*EXTRAORDINARILY RARE, ONE OF A KIND, ENGRAVED & GOLD INLAID LIGHTWEIGHT WINCHESTER MODEL 1886

*EXTRAORDINARILY RARE, ONE OF A KIND, ENGRAVED & GOLD INLAID LIGHTWEIGHT WINCHESTER MODEL 1886 TAKEDOWN LEVER ACTION RIFLE MADE FOR AUTOMOTIVE MAGNATE JOHN F. DODGE. SN 151483. Cal. 33 WCF. Usual configuration with 24" tapered lightweight rnd bbl, takedown, half magazine with pedestal mounted Sheard front sight and flat top rear sight. Top of bbl is fully matted. Rifle is mounted with exceptional English walnut with custom carved & checkered forearm & capped pistol grip stock with Roosevelt cheekpiece & Winchester checkered steel buttplate. Checkering is in fantastic 32-lines per inch with elaborate carved arabesque patterns and with a carved fleur-de-lis on the bottom of forearm and each side of grip. Receiver is elaborately engraved by John Ulrich and signed on bottom tang back of trigger. Receiver has complete, full coverage engraving which consists of a large elliptical vignette on the left side of a gold inlaid white tail buck, doe & fawn in an extremely detailed forest scene surrounded by elaborate foliate arabesque patterns with fine shaded background. The areas front & rear of the vignette are also engraved with matching maple leaves. Right side is engraved with a smaller vignette of a standing gold bull moose & reclining gold cow moose, also in a very detailed forest scene. The entirety of the rear portion of the right side is engraved in very fine foliate arabesque patterns with shaded background and has a Moorish pattern centered above the loading gate with maple leaves at each end. Loading gate base is engraved with a fan pattern, a maple leave and has a rosette around the screw. Bottom of receiver has a large vignette with gold inlaid intertwined initials "JFD" with the balance of the belly of the receiver engraved in foliate arabesque patterns with an intertwined ribbon. The flat surrounding the lever opening is engraved in fan patterns. Takedown ring, top of receiver, top & bottom tangs, forend cap, magazine tube cap, sides & edges of lever & hammer and buttplate are all engraved to match. This is one of the most elaborately engraved & gold inlaid Model 1886 rifles extant. Left side of lower tang is stamped with assembly number "1309" and "OS". Matching assembly number is also found in top tang channel of buttstock, again twice on rear of buttstock under buttplate and inside toe of buttplate which also has an "S" stamped twice. Left side of top tang, under the wood, is stamped with a small "C" and a triangle with a dash inside. Accompanied by an extraordinary Cody Firearms Museum 2-page letter which, quite unusually, details extensive information about this rifle. The letter identifies this rifle in caliber 33 W with matted rnd bbl, checkered trigger "trigger pull as light as possible consistent with safety", checkered stock with pistol grip, hand made English walnut stock, design Roosevelt cheekpiece, oil finish, rear sight with U-notch, Sheard medium gold bead front, 1/2 magazine, shotgun butt, metal buttblate, takedown, "finish off the points with light testy scrolls of single line, engrave and inlay on one side of receiver in gold: buck, doe and fawn and on the other side: bull-moose and cow, inlay in raised gold work a rustic monogram "J.F.D" about 1-1/4 inch in length on underside of receiver, balance of receiver, finger lever, barrel at breech and muzzle, forearm, tip top of breech bolt, upper and lower tangs, screw heads, magazine plug, and takedown lever highly engraved." The second page continues "no gold lines or bands on barrel or receiver, target at 100 yards and send target, 195 gr. of gold, $125.00 - eng (J. Ulrich), $25.00 checkered (C. Ulrich), make nice smooth working gun". It shows that this rifle was charged to E.A. Pallman - city - sample consignment account April 11 1913 Order #511323." It was returned 4-16-1913, received in warehouse April 25 19