Make: Winchester
Model: 1873 Rifle, 1st Model, One of One Hundred
Serial Number: 18221
Year of Manufacture: 1876
Caliber: .44-40 Winchester Center Fire (WCF)
Action Type: Lever Action with Full Length Tubular Magazine and Single Set-Trigger
Markings: The top of the barrel is marked “WINCHESTER’S- REPEATING ARMS. NEW HAVEN. CT. / KING’S-IMPROVEMENT-PATENTED-MARCH 29.1866. OCTOBER 16.1860.”. The lower tang is marked “18221”. The upper tang is marked “MODEL. 1873”. The left of the bottom tang and the upper tang inlet of the wrist each have the assembly number "4865". The lower tang is also marked "XXX". The inside of each sideplate is marked with the last two digits of the assembly number "65". The toe of the buttplate, and the buttplate inlet on the top and rear faces are all marked "45". The barrel has floral scroll and punch dot engraving with engraved bands at the muzzle and breech with "One of One Hundred" hand engraved on the top of the barrel at the breech.
Barrel Length: 24" Octagonal
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a German silver blade in a slotted base dovetailed to the front of the barrel. The rear sight is a "V"-notch semi-buckhorn elevator sight dovetailed to the rear of the barrel. The top tang is drilled, tapped, and filled for a tang sight (none present).
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are two-piece checkered 3-X deluxe walnut with a capped forend, straight grip, straight comb, and steel crescent buttplate with sliding trapdoor in the rear face. The stocks have some light nicks and scratches. There are a few more notable marks in the right side of the buttstock between the checkering and buttplate, and on the top edge of the forend at the right rear. The wood-to-metal fit is slightly imperfect, most notable at the toe. This is possibly due to shrinkage from age; based on the assembly number, it’s also possible that the buttplate has been replaced. There are no cracks. The checkering is generally well defined. The LOP measures 12 3/4" from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The buttplate has mostly gone to a light patina with a little finish remaining in the upper tang. Portions of the buttplate have a nickel-like appearance typical of old Winchester case hardening. There is wear at the heel and toe and some minor surface oxidation. Overall, the stocks are in Fine condition as Antique.
Type of Finish: Blue & Case Hardened
Finish Originality: Original. Based on the assembly numbers marked on the buttplate and its inlet, it’s possible that the buttplate has been replaced.
Bore Condition: The bore is gray with well defined rifling. There is scattered light erosion and light pitting. In this writer's opinion, the bore rates a 6 out of 10.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 15% of its metal finish. Most remaining finish is scattered case color on the receiver, mostly in protected areas and around raised features. Other exposed surfaces of the receiver have mostly gone to a light patina with some showing the nickel-like appearance typical of old Winchester case hardening. The bottom of the barrel and top of the magazine tube have some blue finish remaining with other surfaces having gone to a fairly uniform light patina. There are scattered spots of light surface oxidation. There are a few light nicks and scratches, most notable on the bottom left of the magazine tube about midway between the nosecap and magazine bracket. There is some good case color on interior surfaces. There are light tool marks around some screw heads. The action shows operational wear. The screw heads range from sharp to lightly tool marked with strong slots. The markings are clear. Overall, this rifle is in Very Good condition as Antique.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The trigger can be set by pressing forward until it clicks. The top of the receiver is mortised for a 1st Model "thumbprint" dust cover. We have not fired this rifle. As with all previously owned firearms, thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: A four-piece cleaning rod is included, stored in the buttstock. Also included is a Winchester Records letter indicating that this rifle was received in warehouse and shipped March 2, 1876 on order number 5491. The records indicate that it was produced as a Rifle with an octagonal barrel, set trigger, XXX checkered stock, case hardened receiver and notes "1 of 1000 marked 1 of 100".
Our Assessment: The famous Winchester Model 1873 lever action repeating rifle, known as "the gun that won the West", had its beginnings in the Volcanic Firearms Company and the later designs by Benjamin Tyler Henry. The Model 1873 had a steel frame that was much stronger than the brass framed Model 1866, allowing Winchester to move away from .44 rimfire and develop the powerful new .44-40 WCF round (Winchester’s first metallic centerfire cartridge), as well as a family of other new potent rounds, with Colt usually producing Single Action Army revolvers in the same calibers shortly after they were developed. The Model 1873 has an almost mythical status among firearms collectors, Old West enthusiasts, and fans of the Western film genre. Early in production of the Model 1873, Winchester distributed a flier extolling the virtues of their new rifle and the myriad ways it was an improvement over their previous Model 1866. In this nondescript flier they also etched a plan that would lead to some of the most desired Winchesters ever made, the “One of One Thousand” and “One of One Hundred” Model 1873s. The program would be more fully explained in their 1875 catalog. The initial flier read: "Every Sporting Rifle we make will be proved and shot at a target, and the target will be numbered to correspond with the barrel and be attached to it. When one hundred barrels are thus proved, the one making the best target will be selected and set aside, and another hundred proved in the same way, and so on until one thousand have been tested and ten targets selected with the barrels with which they were made. They will then be made up into Guns, in which each part is selected with the utmost care and finished in the finest manner. They will then be again subjected to trials for accuracy, and the best of the ten selected and marked 'One of a thousand,' the price of which will be from $80.00 to $100.00. The other nine will be marked ‘One of a hundred,’ and the price will be from $60.00 to $75.00 each." Although the plan never fully came to fruition, as there were more than 700,000 Models 1873s made with only 132 "One of One Thousand" rifles and a scant 8 “One of One Hundred” rifles produced, these guns were well known and highly sought after during their time, with two having been ordered by “the father of Montana”, Granville Stuart, one for himself and one for his brother Thomas Stuart. By 1877, Winchester dropped the options from their catalog, and nearly all of the “One of One Thousand” rifles were produced before 1880. Interest in these rare Winchesters was revived in 1950 with the release of Winchester '73 starring Jimmy Stewart, in which the winning and keeping of a “One of One Thousand” rifle was the focal point of the film. Before the release of the movie, Winchester and Universal Pictures began a program to find out just how many “One of One Thousand” rifles still existed. They plastered “WANTED!” posters all across the country and played radio ads. The premise was simple: be one of the first 20 to respond to the ad with a picture and description of your Winchester “One of One Thousand”, its features, and its serial number, and Winchester would send you a brand new Model 94 rifle. The search was so successful that the ensuing pictures and serial number list of “One of One Thousand” rifles brought to light laid the foundation for many of the authentic examples known today. The rifles have since become perhaps the most sought after of all Winchesters.
This Antique Winchester Model 1873 “One of One Hundred” Lever Action Rifle, Serial Number 18221, was made in 1876 and is in Very Good condition. Most interestingly, this rifle is listed in the factory ledgers as a "1 of 1000 marked 1 of 100". We believe that in that period of early 1876, Winchester simply didn’t have any One of One Hundred rifles on hand (possibly because they hadn’t yet received an order for one), and to make sure they filled the order, they took a rifle that was destined to be a One of One Thousand, marked it as a One of One Hundred, and shipped it right out to make sure their buyer was well taken care of, and in a timely manner. This rifle is listed by serial number in James D. Gordon's "Winchester's New Model of 1873 A Tribute", in which he notes the first 1 of 100 in Winchester's records as serial 18221 (this very rifle!), shipped March 2, 1876 with the statement "1 of 1000, Marked 1 of 100". Edmund E. Lewis also wrote in "The Story of the Winchester 1 of 1000 and 1 of 100 Rifles" that the first 1 of 100 shipped March 2, 1876, again, this very rifle. It’s chambered in .44-40 WCF, and features a 24" octagonal barrel,15% of its original blue and case hardened finish,two-piece XXX checkered deluxe walnut stocks, and the classic understated yet elegant floral scroll and punch dot engraving around the muzzle and breech, both sections of which also carry engraved bands, and with the latter being centered by the hand engraved inscription “One of One Hundred”. One idiosyncrasy is the sideplate markings, typically the last digits of the serial number, these sideplates are marked with the last two digits of the assembly number. Additionally, based on the assembly numbers marked on the buttplate and its inlet, it’s possible that the buttplate has been replaced. All that said, the factory documentation confirms this as the earliest known Winchester Model 1873 “One of One Hundred” Rifle, and is one of only eight believed to have been made.
RIFLE