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UNITED STATES CARTRIDGE CO. AMMUNITION BOXES –
PISTOL & RIFLE CARTRIDGES – SELECTION OF SOME NICE
SPECIMENS FRESH FROM AN OLD COLLECTION:
Founded in 1869 by Civil War general Benjamin Butler,
this company was one of the major manufacturers of
ammunition, supplying 65 percent of American small arms
ammunition during World War One. The company
passed through three generations of the Butler family
and after the death of the founder's grandson in 1918,
the company was acquired by Winchester who moved the
manufacturing plant from Lowell, Massachusetts to New
Haven, Connecticut in 1927. Thus, these packets
which bear the Lowell address predate that move.
Found
as a group in an old, well established cartridge
collection, this is a very nice offering of late 1800’s
and early 1900’s United States Cartridge Company full,
partial and empty cartridge boxes for pistol and rifle
calibers.
Ranging from rare, to scarce, to some that are
relatively common, these are all solid specimens that
while showing various degrees of wear and age are
remarkable in that they have survived at all, and they
will be a nice addition to your collection to display
with your firearm.
Each box is individually described below and accompanied
by detailed photographs.
NOTE: The boxes are not listed in
any particular chronological order or with respect to
the caliber, so you will be best served by scrolling
through the entire list.
NOTE:
For individual cartridges in these
calibers and by these civilian manufacturers, click on
this link for available offerings:
INDIVIDUAL CIVILIAN CARTRIDGES
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NO.
1
USCCo .38 LONG RIMFIRE
CARTRIDGES - FULL BOX - BLACK POWDER
1880's:
This box, which bears the early tan label, has been
opened but is complete with all fifty
cartridges. Forty-four of the cartridges are
original to the box, each bearing the small "US"
headstamp. The balance of the cartridges are five
UMC and one Winchester which bears the desirable "H" headstamp.
The top label is complete
and legible, showing some very minor shelf wear. Both of the
side panels and one end
panel of the wrapper are complete and fully legible.
The other end panel is missing the bottom half. The box is very solid,
retaining its shape with no disfiguring
or crushing. A decent box for
one of the classic pistol cartridges. (0207) $155
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NO.
2 USCCo .50-70
GOVERNMENT CARTRIDGES –
FULL BOX
–
PRODUCED IN 1874 – SCARCE EARLY PACKET THAT
WOULD BE A GREAT ADDITION DISPLAYED WITH AN EARLY SHARPS
OR REMINGTON BUFFALO RIFLE: This full packet bears
the company applied inked date stamp indicating it was
produced in 1874 under a patent issued in 1872 – an
excellent period ammunition packet to display with an
early Sharps or Remington Rifle that would have been
used on western plains during the great buffalo hunts.
The packet has been opened on the left top corner,
exposing the heads of five cartridges, however the
balance of the packet is still sealed and intact,
including the pull string. The front label is complete
and fully legible. The box is very solid with no
open seams, retaining its shape with sharp edges, and no
disfiguring or crushing.
The design of the label is very similar to the style and
content of the Frankford Arsenal labels on their 50-70
ammunition packets of the same period, and it is
reasonable to think the US Cartridge Company did this
intentionally either to vie for government contracts or
to capitalize on the association with the arsenal
produced packets. The back panel of the packet retains
the lightly struck, but fully legible oval ink stamp
that was standard on US Cartridge Company packets of the
period, and it includes the date of manufacture –
February 20, 1874 – a very desirable early date.
The packet contains the twenty original 50-70
cartridges, all without headstamps as is proper for
cartridges produced by the company in this period. The
cartridges are in excellent condition and all are
unfired.
This is a relatively scarce offering of a very desirable
early full packet in one of the primary calibers in use
on the early buffalo ranges, and one that would the
perfect addition to display with one of the early
buffalo rifles.
SOLD
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