Tom P. Weston is well-known for his incredible miniatures produced in Mexico City in the 1950s and 1960s. Miniature firearms have been around for centuries. It is said that to become a master craftsman in Europe, journeymen had to produced scale miniatures to the satisfaction of their masters in order to earn the title of master themselves. They would take these "masterpieces" with them on sales trips to impress potential clients. Several powerful world leaders are said to have been or currently are collectors of miniature arms including Vladimir Putin. The miniature is a fully functional scale Model 1866 and is designed to fire .22 short ammunition. The barrel a blade front sight and folding leaf rear sight and is marked with the two-line Winchester address and King's improvement patent marking. The action has fine floral scroll engraving with punch dot backgrounds and the Mexican eagle and snake motif on the left. The lower tang has "No. 23" behind the trigger and "TOM P. WESTON/MEXICO D.F." at the end. The left side of the action has a saddle ring and stud. The buttplate has a trap containing a three-piece cleaning rod. An extra mainspring is also included.
Very fine as custom made with 95% of the high polish blue finish, some minor spotting concentrated on the hammer, general minor handling and storage marks, attractive aged patina on the brass, and dark oiled finish on the wood. Mechanically excellent. This would be an exceptional piece for displaying in any miniature arms or Winchester lever action collection.
There are currently no customer product questions on this lot