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August 11, 2015
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All,
I am in the middle of some research on a gun I own, a Model 1886 purchased in 1888. The SN is 16374. I have gotten the letter from Cody and done a fair bit of work on establishing ownership etc. which was not too hard since it has the guy’s name engraved on it.
My question is did Winchester sell directly to individuals or only to “agents/dealers” that were either licensed or contracted to represent Winchester. The letter says is was shipped from warehouse on March 29, 1888 on order no. 5901.
I have noticed that sometimes the letter from Cody has a dealer listed as the destination and wanted to see if there was any additional information via the order no. that might reveal the destination address.
It also brings up a point for me regarding the proper establishment of “Provenance”. I realize this is probably one of those things that never gets completed, however, I wanted to see if anyone had advice on what critical elements need to be established to consider an acceptable level of evidence.
Thanks and regards,
Mark,
For the most part the order number is all you will get. On some late 73’s they had the destination . There is no other source of information for the order numbers. Winchester would sell to anybody, you didn’t have to be a dealer or agent. As to Providences, the best is something printed in a book or from public records. Ancestry.com is a good source but just watch out when you want to end your subscription with them. They keep charging your credit card. The other way is to have the story written down and have it notarized at the time. After I bought a gun and found out some history on it I have paid the party to write it down and get it notarized.
Bob
WACA Life Member--- NRA Life Member---- Cody Firearms member since 1991 Researching the Winchester 1873's
Email: [email protected]
August 11, 2015
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Thanks Bob.
Appreciate the advice.
Regards
August 11, 2015
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Bob,
You may know this already, but you can go to any public library and gain free access to ancestry. com. Many larger libraries even have a genealogy department where you can also get free professional help. All you need to do is show up generally speaking.
Regards,
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