Here is a nice example of an unaltered Model 1841 Mississippi Rifle by Whitney that is straight from a family in untouched condition and right out of the attic! This is one beautiful Mississippi!  The brass furniture has never been cleaned and has slowly aged over many years to a rich caramel color with dark patina and dried grease in the corners, around the screws, and down along the edges....just fantastic!  Best of all, this one survived still in its original .54 Caliber with strong 7 groove rifling as many were converted to .58 Caliber during the Civil War particularly in the North.  1841's left in .54 Caliber are generally given a stronger Confederate association as many saw use in their original form after being captured from Government arsenals throughout the South in 1861.  Furthermore, based on the military's distribution system prior to the Civil War, Remington and Whitney 41's are theoretically what the US Government would have shipped to the South (See Murphy's book on Confederate Longarms).  

Overall condition is NRA Antique Very Good with the metal turned to a nice smooth brown patina...with some light pitting around the bolster area from flash spray.  The lockplate is marked E. Whitney over "US" in front of the hammer while the back reads "New Haven" with an "1850" production date.  Left side of the barrel is marked "STEEL" with the inspector initials "GW" over "VP".  The STEEL marking was exclusive to only the Whitney and Remington Mississippi Rifle contracts while the "GW" inspector markings are found only on the Whitney contracts.  The top of the buttplate is marked "US".  Patchbox has its original spare nipple. Wood is completely untouched with nice military cartouches on the left side of the stock opposite the lockplate.  Wood to metal fit is perfect and has never been sanded or cleaned.  As stated earlier, the brass furniture is perfect and has a rich uncleaned patina.  This gun is completely original and untouched with the exception of a missing front swivel (they cost about $5) and the ramrod which is a correct replacement with the brass tip that has been carefully aged and is hard to tell from an original.  The original was missing when we found this gun which is quite common for many old muzzleloaders we find today. The bore is still shiny with only some light scattered pits.  If you're looking for a nice 1841 Mississippi with great markings, cartouches, a nice bore in original .54 Caliber, in untouched condition, and for a fair price...this will be very hard to beat!

Item# 0433

SOLD