Manufactured in 1884. The rifle has a German silver blade front sight, the two-line factory address on top of the barrel, u-notch sporting rear sight, silver plated and engraved frame and furniture which includes a buffalo head on the right side plate and "WINCHESTER REP. ARMS CO./TO/BILL GERMAYNE/-GUIDE-/OF THE YELLOWSTONE" inscribed on the left side plate, sling swivels on the forearm cap and butt, a checkered forearm, and fancy grade checkered pistol grip stock. The factory letter indicates this rifle was originally received in the warehouse on March 29, 1884, and shipped on March 31 in order 11391 as a rifle with a .32 caliber, 26 inch, octagon barrel; plain trigger, checkered pistol grip stock, sling, and swivels. The engraving has been attributed to John Ulrich by Herbert G. Houze based on the scrollwork and "the use of a dotted circle border pattern around the inscription cartouche." Others have attributed the engraving to L.D. Nimschke. Mr. Houze also stated that, "The initials 'LG' entered in the 'Remarks' column of the original shipping record probably stand for Lincoln Grant of Boston. . ." Mr. Houze also notes that Grant was one of Winchester's exhibition shooters in the 1880s and 1890s and notes that exhibition shooters could order items from the company at the company's expense for prizes or presentations. Lynn J. Houze notes that the "LG" is in red which indicates it was a special order "perhaps from a salesman or from an officer of the company." The rifle was manufactured in the year following several well-known excursions to Yellowstone. A letter signed by Nancy Yaufman Jones on October 26, 2002, indicates this rifle was passed down from her grandfather William Yaufman to her father and ultimately to her. The family always assumed the engraving was done by the factory. Bill Germayne (aka Bill the German) (1852-1891) was born in Germany and arrived in the U.S. in 1868. He appears in documents both under his birth name William Yaufman and his pseudonyms. His scouting and hunting career began around 1876, and he returned east in the 1880s and settled in Newark, New Jersey, were he ran an Old West themed saloon, gun store, and range and also served as the treasurer of the Outing Rifle Association formed in 1888. Multiple news articles, mainly relating to him drunkenly threatening to kill his wife's lover while brandishing two revolvers, report that Germayne accompanied President Arthur during his tour of Yellowstone in 1883. Interestingly, Germayne was let go after that potentially deadly encounter with little more than a warning. Multiple report's conflate President Arthur's tour with another group under Rufus Hatch. Other sources clearly indicate Germayne did not guide President Arthur's party but did accompany Rufus Hatch's party and guide Lord Headley on a hunting trip. There were actually several simultaneous tours going on, and Hatch's group occasionally intermingled with the president's, so it would be easy for distant newsmen to get them mixed up and think they were one in the same, especially given President Arthur's was the most well-known. Robert Todd Lincoln and General Sheridan were along with the president as were other politicians. The Hatch excursion toured the park in August to early September and contained more than fifty men and women (fashionable "dudes and dudesses") from Europe and over 75 people in total. According to "The Yellowstone Story" by Haines (copy included), Jack Baronett was the president's guide, and Germayne and his hunting companion George W. Crow were invited to join Hatch's excursion, "a lavish, all-expense-paid tour arranged for a number of dignitaries from both sides of the Atlantic to show off the National Hotel and other facilities of the Yellowstone Park Improvement Company," after they captured George Webber, the second man convicted of murder at the park, and brought him in to the authorities near the beginning of the tour. Germayne and Crow entertained the "guests with trick shooting (Germayne's specialty). Lord Headley later hired them to guide him on a hunting trip into the mountains." An included portrait shows Germayne armed with a non-engraved Winchester Model 1873 in a similar configuration. It is possible that this is the same rifle and Germayne or Winchester later had it engraved.

Very good. The barrel and magazine tube retain strong traces of the refurbished blue finish in the protected areas and otherwise display smooth brown patina and some light oxidation. The other components retain half of the period applied silver plating and have gray patina on the exposed iron and minor marks and scratches. The refinished wood is very good and has crisp checkering, darkening on the forend and wrist, attractive figure primarily on the right side of the butt, and some light dings and scrapes. Mechanically fine. This is a historic Winchester Model 1873 rifle connected to a colorful figure from the Old West and the early days of the world's first national park.