Original Engraved Henry

[Icebox Bob]

Thought I would share something with all of you.

After getting elected to the Bored of Directors of our local Historical Society I volunteered to become the Firearms Officer for our museum.  There are a number of interesting firearms in the collection but the real gem is a factory engraved Henry rifle.  Nobody in the society realised the rarity of this gem and now I'm trying to assemble some background information.

According to the serial number dating service on the www.savage99 website, the rifle was manufactured in 1866 and that is consistent with the configuration.  Henry rifles are not included in the Cody museum records.  Does anyone know where there might be manufacturer's information linked to serial numbers similar to what the Cody people do for the later Winchesters?

The engraving is floral with a dog on the left side similar to the bottom rifle here: 
http://www.leroymerz.com/photo.php?id=5160_0_2_0_M4
There is no indication of any plating.  I have found references to the engraver being Samual Hoggson or Hodgson.

The rifle shows that it was a shooter but seems to have been reasonably cared for and shows it years.  The museum was started in the 1930's to display artefacts that had been loosely collected up to then and this was one of those pieces.  There is no provenance or donor information.  The piece seems to be all original; however there are no cleaning accessories in the stock.  It has left mounted sling hardware.

Here is  a pic:

[Fox Creek Kid]

Did you actually contact the Cody Museum? In some rare instances they have some records on special guns. 

P.S. The search there is not free if they have something.

http://www.bbhc.org/firearms/records/

[Buck Stinson]

There are no shipping records available on Henry rifles, other than approximate year of manufacture, which you already have.  If this rifle was made in 1866, it is near the end of production for the Henry.  Without the serail number, it would be difficult to pin point.  I am surprised that the savage99 site would have the correct info.   The engraving is definately a Hoggson pattern and appears to be original, but without close-up photos or examining the gun face to face, one can only speculate.  There is a familiar saying among collectors, that there are far more "factory" engraved Henry's today, than ever left the factory.  In other words, many fakers as far back as the 1950's were having standard Henry rifles engraved in the traditional factory patterns and passing them off as original.  In doing so, many extraordinary standard grade Henry rifles were totally destroyed, value wise.  In some cases, it takes a very trained eye and someone who has more than just a general knowledge of the Henry, to determine the originallity of the engraving.

[Icebox Bob]

I was also curious about what the www.savage99.com/henry_dates.htm website uses as its authority for the dates.  I would guess it is the table on page 31 of the Madis book where it indicates that the serial no. range from 12001 to 14000 as being 1866 production.  This rifle serial number is in the 13XXX range which does indicate 1866 manufacture.  The rifle has been tucked away in the collection for about 80 years, so I am reasoanably certain it is original.  So far I can only imagine what it did for the first 65 years of it's existence.  

I will be able to get better quality pictures this weekend if anyone is interested.

Fox - you are probably right.  I should still contact the Cody people (even though they don't list Henry's as being in their files) - never know unless you ask....  There are 1866 models with serial numbers in the same range as the Henry's produced in 1866.