130-year-old 'gun that won the West' found in US park
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, December 13, 2024


130-year-old 'gun that won the West' found in US park
This file photo shows the iconic rock formation El Capitan in Yosemite National Park, California. AFP PHOTO / Files / MLADEN ANTONOV.



LOS ANGELES (AFP).- US experts are scratching their heads after finding a more than 130-year-old Wild West rifle leaning against a Juniper tree in a remote area of a national park.

The Winchester Model 1873 firearm was found in Great Basin National Park in Nevada by a park employee, Eva Jensen, who happened to be working in the area with an archaeology team.

Exposed for years to the elements, the rifle's cracked wood stock was "weathered to gray," while the brown rusted barrel "blended into the colors of the old Juniper tree," officials said.

Tucked into a remote rocky outcrop, the rifle appeared to have remained "hidden for many years," they added in a statement.

The gun's serial number indicates that it was made and shipped in 1882. But beyond that it remains a mystery.

"Who left the rifle? When and why was it leaned against the tree? And why was it never retrieved?" the statement said, adding that experts were poring over old newspapers and family histories to search for where it may have come from.

The Winchester Model 1873 rifle holds a prominent place in local history -- referred to as "the gun that won the West." 

Some 720,610 were manufactured between 1873 and 1916 when production ended.

The gun was not loaded when it was found, but would have held .44-40 caliber ammunition when in use.




© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse










Today's News

January 18, 2015

Dulwich Picture Gallery replaces Old Master painting with replica 'Made in China'

Brandywine River Museum of Art presents a major retrospective of Jamie Wyeth's work

U.Va. Fralin Museum of Art exhibits work of celebrated portraitist Lucian Freud

National Air and Space Museum in Washington lowers 'Spirit of St. Louis' to ground level

Northwestern University's Block Museum unveils complex legacy of Kashmiri art

Exhibition of recent work by Jonas Wood and Shio Kusaka opens at Gagosian Hong Kong

Feroz Galerie opens exhibition featuring the work of photographer Larry Fink

Exhibition of works by Michael Goldberg runs simultaneously in New York and Los Angeles

Exhibition of new works by Farrah Karapetian opens at Von Lintel Gallery in Los Angeles

Retrospective exhibition of artist Otis Kaye opens at the New Britain Museum of American Art

Horizon: Group exhibition featuring works by gallery artists opens at Lehmann Maupin

Morgenröthe: Exhibition of works by Thomas Helbig opens at Galerie Guido W. Baudach

'I lost an arm on my last trip home': Group exhibition opens at Ryan Lee in New York

'In dog we trust' rug put on auction in Florida

Ogden Museum of Southern Art announces the opening of exhibition of works by Mark Steinmetz

First career retrospective for photographer Brian Weil opens at The Santa Monica Museum of Art

Exhibition at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia rethinks art and machine

130-year-old 'gun that won the West' found in US park

Marc Séguin’s third solo show with Mike Weiss Gallery opens in New York

Wormhole: Lina López and Francois Bucher exhibit at Cristin Tierney Gallery

Beatrix Reinhardt and Conor Clarke exhibit at pavlov's dog

Sebastian Buerkner transforms The Gallery at Tyneside Cinema into a dreamlike virtual space

Patrick Jacobs' third one-person exhibition at Pierogi in Brooklyn




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful