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RARE DELUXE ENGRAVED MARLIN MODEL 1889 LEVER ACTION RIFLE.

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:7,500.00 USD Estimated At:15,000.00 - 25,000.00 USD
RARE DELUXE ENGRAVED MARLIN MODEL 1889 LEVER ACTION RIFLE.
SN 58419. Cal. 44 WCF (44-40). Beautiful '89 rifle with 24" oct bbl, full magazine, ivory bead front sight, Lyman Model 6A 2-leaf folding rear sight and Lyman combination tang sight. Mounted with very nicely figured American walnut with B-style checkered forearm and serpentine grip stock with crescent buttplate. Receiver is engraved in Grade 2 patterns consisting of a standing whitetail buck in a very detailed forest scene on the left side and the small vignette of a running whitetail buck on the right side, all surrounded by wonderfully executed, full coverage foliate arabesque patterns with wavelet borders. Outside face of the bolt is engraved to match with matching patterns over the top & bottom of the receiver, top tang, forend cap and about 1-3/4" over the top three flats of the bbl. Engraving is by master engraver, Conrad F. Ulrich. Although there were 39,363 Models '89 produced with 24" bbls in the period 1889-1899, few were deluxe and extremely few of those were factory engraved. Left side of upper tang, under the wood, top tang channel of the buttstock and inside the toe of the buttplate are matching numbered. Lever latch is broken and missing. CONDITION: Very fine to extremely fine, all matching. Bbl & magazine tube retain 97-98% orig blue, crisp & sharp on the bbl, turning a little plum on the magazine tube; receiver, buttplate, lever & hammer retain most of their orig case colors, moderately faded, turned silver on outer faces of lever and bottom of receiver; forend cap retains silvered case colors. Stock has a couple of small nicks and storage & handling marks, otherwise wood is sound and retains virtually all of its crisp, orig varnish. Mechanics are crisp, brilliant shiny bore. 4-47743 JR338