This is believed to be the only Freund Sharps rifle with both Wyoming Armory and Durango, Colorado, markings. The accompanying factory letter (copy) based on the serial number on the bottom of the barrel lists this rifle with a 30 inch full octagon barrel in .45 2 7/8 caliber and double set triggers when invoiced December 8, 1877, to Sharp's largest dealer, Schuyler, Hartley and Graham of New York City. The rifle was returned to the factory and shipped to Sharp's dealer Nathaniel Curry and Brother of San Francisco and was in their inventory on August 2, 1879, with a 30 inch barrel and listed as .50 caliber. The caliber is almost certainly a records error as the rifle is still .45 caliber. Fruend is known to have shortened long barrels to create more convenient "saddle rifles" and likely shortened the barrel on this rifle for that purpose given its original owner was a cattleman. Also includes display boards and other informational items such as a research binder full of copies of documents and articles relating to the Freunds, including scans and transcriptions of letters to Sharps and the Freunds concerning rifles and ammunition. In one of the many included letters, Herman Hass wrote to Frank Freund stating in part that: "I have come to the conclusion that your rifle is equaled by none and that it is the best in world for strength, reliability, simplicity, and durability." This exact rifle is pictured and discussed on page 354 of "Freund & Bro.: Pioneer Gunmakers to the West" by Belentine where it is noted as "Probably originally worked on in Cheyenne, then taken to Durango, Colorado, where George Freund finished the engraving. From Carlisle Ranch in the Four Corners Area west of Durango; in original family for 103 years until purchased by present owner in 1985. (David Tawney Collection)." Based on the date of purchase listed on the display, the rifle would have been purchased two years after George Freund relocated to Durango and the partnership with his brother Frank had ended. The rifle has a Rocky Mountain style blade front sight, boxed "Old Reliable" and Sharps Bridgeport address ahead of the Freund "More Light" notch and folding ladder rear sight, "F.W. FREUND/PATENTED/AUG. 1st/1876/Jan. 2nd/1877/FREUND'S/PATENT/JUNE 29/1880/DURANGO/COLO" on top between the rear sight and the "CAL 45" marking, "2 7/8" on the right flat at the breech, "FAMOUS/AMERICAN/FRONTIER" inscribed on the right side of the action, "FREUNDS PAT WYOMING ARMORY CHEYENNE W.T." on the bottom of the lock, Freund pattern extended hammer spur, Freund improved breech block, double extractors, a silver banner installed on the top of the action, "GEO FREUND/MANUFACTURER/DEALER OF/FIRE ARMES/DURANGO/COLO" on the left side of the action, scroll and floral engraving, all outside screw heads floral engraved, double set triggers, carved horn accents at the nose and tail of the forend, Freund patent checkered detachable pistol grip with coordinating carved horn grip cap, silver initial shield behind the grip, checkered buttplate with sliding door, and takedown cleaning rod contained within the stock. The rifle scabbard has "ESC" hand marked on the right side under the handle. An included display board indicates the rifle was originally owned by English immigrant "Edmund Septimus Charlisle [sic]" who was born in Liverpool in 1851, moved to Mt. Hope, Kansas, in 1879, purchased this rifle in Durango from George Freund in 1882, worked at a ranch near Durango during the summer months, and died in Mt. Hope, Kansas, near Wichita in 1894. Both primary and secondary sources clearly indicate the Carlisle Brother's were far from seasonal ranch hands or average cowboys; they were in fact wealthy men and "extensive cattle and ranch owners." Edmund S. Carlisle is generally listed as living at the ranch at Mt. Hope and appears to have made it his home in 1886. He was in Durango regularly throughout the period. Harold Carlisle, Edmund's brother, is listed as living in Durango in the 1880s and later lived in Utah. Another brother, Thomas visited from England in 1888. The obituaries for Edmund S. Carlisle indicate at that time of his death in 1894 he owned a 2,000 acre ranch, studied at Oxford where he was a talented rower, served as an officer in the army in India, was a "thorough nimrod" (hunter), had three living children, and became an agent of a land syndicate around 1884 which owned land in New Mexico and Kansas as well as Colorado and Utah. Another article discussing his will notes that Edmund S. Carlisle was "one of the largest stockmen of the county." The company he ran with his brother was variously as the Kansas & New Mexico Land & Cattle Company, Carlisle Cattle Company, and Carlisle Brothers and exported some of their cattle to Europe. Many of their holdings helped them secure valuable water resources. Their expansive operations also brought them into conflict with local Native American nations such as the Utes and Paiutes. In at least one of these encounters in 1884, Edmund Carlisle was part of the group of ranchers and cowboys that exchanged shots with the warriors and then pursued them with help from the U.S. Army. Members of various regional tribes stole horses, killed cattle and sometime settlers, burned ranches, and generally terrorized those settling on their former lands in the 1880s. See "Cowboys, Indians and the Fight in White River Canyon" by Robert L. Foster for "Wild West Magazine" for more details. The Carlisle Bros. involvement made news in the East. Even our own local paper, The Rock Island Daily Argus, reported on Harold Carlisle's request for government intervention against the tribes in 1884. Carlisle's men also had violent exchanges with Mexican sheep herders from New Mexico in 1886 that included a day long siege by the Mexicans of some of Carlisle's men that left at least one Mexican herder dead, others wounded, and a $500 rewards for some of Carlisle's men proclaimed by the New Mexican governor despite their actions previously being declared self-defense at trial. At least three Mexican herders were reportedly killed by his men during this period. Given this rifle was built and purchased in the 1880s, it very well may have been used in some of those violent encounters on the range.