This is one of approximately 1,000 carbine manufactured by Oliver Winchester's New Haven Arms Company between 1857 and 1860. These carbines are scarce and historically important; both as one of the first successful repeating arms to utilize a self-contained cartridge and as the forerunners of the Henry and Winchester lever action rifles. The barrel has a blade front sight and is marked "NEW HAVEN CONN PATENT FEB.14.1854," the marking adopted by the New Haven Arms Company after Oliver Winchester reorganized the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company in April 1857. The receiver has a dovetail mounted sporting type rear sight featuring a thumb wheel elevator and niter blue finish. A factory floral scroll engraving is featured on the sides of the receiver, and the engraving extends to the upper tang. The left side of the lower tang is marked "50." "50" is repeated on the three tang screws, the two buttplate screws and buttplate.