Manufactured in 1879 as a first model with the dust cover held in place by grooved guides on either side of the top of the receiver and checkered oval finger grip on top of the dust cover. The latch lacks the visible threads as seen on later production first models. German silver blade and elevation adjustable sights on a barrel marked with the two-line address/patent dates marking ahead of the rear sight. The action has a special order set trigger. The rifle correctly lacks caliber markings. The upper tang is marked "MODEL 1873." The straight grip stock has a crescent buttplate with compartment (cleaning rod not included). The accompanying factory letter lists this rifle with a 26 inch octagon barrel in .44 caliber and set trigger when shipped on January 20, 1879. Also included is a 1961 dated affidavit of inheritance by William Robert Cutler explaining, "Sheriff [Brownlee of Bridgeport, California,] confiscated the weapon from notorious Bob English [aka Charlie Duesha] after capturing the desperado in the Mother Lode Country in the course of his duty. The weapon passed down to [Cutler] through the family, as Sheriff Brownlee was brother to [Cutler's] uncle by marriage." The rifle was then purchased by Sid Waller in 1961. As the legend goes, three members of a large gang buried between $150,000 to $200,000 worth of gold nuggets and dust. Bob English was one of these three men. English and a sizable loose band of bandits were fleeing a miner's court of vigilantes out of Virginia City, Montana, and therefore, their booty had to be stored for safe keeping. The loot was believed to have been buried on one of several small islands on the Clark Fork River at Hell Gate, now Missoula, Montana. Unlike several of his co-conspirators, English escaped capture and hanging. He drifted eventually into the Mother Lode Country of California where trouble again soon followed for holding up stagecoaches. By the mid-1880s, Bob English under the alias Charlie Duesha settled in Arizona where he became involved in the Pleasant Valley Range War also known as Tonto Basin Feud, Tonto Basin War, or Tewksbury-Graham Feud. Fought in Pleasant Valley, Arizona, from 1882-1892, the conflict involved two feuding ranch families, branched out to involve other ranch associations, outlaws, and lawman; and had the highest number of fatalities (34-50 deaths) for a range conflict in the United States. English died in 1925. Consignor research is included.

Very good, retaining strong traces of original blue finish in the protected areas with the balance a smooth brown patina. The wood is good with a hairline crack visible on the forearm (left side), some chipping near the lower tang, and some minor dings and scratches. The set trigger does not function; otherwise, the action cycles properly.