Burt Humphrey said
In The Winchester Book by Madis there is a section on “Extras and Special Order Features” – photos of the styles of carving and checking are shown – according to the book it is from a Winchester advertisement.
I think this is taken from the special “Highly Finished Arms” catalog. I have a repro copy somewhere but it would take hours to find it. You’d think a couple of pages in the regular catalog would have been set aside to show checkering options, but not so.
The Madis Book shows the 8 styles and then goes on to discuss the “I” style. Like most, I have only owned or seen the H and I styles – except for the G style example recently acquired and shown to us by Gary. I am a fan of both the H and I checkered guns – but, sometimes a gun can have plain wood, no checkering, non-significant serial number and be pretty special based on nothing but rarity and condition.
The Madis Book shows the 8 styles and then goes on to discuss the “I” style. Like most, I have only owned or seen the H and I styles – except for the G style example recently acquired and shown to us by Gary. I am a fan of both the H and I checkered guns – but, sometimes a gun can have plain wood, no checkering, non-significant serial number and be pretty special based on nothing but rarity and condition.
Very special 94 Burt. Do you still have it?
Al
Al – the only 94 I own these days is the H checkered 32-40 which I have previously showed you photos of – it was previously owned by the same 94 collector that now owns the case hardened 94. As you know, a case hardened 94 is rarely seen, especially in the condition of this one – just a plain jane 94 in 38-55 without the case hardened receiver – which does letter.
steve004 said
I think some of these checkering/carving patterns were very rarely ordered.
Only similar examples of this kind of flamboyant checkering mixed with carving I remember seeing has been on certain German/Austrian guns, & on some of the early 1900s custom rifles made by German-American stockers like Ludwig Wundhammer & Fred Adolf. Not to be seen on the most elaborately engraved Ballards, Stevens, & Rems–guns built on “sky’s the limit” budgets; flawless 28 or 30 lpi checkering on the best quality wood obtainable in this country, but no carving. Ditto for best-quality English guns of the Rigby & Purdy class, for which cost was likewise no consideration.
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