothbore barrel was turned down to round. The magazine was also cut back to just past the forend cap. The rifle is featured on the cover of November 1980 issue "The Gun Report" (copy included) and is pictured and discussed in the article "H.G.H. Reed's One of One Thousand" by David V. Stroud inside. He indicates that this rifle appears to be a factory smoothbore One of One Thousand and that he had discussed it with George Madis who noted that two other One of One Thousands that appear to be factory smoothbores were known. Madis stated, "If the bore had been reamed it would measure .490, and 2 1/2 thousandths of an inch on each side would have to be removed." This rifle's bore measures as .445. which is larger than a usual .44-40. As Stroud notes, it could not have been made from a .38-40 barrel as that caliber had not been introduced in 1876. As such this rare smoothbore rifle may be one of only three smoothbore One of One Thousands known. The Gun Report article states, "Under the barrel are markings applied after the rifling. These are normally three letters or three numbers denoting the three steps that had been completed. Under the barrel of the Reed Winchester there are four marks, '2 0 1 A'. The final mark indicates the fourth step had been taken, and the letter 'A' may have denoted smoothbore." Stroud indicates the rifle was owned by Horatio Gates Howard Reed (April 22, 1828-May 31, 1902) and provides useful details of his life but was unable to confirm the why and how Reed received the rifle, although he states "There is a 1876 Milwaukee newspaper article reporting that a man named Reed had taken part in a pigeon shoot, a sporting event that would call for a smoothbore weapon!" Said article has been located at the time of writing this description in The Daily Milwaukee News, dated August 10, 1876 (the same exact date as the shipment of this rifle!), in which it states, "At a pigeon shoot which occurred at the Layton house yesterday, the crack shooting was done by messrs. Grout, Reed, Deeves, Dickens, and Dawson, all of whom, at two or three different trials brought down their full score of birds, not missing a shot. Another trial of skill is in occur at 2 P.M. today." It is also of important note that this rifle has a specially ordered heavyweight stock (very noticeable when holding), which would make perfect sense considering Reed had intentions for using it in pigeon shooting competition. Horatio Gates Howard Reed was born in Marshfield, Massachusetts, came west to Wisconsin in 1856, and became wealthy through his work in the railroad industry. He is also credited with building the Sheboygan Fond Du Lac Railroad, was the general manager of the Lake Shore Traffic Company and the Kaukauana Water Power Company, and was a Democratic state assemblyman from Sheboygan in 1869 and 1870. In 1868, he invented a "device for heading and unheading barrels" per Stroud's articles. Stroud also notes that Reed had been presented a gold watch and chain by the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad Company in 1874. The inscription on this One of One Thousand could have been in relation to the famous Centennial International Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia, the United States' first World's Fair which was on going at the time. Given his prominent place in American industry and the 10,000,000 visitors the fair attracted, Reed may have been there and have ordered the rifle after seeing Winchester's display at the fair on August 3, 1876.

Very good with dark mottled gray and brown patina throughout as well as some minor oxidation/pitting, aged patina and a dent on the brass cartridge elevator. The engraving, markings, and inscription remain distinct. The wood is also very good and has mild wear on the otherwise crisp checkering, small chips at some of the corners, splices in the buttstock at the grip and sling swivel mount as noted above, very attractive figure, and most of the glossy original varnish finish. Mechanically fine. This is a very interesting One of One Thousand marked Winchester Model 1873 with an inscription for a prominent 19th century railroad man and competition shooter.