The rifle was manufactured in 1881 and original ownership is identified to Scottish duke and arms enthusiast John Murray. Murray's crest is engraved on the German silver escutcheon on the underside of the buttstock. According to our consignor, "The crest has been identified by Stephen Wood, an expert in such matters, as he says, 'The crest (as it should correctly be described) is that of a duke of Atholl (a Scottish title). If the rifle dates from the 1880s- as I recall you said it did- the crest is almost certainly that of John James Hugh Henry Stuart-Murray (1840-1917) who was the only son of George Murray, 6th duke of Atholl (1814-64) and who was styled Marquess of Tullibardine from 1846 to 1864. On his father's death in 1864, he became 7th duke of Atholl. The coronet on the escutcheon of the rifle is that of a British duke.'" It is rare to catalog a pre-1899 Winchester rifle identified to its original owner, let alone a prominent owner such as the Duke. The home of the Dukes of Atholl is Blair Castle located near the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire in Scotland. The well-known castle dates to the 13th century, and today this remarkable piece of well-preserved Scottish architecture is opened to tourists. The large entrance hall was built in 1872 by John Murray and is appointed with an extensive collection of arms and animal mounts. In 1979, many of the Blair Castle arms went up for auction. The accompanying factory letter states the rifle was received in the warehouse on November 11, 1881 and shipped the next day to order number 29192 with a 22 inch round "express" barrel, plain trigger, plain trigger, checkered pistol grip stock, shotgun buttplate, casehardened frame, "inside finish," and "plate as per letter." The letter notes the rifle was delivered with "inside finish." Per Winchester expert and author Herbert Houze, only 175 Model 1876s had "inside finishing." This is certainly one of the rare features on this rifle. The "plate as per letter" references the inlaid buttstock plate featuring Murray's crest. Murray must have written a letter to Winchester and included a sketch of his crest for the engraver. It is possible that the engraver was an Ulrich. Both Conrad and John Ulrich were working for Winchester at the time the rifle was ordered. Inlaid plates are rare, and these plates are generally delivered plain. The lack of British proofs suggests the rifle was ordered from Winchester in America and delivered directly to the Duke rather than delivered through a British house where it would have been proofed. In 1881 the Duke visited the United States. His 1881 visit was retold in the "Chronicles of the Atholl and Tullibardine Families:" "May 11, 1881- The Duke set out from Blair for a tour in America. At Liverpool he was joined by Mr. Wynne of Peniarth and Mr. Marcus Blake, and on the 12th sailed in the Allan s.s. Moravian for Quebec. From thence they proceeded to Montreal, and then by Albany to New York. The Duke and Mr. Blake crossed the continent by the Union Pacific route to San Francisco, stopping at Chicago and Salt Lake City en route. After an expedition to the Yosemite Valley, they returned by the Southern Pacific line to Montreal (his Grace making a detour to Winnipeg during the journey), and on July 16th again embarked in the Moravian at Rimouski, New Brunswick, for Liverpool, reaching London on the 25th." Traveling south from Canada to New York City in mid-1881 provided Murray with opportunities to special order his deluxe Model 1876 express short rifle, either through a visit to the Winchester factory in Connecticut or through dealers along the way. The rifle was likely shipped directly to the Duke and arrived in Scotland having bypassed the British proofing authorities. The rifle was then available to the Duke in January 1883 when he toured the world from west to east. The rifle likely saw use in Egypt, India, Ceylon, China, Japan, and the Sandwich Islands, now Hawaii. He travel to San Francisco, Yosemite and to New York with possible stops in Idaho and Colorado before arriving home to Scotland that summer. His 1883 around the world tour was also referenced in the "Chronicles of the Atholl and Tullibardine Families," and this rifle certainly would have made a great companion during the trip. Long before the Duke made his epic journeys to the United States in the 1880s, the Murray family had already left their mark on America. Atol, Massachusetts, was originally called Pequoiag, and the area was first settled by five families in September 1735. When the township was incorporated in 1762, the name was changed to Athol. John Murray, the 3rd Duke of Atholl, was one of the proprietors of the land and chose the name because the hills reminded him of his ancestral home of Blair Atholl, Scotland. Atholl means "pleasant place." This .50-95 Express Short Rifle Model 1876 is configured similarly to the Model 1886 Lightweight in that it has a short 22 inch barrel (although not tapered), rifle style forearm, and shotgun butt. This example has a full length magazine, a seldom seen feature as most of the short rifles had a half magazine. In "The Winchester Model 1876 Centennial Rifle," author Herbert Houze details around 2,500 short rifle and 2,500 carbines, all with 22 inch barrels. Approximately 65,000 Model 1876s were manufactured; however, only 3,310 were chambered in .50-95 Express. Based on Houze's research, around 30 of the 3,310 were in deluxe configuration. Adding to the rarity is that the rifle lacks London proofs. The .50-95 Winchester Express was the largest caliber available for the Model 1876 and proved popular with big and dangerous game hunters. Many Model 1876 rifles chambered for this powerful cartridge were shipped to England and then found their way to Africa and India where they were often employed against big cats. Theodore Roosevelt loved his .45-75 '76, but he and other Americans scorned the .50 Express, and thus, the Model 1876 was only produced in limited numbers chambered for that cartridge compared to the smaller calibers. The rifle's sights are mounted on raised lugs brazed to the barrel. A narrow flat is evident in the area behind the rear sight base. This flat has been seen on other second model short barrel express models. The rear sight is an express type with a fixed leaf and a folding 200 yard leaf. Express sights are rare, particularly those with a single folding leaf. See "The Winchester Book" for the Lyman Caterpillar front sight which is similar to the front sight on this rifle (page 583). The use of raised lugs was a common British practice for this time. These sights were popular with big bore African and Indian hunting guns. There is no record notation regarding the sights. This is common for factory records. Madis stated, "Any sight made at the time of manufacture would be furnished and fitted by Winchester. If the customer wanted a really unusual sight, Winchester would produce it from a sketch sent in by the customer." This sight is original to the rifle. The casehardened second model receiver has a dust cover which is marked "WINCHESTER EXPRESS/50 CAL 95 GRS." The cartridge elevator is marked "50-95." The top of the barrel is stamped with the two-line Winchester New Haven address/King's patent dates marking ahead of the rear sight and "50 CAL" at the breech. The upper tang is marked "MODEL 1876." The lower tang has the serial number under the lever latch. The forearm and pistol grip stock are select walnut and feature factory "H" pattern checkering. The stock has a steel shotgun buttplate.

Fine. The barrel and magazine tube retain 80% period refinished blue with thinning to brown on the balance. The dust cover and rail retain 90% original blue finish. 60% original nitre blue remains on the loading gate. The receiver retains 70% original case colors. The forend cap, hammer, and lever retain 60% original case colors. 60% original blue finish remains on the buttplate. The wood is very fine with minor dings and scratches and overall crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. This Winchester Model 1876 .50 Express short rifle owned by John Murray, 7th Scottish Duke of Atholl will bring added dimension to any Winchester or lever action collection. These express short rifles are very scarce and an example directly attributed to an original and prominent owner like the Duke are nearly impossible to find.