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September 22, 2011
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While $5,875,000 seems like a huge amount for this Henry rifle, plus added fees, it seems very cheap compared to the high end art market. Almost makes the buyer of this rifle seem like a rookie:
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-expensive-auction-works-2025
April 30, 2023
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On a side note, to kick off the auction (America’s 250th celeb), they brought in a 101 yo WWII Marine who, according to them, was a flame thrower and witnessed the iconic raising of the flag at Iwo Jima. He then sang God Bless America and did a great job. Couldn’t have dreamed up a better way to start it off!
March 14, 2022
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mrcvs said
While $5,875,000 seems like a huge amount for this Henry rifle, plus added fees, it seems very cheap compared to the high end art market. Almost makes the buyer of this rifle seem like a rookie:
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-expensive-auction-works-2025
I agree, but then again this is not your average Henry rifle. SN 1 in any model always seems to command the biggest premium and prices. Not sure how much the buyer also valued the provenance with this one but I would guess a substantial amount.
Rick C
September 22, 2011
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Rick C said
mrcvs said
While $5,875,000 seems like a huge amount for this Henry rifle, plus added fees, it seems very cheap compared to the high end art market. Almost makes the buyer of this rifle seem like a rookie:
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-expensive-auction-works-2025
I agree, but then again this is not your average Henry rifle. SN 1 in any model always seems to command the biggest premium and prices. Not sure how much the buyer also valued the provenance with this one but I would guess a substantial amount.
I would. The provenance and engraving is actually more important to me—in this case—than the provenance. Largely because of this:
https://www.si.edu/object/henry-presentation-rifle%3Anmah_881516
I’m surprised that Edwin M Stanton got the serial number 1 rifle and Lincoln got serial number 6, and not the other way around.
December 9, 2002
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Could be politics we’re involved giving number one to his most dependable confidant! What did he care if he got #6 or #1? He still got one!!!
Tony
January 20, 2023
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I’d wondered about that too, Ian. But I think it illustrates Oliver Winchester’s thinking that the Secretary of War was the official most directly involved with arms selection for the Union and the one whose opinion on that subject would be accepted by Lincoln.
Historians agree Stanton was the most effective cabinet officer in that government and the one most trusted by Lincoln to reorganize the army and make sure it was well supplied. At the time, no uniformed officer had that kind of influence.
Stanton stood out and was the man Winchester was astute enough to focus on. Not that it helped.
General Ripley, the Chief of Ordnance adamantly opposed on principle to repeating rifles, was not wrong to thwart adoption of the Henry for general infantry issue. Had Winchester gotten his desire, realities of the battlefield environment (Chickamauga, The Wilderness, Vicksburg and Port Hudson) might well have poisoned the Winchester brand for a long time.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
September 19, 2014
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Bill and others, I’ve enjoyed reading the comments. Most have little to nothing to do with the rifle, itself. Many conjecture on the buyer, especially on how he was dressed, etc. He may be but the agent for putting the Henry and a few others into a vault for some investor or consortium of investors who only see an object. Mention was made about “art” and that may be very close to reality. For all that, we are just guessing and its of no import other than the value we can not even dream of approaching. This and other valuable rifles may not see the public again in our lives. But it and others will build cash value for the owner or owners as an investment piece. My thoughts and nothing about Stanton, other than impact on the investment. Tim PS, wouldn’t it be nice to see it on a table at Cody?!
April 30, 2023
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tim tomlinson said
Many conjecture on the buyer, especially on how he was dressed, etc.
To be clear, he WAS wearing more than shorts and flip-flops.
November 7, 2015
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Jeremy P said
tim tomlinson said
Many conjecture on the buyer, especially on how he was dressed, etc.
To be clear, he WAS wearing more than shorts and flip-flops.
Yep, I’m thinking a black cap.
Mike
January 20, 2023
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Having met some of the Strange Rangers in the PNW tech industry who, having been early employees and thus stock or option holders become wealthy after big public offerings drove the value of their securities into the Stratosphere — I do not doubt the winner of this rifle could be one of them. If so, he may have considered himself formally attired, as if for a board of directors meeting.
As likely, he was a paid agent of a foundation, museum, wealthy family, or consortium of investors. When you wield that size checkbook, you can dress like the 800 pound gorilla you are to the guy at the podium.
My comments on Stanton are directly germane to provenance and relative value of the Henry discussed.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
September 22, 2011
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Zebulon said
Having met some of the Strange Rangers in the PNW tech industry who, having been early employees and thus stock or option holders become wealthy after big public offerings drove the value of their securities into the Stratosphere — I do not doubt the winner of this rifle could be one of them. If so, he may have considered himself formally attired, as if for a board of directors meeting.
As likely, he was a paid agent of a foundation, museum, wealthy family, or consortium of investors. When you wield that size checkbook, you can dress like the 800 pound gorilla you are to the guy at the podium.
My comments on Stanton are directly germane to provenance and relative value of the Henry discussed.
You would think at the very least, if attending a high end auction such as this one you could at least wear a pair of khakis and a polo or Hawaiian shirt…
March 14, 2022
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mrcvs said
Zebulon said
Having met some of the Strange Rangers in the PNW tech industry who, having been early employees and thus stock or option holders become wealthy after big public offerings drove the value of their securities into the Stratosphere — I do not doubt the winner of this rifle could be one of them. If so, he may have considered himself formally attired, as if for a board of directors meeting.
As likely, he was a paid agent of a foundation, museum, wealthy family, or consortium of investors. When you wield that size checkbook, you can dress like the 800 pound gorilla you are to the guy at the podium.
My comments on Stanton are directly germane to provenance and relative value of the Henry discussed.
You would think at the very least, if attending a high end auction such as this one you could at least wear a pair of khakis and a polo or Hawaiian shirt…
Lol that’s funny Bill.
I’ve enjoyed this thread and taken all the comments and replies interesting and with light hearted humour. I guess when the hammer price is so far beyond what the average collector can even imagine, it draws some conjecture in other areas and the mind to wonder who and how. It’s certainly one for the record books and it’s just not reality for the majority of us. Window shopping at its finest.
Rick C
January 20, 2023
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Rick, we can hope the new owner will loan it to a reputable museum for public display. It would be a shame to hide it away in a vault beyond all access and to display it would not diminish its value.
Stanton’s Henry #1 really belongs in the Smithsonian because it is such an important piece of Americana. It would be one hell of a charitable tax deduction.
My biggest concern is whether it was acquired by foreign money to be offshored.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
September 22, 2011
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Zebulon said
Rick, we can hope the new owner will loan it to a reputable museum for public display. It would be a shame to hide it away in a vault beyond all access and to display it would not diminish its value.
Stanton’s Henry #1 really belongs in the Smithsonian because it is such an important piece of Americana. It would be one hell of a charitable tax deduction.
My biggest concern is whether it was acquired by foreign money to be offshored.
It’s interesting you mention that, as I thought a museum might have tried to acquire that. If not, they should have.
I once bid on a Smith & Wesson revolver that was purchased for display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. So it does happen…
Can the Smithsonian even use Federal funds for acquisitions? This rifle belongs alongside Lincoln’s.
November 19, 2006
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Zebulon said
I wonder what other pieces are being “released” from the Robert M. Lee collection?
I didn’t know who he was, so I looked him up. Thinking others may be wondering as well, here’s what I found:
Lee was an American who became a professional hunter and safari organizer, who popularized Angola as a safari destination. He founded Hunting World, a supplier of hunting gear that expanded into fashionable bags and leather goods.
He must have done well because he became a serious arms and car collector and owned millions of dollars in real estate.
Lee died in Reno, Nevada in 2016.
Interesting that Mr. Lee passed away ten years ago (at the age of 88) so I wonder if this rifle has just been hidden in deep storage all that time.
Mr. Lee was an interesting fellow with an early beginning:
At age 14, Bob Lee designed a unique telescopic sighting tool, called the Lee Mount and at age 17 designed and manufactured a range of several ultra-high-velocity rifle cartridges, such as the .358 Lee Magnum and the .424 Lee Magnum — each notably listed in Volume 1 of P.O. Ackley’s, “Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders.”
I was quite interested in the shooting hobby area at age 17, but I wasn’t designing (and manufacturing) my own line of wildcat cartridges.
November 19, 2006
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mrcvs said
While $5,875,000 seems like a huge amount for this Henry rifle, plus added fees, it seems very cheap compared to the high end art market. Almost makes the buyer of this rifle seem like a rookie:
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-expensive-auction-works-2025
Ian –
I looked at each of the art works featured – and the corresponding high bid.
You make an excellent point.
January 20, 2023
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Ian, I don’t know whether the Smithsonian has money for acquisitions or not. I’m sure it’s not self-sustaining.
We don’t know right now who the real buyer is and there is the possibility it is a philanthropist who will do the right thing.
The best thing we as a group could do is ask our Congressional reps and Senators to explore acquiring it for the Smithsonian — that is, suggesting funding for that purpose.
I’m out of my depth but it couldn’t hurt to ask.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
June 4, 2017
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The gun sold to someone that is very rich. I’m sure there is a tax angle, maybe it’s considered an investment, maybe it ends up in a museum.
I remember when it was said that the Koch Brothers were buying at RIA with a trailer to haul the guns away. Who knows, who cares, it sold. T/R
April 30, 2023
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I left early and didn’t have a chance to try and pry for info or I would’ve gone and tried to speak to the buyer. Lost opportunity!
November 7, 2015
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Jeremy P said
I left early and didn’t have a chance to try and pry for info or I would’ve gone and tried to speak to the buyer. Lost opportunity!
But you saw gun collecting history made. Was I right about the black cap?
Mike
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