Page 91 - Auction84-Book3

LOT 3116
Rare and Desirable Finely Engraved and Silver Accented S. Remington
Signed Half-Stock Percussion Rifle - NSN, 38 cal., 33 3/4 inch octagon
bbl., brown/casehardened/silver finish, deluxe walnut stock. This rifle has “S.
Remington Herkimer” signed on top of the breech section of the barrel in ornate
script similar to the marking on the barrel of the A. Harrington “Old Hickory” rifle. The
other engraving also has similarities, and both may have been engraved by Richard Bates
Inshaw who also engraved for Samuel Colt while in New York in the 1830s before going to work for Ames. Samuel Remington (1819-1882) was the second son of Eliphalet Remington II (1793-1861), founder of E. Remington & Sons/Remington Arms Co. He joined the family business in 1845. The lock is signed “SQUIRE & Co/NEW YORK” and was converted from flintlock before the plate was engraved. While the Remingtons initially supplied barrels to the gun trade, Squire & Co./Squire & Tyson appear to have been importers of gunlocks and firearms around the 1830s. It is not clear at this time who was all involved in Squire & Co., but the Remington and Squire families were later tied by the marriage of Ida Remington (daughter
of Philo Remington) and Watson C. Squire. After the Civil War, the latter was the secretary of E. Remington & Sons, and he was governor of the Washington Territory in the 1880s. As Samuel Remington would have been quite young when this rifle is believed to have been built in the 1830s and the caliber is fairly small, this may have been his personal rifle, but that must remain conjecture.
The Damascus barrel has an engraved border at the muzzle, a fixed blade front sight with flourish of scroll engraving to the rear, an ornate rear sight base (parts absent), the noted signature, scroll and border engraving at the breech end, and a percussion drum bolster with cleanout screw. The lock has coordinating scroll and burst pattern engraving. It is equipped with adjustable double set triggers. Additional scroll and burst patterns are engraved on the furniture along with some small animal designs. The long iron toe plate is ornate and has two piercings. The engraving extends onto the silver forend cap, wedge escutcheons, side plate, and cheek piece inlay. The finely figured half-length stock is very slender and has a checkered wrist, sculpted cheek piece, and straight butt profile.
CONDITION: Fine with crisp engraving, a blend of applied brown and brown patina along the barrel which displays attractive twist patterns, a mix of gray and brown patina on the lock and iron furniture, nice aged patina on the silver furniture, and generally light overall wear. The restored stock is also fine and has faint evidence of repaired cracks through
the breech section and wrist, beautiful figure, smooth finish, mostly crisp checkering, and some light marks and scratches. Mechanically fine.
Provenance: The Milan J. Turk Collection.
Estimate: 12,000 - 18,000
Samuel Remington
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