The included factory letter from 1979 addressed to legendary collector and dealer Norm Flayderman lists this carbine in .30 caliber with a "fancy checkered stock," oil finish, handguard, "Capt. J.R. Hegeman, Jr." engraved on the frame, and "stock engraved Winchester." It was received in the warehouse on May 20, 1899, and shipped the same day. It has a repaired and return date of February 27, 1902. The carbine was sold by Flayderman to Charles Shreiner III of the famous Y-O Ranch in Texas in 1983 along with Hegeman's sword in the following lot and the Winchester Model 1895 carbine presented to Major General Nelson A. Miles by Hegeman that was shipped in December of 1899. The two carbines and the sword are also featured in "Man at Arms" Volume 1 Number 6 from November/December 1979 in the article "A Matter of Provenance" by R.L. Wilson where Wilson notes this carbine and the carbine presented by Hegeman to General Miles "comprise two of only a handful of fancy, deluxe carbines with checkered wood. Hegeman's is particularly rare because of the unusual matted barrel." Wilson also notes that Hegeman was an important early collector of Colt firearms with obvious connections to the factory given his possession of guns that fill holes within the factory collection donated to the Connecticut State Library. He also references the Single Action from the preceding lot with the "Wounded Knee" inscription. The carbine features a beaded blade front sight with a hood, very scarce matted top of the barrel and barrel band, no rear sight seat, Lyman receiver mounted peep sight, two-line address and patent marking on the left, "-WINCHESTER-/MODEL 1895" inscribed in place of the usual stamped marking on the upper tang, "CAPT. J.R. HEGEMAN JR." inscribed on the right side of the frame, and the serial number on the lower tang. The carbine has a fancy grade set of wood with beautiful figure throughout, whereas many Winchesters have figure mainly only on the buttstocks. The handguard is solid and does not have a cut out for a rear sight, and the forearm has multi-point checkering that stops at the finger grooves. The buttstock has checkering on the wrist, "WINCHESTER" engraved in a nickel silver plaque on the left side, and a trapdoor buttplate with a "KSM" inspection mark on the heel for Ordnance Inspector Kelly S. Morse who inspected the 10,000 Winchester Model 1895s ordered by the U.S. Ordnance Department for the Spanish-American War. They arrived to late to be issued, and after 100 were tested in the Philippines, they were sold off as surplus and mainly ended up in Cuba. The buttstock has numerous "kill marks" along the edges of the comb and along the bottom suggesting the rifle was used extensively by Hegeman for hunting. As noted in the description for the Model 1895 carbine presented by Hegeman to General Miles, Hegeman may have had first hand experience with this model when it was being evaluated for use by the New York National Guard. As laid out in an included copy of his military record, Captain John Rogers Hegeman Jr. (1872-1923) enlisted as a private in Company E of the 7th New York Regiment on December 19, 1892. He was promoted to corporal on January 7, 1897, and was the inspector of small arms practice with the rank of captain in the 108th Regiment on July 19, 1898. Later that year, he was assigned to the 5th Brigade as acting aide-de-camp on December 24. On October 6, 1899, he is listed as the assistant inspector of small arms practice for the 5th Brigade. On July 1, 1901, his is listed as "supernumerary" indicating he was fulfilling several roles and assigned to the 1st Brigade. That November he was listed as assistant inspector of small arms practice for the 1st Brigade. On April 11, 1905, he was the inspector of small arms practice and the ordnance officer for the 1st Brigade with the rank of major. He remained a major in the Ordnance Department until 1912 when he reverted to captain and then finally retired on October 17, 1913. In addition to his duty with the New York National Guard, Hegeman, a millionaire, was active in many elite social organizations. His father was the president of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and also had numerous other business connections. He famously oversaw the completion of the 700 foot Met Life Tower built at 1 Madison Avenue, the tallest building from 1903-1913. The younger Hegeman served as one of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company's assistant secretaries and directors. By the time of his death in 1923, the company was listed as "The World's Largest Life Insurance Company." Given his wealth and connections, Hegeman was able to assemble one of the most impressive early Colt collections, including factory prototypes, serial number one guns, and special order firearms. Rifles from his collection are scarcer, but given his role as inspector of small arms practice and his interest in firearms broadly, he certainly owned several, including very rare models. Given the notches in the stock of this rifle, he certainly appears to have favored this Winchester as his hunting rifle. When he died in 1923, he was noted as having owned a ranch next to Buffalo Bill in Montana and as having participated in Cody's famous Wild West as a cowboy when they were touring in the East. He was also noted as a volunteer fireman and as having "made several daring rescues," including carrying a child out a burning tenement in Manhattan in 1917. Provenance: The J.R. Hegeman Jr. Collection; The Norm Flayderman Collection; The Charles Shreiner III Collection; Property of a Gentleman

Very fine with 80% of the factory blue finish remaining aside from the buttplate which has mostly smooth gray patina. The hammer and casehardened action components have 70% case colors. The wood is fine and has stunning figure, minor wear on the otherwise crisp checkering, a small chip at the lower right corner of the wrist, some minor scratches and dings, the noted "kill notches" (including a section of fresher notches cut after the rifle had been returned to the factory), and fairly minor overall wear for a carbine that was clearly loved and used. Mechanically excellent.