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Show p . - - . , , . , J ; My hA I S i : - ... 1 Most of the 22 "One of One Thousand" rifles thus far uncovered uncov-ered are engraved as the one above owned by Granville Stuart Abbot of Lewistown, Montana. A A A A ONE OF ONE THOUSAND Small Towns First in Ownership Of Rare Model American Rifle Smaller towns are first in the ownership of a newly discovered rare variety of American rifle that has almost over night sky-rocketed to fame and become one of the country's most sought-after collector's items. Of the 22 historic "One of One Thousand" variety of the Winchester Win-chester model 1873 rifle thus far reported in a nation-wide search, 16 were found in towns of less than 50,000 population and an even dozen in towns of 10,000 or less. These scarce rifles of which only about 130 were produced from 1874 io 1881 were bought by their present pres-ent owners for as little as $4.50. Dne owner reported he had been jffered $1,000 for his rifle. Collector's Item Since the search for these rare rifles started in May of this year, the ordinary model 1873, known as "the gun that won the West," has also doubled in value. Winchester produced 720,610 of the model 1873 Erom the year 1873 until 1924, according ac-cording to James C. Hartley, director direc-tor of research of the Winchester Repeating Arms company division of Olin Industries, Inc. How many are still in existence is anybody's guess, Hartley said. Prior to May, ordinary model 1873's were sold at from $18 to $25., depending upon condition. Then an article announcing the search for "One of One Thousand" rifles appeared ap-peared in the American Rifleman. Today the ordinary 73's have graduated grad-uated to collector's items and are quoted at double tlis-price, depending depend-ing upon condition. With the great attention now being paid to all 73's, it will not be surprising if the price goes even higher, according to Robert Rob-ert Abels, well known New York dealer in antique firearms. The unsuspected value of rifles owned by thousands of persons who were unaware that their old Winchesters were valuable val-uable may be the start of a renewed re-newed interest in the hobby of gun collecting and any one who owns a model 1873 Winchester has the start of a collection, Mr. Abels says. Just how much will be paid for a genuine "One of One Thousand" depends upon what collectors will pay for them, based largely upon the condition of the individual rifle. Yet, with only about 130 of these rifles manufactured, and only 22 known to exist, it is likely that the prices will be substantial, Mr. Abels said. Used by Bad Men The "One of One Thousand" search uncovered hundreds of model mod-el 73's. Many had colorful histories and were used by famous bad men as well as famous good men. One was taken from the Dalton gang, another was used by Granville Stuart, discoverer of gold in Montana. Mon-tana. Still another was described as "the gun that won the South." Following is the list of owners of authentic "One of One Thousand" rifles: Lloyd Bender, Galion, O., James T. Fowler, Osawatomie, Kan., Louis A. Ostendorp, Berywn, 111., Scott Merry, Tacoma, Wash., Stanley W. Ollason, Hollister, Cal., D. W. Peckham, Middlefield, Conn., F. P. L. Mills, Old Deerfield, Mass., Glenn E. Ellingson, San Bruno, Cal., James R. Smith, Seattle. Wash., Granville Stuart Abbot. Lewistown, Mont., William W. Kes-sler, Kes-sler, Whitmore, Cal., Charles A Alden, St. Petersburg, Fla., Thomas H. Oster, Cloverdale, Cal., John D. Morley, Lodi, Cal., Sam G. Bachelder, Santa Cruz, Cal., Richard Rich-ard Larsen, Visalia, Cal., Phil M. Brown, Watseka, 111., T. R. Jordan, Jor-dan, Seattle, Wash., Oliver R. Jones, North Hollywood, Cal., Harry Har-ry L. Kemp, Judith Gap, Mont., Clyde Schurman, Woodland, Wash., and John S. Friend, Cassaway, W. Va. |