The included factory letter lists this rifle in the factory records as "invoiced March 17, 1879, to Sharps Dealer, N.R. Davis & Company of Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is noted as a Model 1874 Sporting Octagon Rifle. The calibre was .40 using the 2 5/8 [inch] case. It had a full 30 [inch] octagonal barrel, single trigger, open sights and oiled finished stocks. The exact weight was 10 lbs. 10 oz. and the net price was $26." N.R. Davis was a major cattleman in the late 19th century American West and was the president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. He formed N.R. Davis & Company in 1878 and had multiple cattle ranches as well as mining interests. Wyoming was still a very sparsely settled territory then with a population of only around 20,000. This was also the era of the buffalo hunters who famously used Sharps rifles and others to decimate the great bison herds in the 1870s and early 1880s. The rifle has a German silver blade front sight, notch and ladder rear sight, the boxed "Old Reliable" marking and Bridgeport address ahead of the rear sight, "CAL. 40 2 5/8" on the left at the breech, adjustable double set triggers, plain rifle stock and forearm, checkered steel buttplate, and "A.A. ONG" stamped on the left side of the frame and wrist. This appears to be for Adalaska A. Ong (1862-1939). Ong was a railroad engineer born in Illinois who lived in Missouri and then Iowa before homesteading in Wyoming in 1921 on Little Lightening Creek near Lance Creek and had lands in the oil fields.

Very good "frontier issued" appearance overall with general moderate wear appropriate for a late 19th century Sharps used in Wyoming. The barrel is mostly a natural gray and brown patina overall. The remaining metal has mostly dark patina, some oil staining, and general mild overall wear including some mild pitting. The wood is good and has some repairs in the wrist, a hole from a screw used to tune the trigger pull, numerous chips along the edges of the forearm, age cracks in the heel, and moderate overall wear consistent with use on the Wyoming frontier. The set trigger needs some adjustments, but the rifle is otherwise mechanically fine.