Exceptional and Scarce Model 1855 Sidehammer Sporting Rifle, with Fluted Cylinder

Description

Exceptional and Scarce Model 1855 Sidehammer Sporting Rifle, with Fluted Cylinder
Serial no. 576. .44 caliber, 6-shot fluted cylinder, 31 5/16-inch barrel. Topstrap of frame stamped within standard brackets:
Colt's Pt
1855
and
Address Col. Colt/Hartford CT U.S.A.
One of the cylinder flutes stamped "Patented Sept. 10th 1850." On left side of rear bow of triggerguard, "44 Cal." Three leaf express style rear sight mounted on barrel breech, graduated for 100, 300 and 600 yards. Rare folding peep sight, adjustable for elevation, mounted on upper tang. Blade front sight on steel base, dovetailed at muzzle. Blued finish, with case-hardened hammer and loading lever. Varnished walnut stocks. Sling swivels mounted on rear barrel band and on rear of lower tang. Crescent buttplate of blued steel, with sliding compartment lid for extension to the steel cleaning rod.
According to R.L. Wilson The Book of Colt Firearms, the total number made of the .44 caliber Model 1855 Sidehammer Sporting Rifle, in 31 5/16-inch barrel, was only 200. No. 576 is considered the finest known example.
Note that serial no. 582, also of .44 caliber, with 31 5/16-inch barrel, is pictured in R.L. Wilson, The Arms Collection of Colonel Colt, on page 63 (item 42, described on page 64).
Quite close to no. 576, serial no. 582 was made at the same time. Both rifles remain in excellent condition.
Serial no. 582 was among the arms added to the collection, by specimens selected from the Colt factory. This was done to fill in gaps, for a display of artifacts and firearms at the Colt mansion, Armsmear. The latter Colts were added following the inventor's death, and were acquired on orders of his widow, Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt. This celebration of Colonel Colt was also expressed in Mrs. Colt's commissioning of the first Colt book, Armsmear The Home, The Arm, and the Armory of Samuel Colt. A Memorial.
The excellent condition of serial no. 576, the desirable caliber, and the lengthy barrel help in establishing this Rifle as among the finest known examples of Colt Sidehammer longarms.
Literature:
American Arms Collectors Percussion Colts and Their Rivals The Al Cali Collection, pages 62-63.
Provenance:
Al Cali



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