Included in this lot is an antique Winchester Model 1894 octagon barrel rifle in rare and desirable .38-55 caliber with the extremely early serial number 22385, which according to the Winchester records housed at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming, indicates a manufacture date of 1897. When the Model 1894 rifle was introduced in late1894 it was chambered only in the black powder loaded calibers of .32-40 (.32 caliber bullet with 40 grains of black powder) or .38-55. Once Winchester perfected barrel steel that would withstand the new smokeless powder pressures along with copper jacketed bullets instead of lead slugs, the revolutionary, and still popular, .30 WCF (also known as the .30-30 Winchester cartridge) was introduced. This occurred sometime in 1895-1896. In 1897 Winchester was still producing some .32-40 and .38-55 rifles, as these were still the accepted rounds of the day, but the trend was to the new smokeless powder cartridges and the .32-40 and .38-55 began to see limited production numbers. To find one of the very early production octagon rifles in .38-55 caliber is very difficult. The features of this fine rifle have been verified by the Cody, Wyoming Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center which contains the original Winchester shipping records. Members of the museum may contact the records department for specific Winchester rifle data. This was done with this rifle. The original “Factory Letter” from the museum that accompanies Model 1894 with serial number 22385 was sent by the records department and states that this rifle had its serial number applied on April, 11, 1897. It further verifies that it originally left the Winchester factory as a rifle, caliber .38-55, with octagon barrel, plain trigger, and was received in the warehouse on June 17, 1897 and shipped from the warehouse on October 1, 1897 to order number 17988. This rifle shows fine aged blue on the standard 26” length octagon barrel and lovely aged soft blue on the full magazine. The barrel retains all the clear and sharp early Winchester address stampings. The upper tang behind the hammer also retains the correct very early markings “MODEL 1894” over “WINCHESTER” over “PAT. AUG. 21, 1894.” The receiver reveals a lovely dark aged plum/blue appearance and fine blue on the loading gate. The bolt on top of the receiver shows a nice aged blue also. Sights consist of the original standard buckhorn rear sight complete with intact elevation bar and a bead front sight. The walnut stock and forend are nicely reddish-brown hallmark Winchester color. The stock and forend show good wood to metal fit, indicating that the stock has not been sanded or refinished. The forend shows normal handling and some light saddle wear on the bottom while the butt stock shows heavy weathering probably from being carried in a saddle scabbard with the butt stock exposed to the elements. The action is tight and the bore condition is excellent and bright. The Model 1894 was a popular rifle with lawmen, sportsmen and especially with the Klondike Gold Seekers in Alaska beginning in 1898. Many consider this Jonathan Browning designed rifle to be the finest and most modern tubular magazine lever action rifle Winchester ever produced. A rare opportunity to acquire a rare caliber, classic, very early production and historically significant Winchester with very fine appearance. This rifle recently came out of Arizona. This firearm qualifies as an Antique, and does not require FFL Transfer or NICS Background Check.