Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Herb Houze

Gun Collectors Association, Houston, Texas. Various editors over their long run from August, 1950 to present day.

       (Top) Left Side: Inscribed “Shooting The Tiger With The Single Shooter” depicts four hunters: one being eaten by a tiger; two others running frightened pursued by tigers; another in background taking aim with a “single shooter.”

       (Bottom) Right Side: Inscribed “Winchester Repeating Rifle” depicts well dressed gentlemen hunter with binoculars while Chinese servant stands by holding his Winchester rifle and two dead tigers to one side. Signed in four places by the famous Winchester engraver C. F. Ulrich.

       (N. Flayderman & Co. Catalog No. 100. Oct., 1976.)

(*) Preceding a title indicates the book is currently in print.

Chapter V-A

Ethan Allen (Allen & Thurber, Allen & Wheelock, E. Allen & Co.)

      An honored name in American gunmaking history and one significant in the field of arms collecting is that of Ethan Allen of Massachusetts. A prolific manufacturer of firearms of many types over a lengthy period, his arms were widely purchased and well respected for their quality and sturdiness. The Allen pepperbox was the major competitor to the Colt revolver until well into the 1850s, and like the Colt, it came to symbolize a standard type of arm of its era in the developing American saga. Ethan Allen was one of the first U.S. producers of handguns for commercial sale made on the interchangeable parts principle; he was also among the first private gunmakers to operate on a comparatively large scale.

      Allen marked guns have always enjoyed a strong demand and sale on the collector’s market. The wide variety of types available and their usually moderate and low price range in relation to some other more expensive makes readily accounts for their broad following. It is even possible to say there is a relative inequity about this price disparity and that Allens are deserving of a more elevated position in the hierarchy of collecting. Much of this may be attributed to the lack of definitive information on the maker, his successive companies, and the products themselves. Allen arms possess all the characteristics necessary to attract a wide following of devotees: Manufacture in reasonably large quantities; a number of basic models; a great many variations; manufacture over a long time period; and excellent historical associations with America’s adventurous Western Frontier period. That price disparity and concurrent inequity are now nearing an end.

      Although there are, and long have been, a few highly advanced students and collectors, the field has generally lacked for the heated competition found in some other American firearms specialties such as Colts, Remingtons, and martial arms. Much of the fault may be attributed to the lack of a concise, basic guide to the subject which would allow the average collector or trader to be reasonably aware of the extent of Allen material, and to distinguish a rarity from a common specimen.

      Until recent years, little had been written about the subject. A pioneer work, The Story Of Allen & Wheelock Firearms, was published in 1965 in limited edition. Covering but one facet of Allen arms, it pointed out the wide range of material available and served as the first partial cataloging of the field. The subsequent publication, in 1973, of Ethan Allen, Gunmaker, reviewing the broad scope and importance of Allen weapons, lent considerable impetus to this field of collecting. Although the latter work primarily is a biography of Ethan Allen, it covers his entire line of arms in a manner that greatly assists the collector seeking a basic sequential guide—including essential points for identification of various models and sub-models. With the publication, in 2006, of Ethan Allen and Allen & Wheelock; Their Guns and Their Legacy, collectors are liberally provided with a remarkably broad spectrum of manufacturing and marking variations of these popular arms. There is every reason to believe that the wealth of detail, textually as well as photographically, will have an impact on the collecting of not only Allens, but pepperboxes and American percussion handguns in general. The collectors' marketplace will eventually sort out from that wealth of material the variations and minutiae that will ultimately affect value increases for specific models.

      This chapter fills the much-needed guide for simplified identification of all Allen arms, placing them in perspective chronologically and value-wise for the collector. The pepperbox section was especially prepared with that in mind. For the first time, collectors have at their fingertips an easily used reference for these significant American firearms. The chapter is generally arranged by type of gun (i.e. single-shot pistols, multishots, pepperboxes, revolvers and long arms) with each group in a general chronological order. Many of these Allens were made simultaneously and thus several models overlap chronologically. An earnest effort was made to describe and illustrate as many well-known and major variations of each model as have been generally recognized and which are known to materially affect values…perhaps markedly! Not every known variation of Allen arms is listed; a number of the less important types as well as a few extremely rare, if not unique, variants are known and are possible to encounter. The above-mentioned, newly published 2006 Allen book is a most worthy reference and includes such anomalies. With the advent of that wealth of new data about these important gunmakers, such previously unrecognized or relatively unappreciated variations and variants are likely to reflect increasing popularity. Values indicated here merely reflect their current market price and not what conceivably “might be” or “should be” based on their rarity. As information disseminates widely and identification becomes easier, there is every possibility that, with time, values on many of these previously unexamined or unidentified types could be directly affected. Following the progress of this unique group of American firearms in the ensuing years will prove worthwhile.

      As with other American firearms of the era, Allens may be found with several extra features that can and do influence value considerably. The most often encountered extra is fancy grips. Ivory is the most likely to be observed, but other exotic materials were also employed, e.g., pearl or rosewood. On occasion the collector may find heavy all-metal German silver, or in a few instances pewter (these latter two are known generally with scroll and floral engraving on them). Fancy grips add to the desirability and value of arms on which they appear. The reader is referred to Chapter II for information on pricing such extra features. Relief carved grips may be seen on Allens and are in great demand, adding considerably to a specimen gun’s value.

      Elaborately engraved pieces will at times be observed on various models of Allens and are quite rare. Many Allen handguns were cased, and these most often are in the pepperbox and small caliber revolver types. Desirability and values are also increased considerably with such items; the subject is covered in Chapter II to which the reader is again referred.

      On not a few Allens, particularly the earlier types, agents’ names may be found marked in addition to or instead of the usual Allen markings. This is an important feature and does affect value, in some cases significantly. The reader is referred to the section treating Allen pepperboxes within this chapter for further discussion of agents’ markings and how to assess proportionate price increases for them.

      A few basic facts concerning Ethan Allen and his companies will prove useful to the reader and collector. The first dispels a myth, while the others are of assistance in placing Allen arms in their proper chronological order and general periods of manufacture and sales.

      Contrary to an unfounded, but popular belief, Ethan Allen, the arms inventor and manufacturer (1806-1871) bore no relationship to the American Revolutionary hero of the same name. As far as can be ascertained, the sameness of the inventor’s and the war hero’s names is merely coincidence (Charles Allen of Hopkins & Allen likewise). The popularity of the surname Allen has also been the cause of some confusion as quite a few other American gunmakers—many of them New Englanders, and some achieving notoriety of their own—bore this same surname. Hence, a certain vagueness arises among the