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Title:	RIFLE -  WINCHESTER RIFLE MODEL 1866 .44 SN# 20446
Maker/Manufacturer:	HENRY, B. TYLER
Date of Manufacture:	1869
Eminent Figure:
Catalog Number:	SPAR 4370
Measurements:	OL:111.7CM 44" BL: 24" 9.2 lbs.

Object Description:

WINCHESTER RIFLE MODEL 1866 .44 SN# 20446
Manufactured by Winchester, Bridgeport, Ct. in 1869 - Standard M1866 second model Winchester. Lever action. Tubular 17-round magazine located beneath barrel. Brass furniture. Octagonal blued barrel. Two-piece walnut stock. Solid frame. 6-groove rifling with right-hand twist. uzzle velocity 1125 fps with 200-grain bullet. Weapon weighs approximately 9.2 lbs. Cartridge .44 rimfire.

Markings:
Triggerguard: 20446. A.
Barrel: HENRY'S PATENT OCT. 16, 1860/KING'S PATENT MARCH 29 1866.

This weapon was exhibited at The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition in Philadelphia in 1926.

Notes: First 39,300 were manufactured at Bridgeport, Ct.

"In 1866 the New Haven Arms Company changed its name to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The first firearm to be built under the Winchester names was the Model 1866. This first Winchester was a much-improved version of the Henry. A new magazine tube developed by Nelson King, Winchester's plant superintendent, was a vast improvement over the slotted magazine tube used on the Henry and its predecessor. The old tube allowed dirt to enter through the slots and was weakened because of it. King's patent, assigned to Winchester, featured a solid tube that was much stronger and reliable. His patent also dealt with an improved loading system for the rifle. The rifle now featured a loading port on the right side of the receiver with a spring-loaded cover. The frame continued to be made from cast brass. The Model 1866 was chambered for the .44 caliber Flat Rimfire or the .44 caliber Pointed Rimfire. Both cartridges could be used interchangeably....
The rifle and musket held 17 cartridges, and the carbine had a capacity of 13 cartridges. Unlike the Henry, Model 1866s were fitted with a walnut forearm. The Model 1866 was discontinued in 1898 with approximately 170.000 guns produced. The Model 1866 was sold in various special order configurations, such as with barrels longer or shorter than standard, and included engraved guns.....
First Model. The first style has both the Henry and King patent dates stamped on the barrel, a flat-loading port cover, and a two-screw upper tang. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the First Model is the rapid drop at the top rear of the receiver near the hammer. This is often referred to as the 'Henry Drop," a reference to the same receiver drop found on the Henry rifle. A cleaning rod was carried in a hole in the buttstock accessed by a hinged cover. First models will be seen up through 15000 serial number range.
Second Model. The second style differs from the first model noticeably in its single screw upper tang and a flare at the front of receiver to meet the forearm. The Second Model also a more gradual drop at the rear of the receiver than the First Model. The cleaing rod was accessed by a bass sliding cover. The Second Model appears through serial number 25000." - Schwing

"The first known weapon to successfully use a self-loading, repeating method of operation was a rifle patented by Hiram S. Maxim in 1883. During his earliest attempts to develop an automatic weapon, Maxim modified a Winchester Model 1866 lever-action rifle into a selfloading semi-automatic arm by fitting it with a butt plate mounted on a spring extension mechanism so arranged that, when the rifle recoiled in firing, it operated the loading lever. This weapon is the first known self-loading rifle. It was also the first to use the recoil forces of the cartridge to operate the mechanism.
This arm was only a prototype weapon, and not a practical military rifle. It did prove that self-loading weapons were possible and opened the field of self-loading rifle design. Maxim patented the mechanism in 1884, but soon lost interest in it after his success in introducing the first automatic machine gun." - Johnson
Referred to as the “Improved Henry”, the Model 1866 lever-action repeater was the first model to be called a Winchester. Its distinctive brass colored frame (technically an early form of bronze, also called “gunmetal”) gavThe most important notable improvement over the Henry was the addition of the Nelson King’s patented cartridge loading gate system which allowed for a closed magazine tube and a wood forend. The Model 1866 fired the same .44 caliber rimfire round as the Henry rifle; however; cartridge improvements made a shorter carbine barrel length practical. The ’66 was offered in rifle, carbine, or musket configurations with standard barrel length for the rifles 24”; carbines, 20”; and muskets, 27”.
During its production run from 1866 to 1898, nearly 160,000 were made. Serial numbers began in the mid-12,000 range (overlapping with Henry’s serial numbers which ended around 14,900) and carried just into the 170,000 range. First Models have flat-side receivers. Second, Third and Fourth Models have a flared receiver to accommodate a thicker forend.
Original Winchester factory records are available for this model from the Cody Firearms Museum in Cody, Wyoming, from serial number 124995 thru 170101. Also available: 35,527, 35,952, 36,200, 96,740, 96,743, 96,745, 103,672, 104,463, 104,469, 104,470, 107,208, 107,209, 109,650, 109,651, 112,269, 112,270, 112,274, 119,180, 119,488, 119,567, 119,579, 119,739, 120,072, 120,593, 120,665, 121,191, 121,964, 124,005, 124,357, 124,876, 124,893, 124,899." - http://www.winchestercollector.org/guns/1866.shtml

"One thousand Model 1866 rifles were sold to Brazil as late as 1891." - Walter

References:
Boorman, Dean K. THE HISTORY OF WINCHESTER FIREARMS. The Lyons Press. N.Y., N.Y. 2001
Johnson, George B. INTERNATIONAL ARMAMENT. Ironside International Publishers, Inc. Alexandria, Va. 2002.
Schwing, Ned. WINCHESTER POCKET GUIDE. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 2004.
Walther, John. RIFLES OF THE WORLD. 2nd Ed. Krause Publications. Iola, Wi. 1998.