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April 30, 2023
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TXGunNut said
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
No black cap!
January 20, 2023
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As for provenance of the Henry in question, remember that Lewis Powell a/k/a Paine attacked the Secretary of State but failed to kill him. The Vice President was not trusted because of his putative Southern sympathies. The government was pretty much headless while everybody gathered around Lincoln as he lay dying – and it was Stanton who stepped up and organized the pursuit of Booth and the investigation of who was involved.
Stanton took charge quickly and, if not for him, Booth would have probably gotten beyond the reach of American law.
I contend that whose rifle this was is a large component of its price. Stanton was not a peripheral player in the assassination aftermath.
- 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.
May 14, 2025
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Zebulon said
As for provenance of the Henry in question, remember that Lewis Powell a/k/a Paine attacked the Secretary of State but failed to kill him. The Vice President was not trusted because of his putative Southern sympathies. The government was pretty much headless while everybody gathered around Lincoln as he lay dying – and it was Stanton who stepped up and organized the pursuit of Booth and the investigation of who was involved.
Stanton took charge quickly and, if not for him, Booth would have probably gotten beyond the reach of American law.
I contend that whose rifle this was is a large component of its price. Stanton was not a peripheral player in the assassination aftermath.
Keep in mind there are those who believe Stanton himself was actually behind Lincoln’s assassination! Either way, I agree it was a large component of its final price!
March 14, 2022
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Buck94 said
Zebulon said
As for provenance of the Henry in question, remember that Lewis Powell a/k/a Paine attacked the Secretary of State but failed to kill him. The Vice President was not trusted because of his putative Southern sympathies. The government was pretty much headless while everybody gathered around Lincoln as he lay dying – and it was Stanton who stepped up and organized the pursuit of Booth and the investigation of who was involved.
Stanton took charge quickly and, if not for him, Booth would have probably gotten beyond the reach of American law.
I contend that whose rifle this was is a large component of its price. Stanton was not a peripheral player in the assassination aftermath.
Keep in mind there are those who believe Stanton himself was actually behind Lincoln’s assassination! Either way, I agree it was a large component of its final price!
I’m not sure where the historians have landed now on Stanton’s possible involvement as stated above but, the American public was also given a hero’s perception regarding Custer and Little Big Horn until a century later when details from the other side changed some minds and still spark ongoing debate.
Rick C
January 20, 2023
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I agree Stanton is a controversial figure in history and don’t recall writing he was a hero. But he unquestionably was the driving force and man of the early post-assassination hours – whatever his motivations – without whom Booth would have escaped.
The foregoing makes the Stanton Henry an important artifact in the same way Booth’s Derringer and Spencer carbine are artifacts (assuming either still exists.)
- 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.
November 7, 2015
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I think (that generally is a mistake) that Stanton was potentially important to the future of the company and a very attractive example was placed in his hands so that he’s have the opportunity to examine it more closely. It’s hard to say how well that worked for Winchester but such is the nature of marketing. The modern upside is we got to see some awesome eye candy and witnessed an exciting sale.
Is it too soon to ask what it will take to top this one?
Mike
September 22, 2011
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Zebulon said
I agree Stanton is a controversial figure in history and don’t recall writing he was a hero. But he unquestionably was the driving force and man of the early post-assassination hours – whatever his motivations – without whom Booth would have escaped.
The foregoing makes the Stanton Henry an important artifact in the same way Booth’s Derringer and Spencer carbine are artifacts (assuming either still exists.)
Both still exist:
https://fords.org/lincolns-assassination/booths-deringer/
https://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php?topic=57144.0
I recall seeing the derringer at Ford’s Theater circa 1987.
It’s best you just click on the first link and not scroll down. There’s debate with mostly dumb responses as to if Ford’s Theater should actually display the weapon.
I guess I’m just not PC, insensitive, out of touch with the increasing number of Democratic socialists out there, insensitive, or just a plain jerk.
Then again, there’s a photograph of Mark Twain holding a Colt Model 1903 pistol and he discusses at length a Smith & Wesson No 1 pistol in his writings and discussed (eventually) donating them to enhance existing exhibits at the museum in Hartford and was told to pack sand.
January 20, 2023
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Thanks, Ian. I didn’t know that. I missed touring Ford’s Theater because we ran out of time. The decision of the late Adjudant General is a classic example why the country shouldn’t be ruled by politically unaccountable “experts” – frequently wrong but never in doubt.
(If anybody needs more proof, consider the arrogant decision of the pathologist who burned his bloodstained original autopsy notes following President Kennedy’s autopsy. Why destroy such an important piece of evidence? He didn’t want it to become a gruesome attraction for the morbid. Never mind that its absence has been the focus of innumerable conspiracy theories, causing whole forests to disappear into paper sufficient to print endless blather.)
- 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.
April 30, 2023
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mrcvs said
It’s best you just click on the first link and not scroll down.
I scrolled too far despite your warning. 
January 20, 2023
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Ian, One last point on the Lincoln assassination and maybe you know the answer. The linked text about Booth’s Deringer calls it a .45 caliber caplock. Every other source I’ve read has said it is a .41 caliber. I know that the few single shot pocket caplocks marked as made by Henry Deringer that I’ve seen.were made in .41 caliber.
- 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.
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