Several thousand Sharps pepperbox pistols were manufactured in a variety of variations in 1859 to 1874 by C. Sharps & Co. and Sharps & Hankins, but relatively few of them remain in very high condition. This extraordinarily fine example has the C. Sharps & Co. marking on the right, the patent marking on the left, matching serial numbers on the barrel and butt, blued barrel group, silver plated frame, casehardened hammer with the innovative automatically rotating striker, and a varnished grip. It comes in a very rarely seen pasteboard box with "DIRECTIONS FOR USE OF/SHARPS' PATENT REPEATER." inside the lid and noting "MANUFACTURED BY/SHARPS & HANKINS." The box also contains a wooden rod. Includes a copy of George Gamble and R.L. Wilson's "A Life's Tapestry of a Collector, The Gamble Collection" where this pistol is pictured and identified on pages 350-351. Provenance: The George F. Gamble Collection