S/N C53597, .44 caliber, 32 inch barrel Sharps Sporting rifle. “Hartford” collar, blue and case color finish, walnut stock and forearm, Hartford forearm cap, extra figure wood, double set triggers, original barrel and front sight, tang sight referred to in letter is not present. Circa 1872. Condition: excellent bore, 80% barrel blue thinning, 60% shadowy case colors on receiver, wood is shrunken slightly, excellent mechanically, excellent marks.
Included Sharps letter states shipment to Walter Cooper, Bozeman, M.T.
Provenance: From the Montana History Collection of Jerry "Buzz" Nyhart.
Walter Cooper at age 12 ran away from home and headed west. He opened his firearms business in December of 1868 and ordered his first Sharps rifle in September 1871. He went out of business in 1884.
Lot 228, Sold $20,060.
Brian Lebel's Mesa Old West Auction - January 23, 2021. Mesa, AZ.