A belgian copy of a Henry patent rifle

[Henry4440]

Found this Henry at Christie's.
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=4003625&sid=0a7a06dc-2159-4421-8d9f-5380e1c8483e
A BELGIAN COPY OF A HENRY PATENT .44 (R.F.) RIFLE, NO. 31W


Is there any info about the belgian Henry rifles?

[Fox Creek Kid]

The Belgians, especially in Liege, copied EVERYTHING. Sometimes legally & sometimes not. Legally they were called "breveté" which tranlsates as "patent protected." Colt licensed some Belgian copies I believe. Most copies were outright patent violations but it was difficult then to enforce foreign patents as the legal system was in a foreign language and usually complicated to say the least and at best expensive to pursue.

[Montana Slim]

The Belgians, especially in Liege, copied EVERYTHING. Sometimes legally & sometimes not. Legally they were called "breveté" which tranlsates as "patent protected." Colt licensed some Belgian copies I believe. Most copies were outright patent violations but it was difficult then to enforce foreign patents as the legal system was in a foreign language and usually complicated to say the least and at best expensive to pursue.

A rather large collection of "Brevete" Colts were sold recently at Rock Island Auction........thay brought 2x-4x of what a comparable genuine Colt would bring at auction......and many of the "copies" were not graceful, but ungainly and/or downright ugly (IMO).
I suppose the survivl rate of the copies is lower as well as total production numbers compared to Colts.

Slim