The Winchester Model 1873 remains one of the most iconic American firearms, and the One of One Thousand Model 1873s are among the most desirable of all antique American firearms. Only 132 of the iconic One of One Thousand Model 1873s were ever manufactured out of over 720,000 Model 1873s manufactured making them among the rarest and most valuable of all Winchester firearms. This particular rifle is the only example recorded in .38 W.C.F. The rest were the standard .44-40 W.C.F. The caliber along with the other highly optioned, special order features make this stunning rifle a truly one-of-a-kind example of what is already the most desirable of all Winchesters. It also remains in extraordinarily high condition compared to many of the One of One Thousand rifles which often display signs of hard use. The other noted special features on this rifle are the Swiss cheekpiece and buttplate which were rarely ordered on Winchester Model 1873s. On page 141 of "Winchester's New Model of 1873: A Tribute, Volume I" by James D. Gordon, the author wrote, "One of the most unusual features to be found on a Model 1873 is the cheekpiece." George Madis similarly wrote: "The cheekpiece stock…was produced in very limited numbers on any models." It is somewhat surprising more customers did not order cheekpieces, particularly for their One of One Thousands, given how popular they had been on rifles since the early wheellocks and on through the Kentucky rifles and Hawken rifles. However, by the time breech-loading and repeating rifles became popular in the late 19th century, cheekpieces were not very common on American rifles. The One of One Thousand program was announced in 1873 and more fully explained in Winchester’s 1875 catalog under the headline “Variety of Arms.” The details of this section are covered in depth in Edmund Lewis’s book "The Story of the Winchester 1 of 1000 and 1 of 100 Rifles": “Every Sporting Rifle we make will be proved and shot at a target, and the target will be numbered to correspond with the barrel and be attached to it. When one hundred barrels are thus proved, the one making the best target will be selected and set aside, and another hundred proved in the same way, and so on until one thousand have been tested and ten targets selected with the barrels with which they were made. They will then be made up into Guns, in which each part is selected with the utmost care and finished in the finest manner. They will then be again subjected to trials for accuracy, and the best of the ten selected and marked ‘One of a thousand,’ the price of which will be $80.00 to $100.00. The other nine will be marked ‘one of a hundred,’ and the price will be from $60.00 to $75.00 each. Sportsmen will readily see that this severe process of gleaning will be a slow and expensive one, and the result be but a limited number of choice Guns, and that orders should be given in advance of their wants, or patience exercised with the necessary delay of filling them.” The program was short lived. In part, the rifles were simply too expensive for many buyers to justify, and the program also made Winchester's regular rifles sound like they were inaccurate by comparison. Winchester stopped advertising the One of One Thousand program in 1877. That makes this rifle all the more remarkable. .38-40 W.C.F. was not even introduced until 1879, and the first Model 1873 in .38-40 W.C.F. was shipped in 1880. Factory letters from the 1960s and 1970s accompany the rifle and indicate it was received in the warehouse on September 13, 1892, and shipped on September 14, 1892. The factory records list Winchester Model 1873 number 435498 as a 1 of 1,000 rifle in .38 caliber with a 1/2 octagon barrel, set trigger, checkered stock, pistol grip, Swiss buttplate, cheekpiece, and casehardened finish. In addition to the factory letters, the rifle has been featured in multiple publications. This rifle is pictured and described in "The Winchester Book" by Madis on page 210, "Winchester: An American Legend" by Wilson on p. 50, "Winchester: The Golden Age of American Gunmaking and the Winchester 1 of 1000" by Wilson on p. 100, and "The Story of the Winchester 1 of 1000 and 1 of 100 Rifles" by Lewis on p. 82. It is also listed by serial number in "Winchester's New Model of 1873: A Tribute, Volume II" by Gordon on p. 378. Madis wrote, "Here is the exception to the rule. This One of One Thousand rifle was ordered by Browning Brothers, of Ogden, Utah, in 1892. Because of their mutually profitable relationships, Winchester always treated Browning Brothers with the greatest possible tact. Why the Brownings or one of their customers wanted a model 73 after the model 92, chambering the same cartridge, was available, is anyone's guess. Since the One-of-One Thousand was considered by many to be a rifle capable of unbelievable accuracy, perhaps someone had wanted one for many years and was finally able, in 1892, to buy the rifle." He added that the engraving is of the fashion engraved at the factory in 1892 rather than the earlier style and noted the special order features, including "While the cheekpiece stocks were offered for all Winchesters, very few were ordered, and they are very rare." Wilson in "Winchester: The Golden Age of American Gunmaking and the Winchester One of One Thousand" wrote that this rifle is "one of the most exceptional and unusual of all 1 of 1000s..." and pointed to the engraved "cartouche" that encloses the caliber marking. Lewis noted, "This is a third Model 1873 and is an exceptional rifle with many unique features documented in the Winchester warehouse ledger. These include a half-octagon barrel, Swiss buttplate and cheekpiece. It is also the only rifle chambered in .38 W.C.F." As can be clearly scene, these Winchester experts found a lot to get excited about with this rare rifle! The octagonal to round barrel has a silver band inlaid at the muzzle followed by scroll engraving surrounding the dovetailed blade front sight, the two-line address and King's improvement patent marking on top ahead of the dovetailed sporting rear sight, "One of One Thousand" inscribed on the top flat with a wavy line and dot border and scrollwork, a panel in the scrollwork on the upper left flat left open for the "38 W.C.F." caliber designation which is surrounded by the same style of wavy line and dot border, and an inlaid silver band at the breech. The casehardened Third Model frame has "-MODEL. 1873.-" in script on the upper tang, a tang mounted mid-range Vernier peep sight, "38 CAL." inscribed on the brass cartridge elevator, adjustable single set trigger, and the serial number behind the latch. The deluxe walnut forearm and pistol grip stock have "Style H" checkering, a casehardened forend cap, contrasting grip inlay, a large Swiss style cheekpiece, and a nickel plated brass Swiss buttplate. The rifle is also accompanied by a very rare sight case marked "WINCHESTER/MID-RANGE/VERNIER/AND/WIND GAUGE SIGHTS" in gold lettering with a fitted interior for the installed peep sight along with the included wind gauge globe front sight and additional mounting screws. Provenance: The Glen H. Jensen Collection; The John R. Woods Collection; The Robert M. Lee Collection

Very fine. The barrel retains 85% plus of the original blue finish and displays crisp "One of One Thousand" inscription and engraving and dark aged patina on the inlaid silver bands. The magazine tube has 40% of the original blue finish on the exposed areas of and stronger original blue in the protected areas. 85% original niter blue remains on the set trigger along with 30% original niter blue finish on the loading gate. 50% original case color remain with more vibrant colors remaining on the rear sections of the frame and the hammer and more silvered out colors from age on the lever and forward section of the frame. The buttplate retains 98% of the bright original nickel and has some slight exposed brass at the edges where it displays aged patina. Overall, the metal has minimal wear including a few scattered marks and scratches. The wood is also very fine and has crisp checkering, attractive figure, mild scratches and dings, and light edge wear. Mechanically excellent. The rare sight case and windgauge globe front sight are fine and have moderate age and storage related wear. This is an extraordinary and exceptionally rare Winchester. The One of One Thousand Winchester Model 1873s are already captivating and extremely difficult to acquire, making this rifle's rarity and elegance truly extraordinary!