Three Antique Winchester Cartridge Display Boards Combine For $200,000 In Miller & Miller Auction

By Author: Ethan Miller
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Three antique Winchester cartridge display boards from around the turn of the century combined for nearly $200,000 (Canadian) in an online-only Firearms & Sporting Auction, featuring the diverse collections of Wayne G. Connor and the late Robert Warwick, held March 29th by Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. In all, 211 lots came up for bid.

All prices quoted in this report are in Canadian dollars and include an 18 percent buyer’s premium.

The sale was packed with early and rare firearms art and advertising, store displays, factory cartridge boards, fine Winchester rifles and shotguns, Colt percussion revolvers, flintlocks, Smith & Wesson cartridge revolvers, North American trade muskets, magnificent decoys, factory reloading tools, scarce ammunition boxes, and a sprinkling of iconic military rifles.

The American-made Winchester cartridge boards were the overall top three lots of the auction, with each one easily surpassing its high estimate. They included the following:

- A Winchester 1888 Inverted "V" cartridge display board – slightly altered from the 1886 introduced version (and ...
... rarer, too) by the addition of two additional rifle cartridges, the .38-56 WCF added on the left side above a primer tin and the .40-60 WCF added on the right side. 26 ¼ inches by 37 inches (sight, less frame) ($100,300).

- An 1897 Winchester Double “W” cartridge display board No 291 – an oak framed lithographed backboard with the Winchester Repeating Arms Company displaying dummy inert samples of all the pistol and rifle cartridges, and shotgun shells then being produced in their New Haven factory. 40 inches by 57 ½ inches ($79,650).

- A Winchester 1902 Double "W" cartridge board lithograph – the last of the early cartridge boards, entirely made up in a paper version and, unlike its predecessor 1897 board, there are no dummy cartridges attached. These 1902 boards don’t show up as often as the 1897 boards and are rarer. 31 ¼ inches by 49 ¼ inches (sight) ($18,880).

“Thank you to all who participated in our Firearms & Sporting auction,” said Paul Matheson, Miller & Miller’s Consignment Director for the event. “It was a pleasure to handle the long-time collections of Wayne Connor and Robert Warwick, along with many other great individual consignments. The auction was a huge success, with excellent results across all categories. In advertising, some fine examples stand out. We now look forward to the next firearms auction.”

Following are additional highlights from the auction, which grossed $723,930. 371 online bidders placed a combined 6,629 bids. 99 percent of all lots were sold, while 48 percent of the top 50 lots exceeded estimates. Online bidding was via LiveAuctioneers.com and the Miller & Miller website (MillerandMillerAuctions.com). Phone and absentee bids were also accepted.

An 1856 Upper Canada Militia Colt second model 1851 London Navy percussion revolver, .36 caliber with a 7 ½ inch long octagonal barrel, stamped “UC” (for Upper Canada, which later became Ontario), made in England for shipment to Canada, changed hands for $15,340.

An American-made Smith & Wesson factory engraved new model revolver with a factory letter confirming a Dec. 1891 factory shipment, in a 44 S&W Russian caliber with 6 ½ inch barrel, smooth pearl grips and a gold monogrammed S&W logo, hit the mark for $14,160.

A 1929 Savage-Stevens Arms Companies calendar featuring artwork by Philip R. Goodwin, titled Calling Big Game, depicting a hunter with his Savage Model 9 rifle sitting in canoe while his guide is listening for a response to his moose calls, framed, gaveled for $12,980.

A circa 1902 Deluxe Winchester model 1885 low wall sporting rifle, in .22 RF short caliber with No. 2 weight, a 26-inch octagonal and round barrel, the factory sights Lyman No. 5B combination front and Winchester No. 24 rear barrel sights, plus peep sight, rose to $11,210.

A 1925 Colt advertising poster with an illustration titled Tex and Patches by artist Frank E. Schoonover (1877-1972), a famous image that’s represented the Colt Firearms Company for about 10 years, printed on heavy texture paper with brilliant color, signed, realized $11,210.

A circa 1853 Upper Canada Militia Colt 1851 Navy revolver, .36 caliber percussion with 7 ½ inch barrel, the color case hardened and blued, with wood grips marked UC K 26, indicating K company (London Militia), with a Naval engagement scene on the cylinder, hit $10,620.

A circa 1863-1865 New Haven Arms .44 caliber rimfire ammunition box for the Henry rifle, containing 50 copper case rim fire cartridges with raised “H” headstamp in a dished circle and loaded with 26 grains of black powder and a 216-grain flat-nose lead bullet, went for $10,030.

A circa 1967 Winchester Custom Shop (Custom Grade) model 21 SxS double barreled 20 gauge shotgun with 26-inch barrels chambered for 2 ¾ inch shells, sold for $10,030. After the Model 21 factory production halted in 1959 only around 1000 total were made in three grades.

A Winchester cased set of long range vernier and wind gauge rifle sights, made for use on, but not limited to, Winchester Model 1885 single shot target/sporting rifles, in original condition, in a Moroccan black leather case with gold lettering, green velvet lined, gaveled for $10,030.

To watch a short YouTube video highlighting some of the auction’s top-selling items, click this link: https://youtu.be/q8iHsXpF2fI

Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. has a full slate of upcoming online-only auctions, to include the following:

- April 12: East Coast Canadiana & Folk Art, featuring the Chris Huntington collection

- May 2: Toys; and May 3: Comic Books

- May 23-25: Advertising & Petroliana

- June 5: Luxury Watches

- June 14: Advertising

- October 25: Firearms & Sporting

To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd. and their calendar of upcoming sales, visit www.MillerandMillerAuctions.com.