Engraved Robinson Model 1872 Repeating Rifle by Adirondack Firearms Co. with Owner’s Name

Serial #83, .44 RF, 26" octagon barrel with a fine, bright bore that has some freckling and mild pitting within the grooves.  This is a handsome rifle, built on Orville Robinson’s April 23, 1872, patent, and utilizes a manually-operated toggle lock that rides in a mortise along the top of the receiver operated via a knurled handle on the right side.  The brass frame has an overall mottled ochre patina throughout, with small impact marks on either side of the frame around the ends of the barrel pin.  The frame has New York style floral scrollwork vignettes with punch-dot backgrounds at the rear of either side of the frame, and a previous owner’s name is present on the left side: "Dr. J.V. Smith / Saginaw City / Mich."  The bolt, rear link, and flip-open loading gate have a smooth, mottled gray patina throughout, with some small spots of pinprick pitting on the edges of the gate, and thin freckling along the tops of the bolt and rear link.  The action is functional, however the bolt binds on the cartridge lifter when opening, preventing the action from opening fully.  The barrel has an overall plum-brown patina with some traces of original blue on protected areas, and has gray fading at the muzzle, as well as along the edges of the barrel facets.  The magazine tube retains about 50-60% of the original blue, with some mild fading and plum-brown freckling on the balance.  The barrel is equipped with a period German silver front sight mated to a V-notch rear sight, screw-adjustable for elevation.  The walnut buttstock has some minor handling marks and small surface bruises scattered about the original varnish, and the brass buttplate matches the the patina on the frame.  Records are scarce, but there was a "Dr. J. Smith" who practiced at an office on Water St, in Saginaw City during the late 1850s (single mention in "History of Saginaw County Michigan" [1881]).  Alternatively, there were two J.V. Smiths who served in Michigan regiments during the Civil War and survived.  In any event, this is a very good example of a nicely embellished and identified Robinson rifle, and would make a great addition to any collection.  Antique

Orville Moses Robinson was an upstate New York gunsmith and inventor who received three US patents for breech-loading and repeating firearms.  In 1870 Robinson, in partnership with A.S. Babbitt and two others, formed the Adirondack Firearms Co. to manufacture rifles based on his patents at their manufactory in Plattsburgh, NY.  The firm is known to have employed Daniel Wilkinson (possibly J.D. Wilkinson, another upstate New York gunmaker and inventor) and Robinson’s son, William (who would’ve been about 10 years old at the formation of the company!)  Adirondack Firearms Co. operated until 1874, ultimately producing what is thought to be slightly fewer than 1,000 rifles of all types, when it was purchased by the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. and permanently shut down.  The Adirondack Firearms Co., and Robinson’s repeating rifle designs, represent an interesting footnote in the then rapidly advancing field of repeating breechloading long guns.