Product Details
A GOOD .45 ENFIELD 5TH PATTERN MONKEY TAIL CAPPING BREECH LOADING CAVALRY CARBINE, CIRCA 1865, serial no. 3829,
with 20in. barrel bearing Enfield factory proof and inspection stamps, reversed pattern carbine ladder rear-sight graduated to 800 yards, and a Westley Richards pattern oval block front-sight with dovetailed blade, the lock stamped with the Crown 'V.R.' cypher on the tail and 1865 'ENFIELD' to the centre, iron mounted full walnut stock, the right butt stamped with the Enfield Ist Class roundel and on the left 'U.Y.C / 181' indicating issue to the Uxbridge Yeomanry Cavalry who later became the Middlesex Yeomanry, the iron mounts include a butt-cap with trap for cleaning accessories (missing), complete with its sling bar and ring, snap-cap and correct rod
Provenance: The vendor acquired this carbine in 1996 from the famous Weller collection, it is one of 19,000 or 20,000 (there is some dispute about the quantity) Westley Richards Monkey Tail carbines made under licence at Enfield. They were intended to arm the entire British cavalry but due to various delays when completed in 1866 they were already obsolete due to the introduction of the Snider, consequently they were issued to the Yeomanry circa 1869/70 and not being declared obsolete in British service until 1881. Despite the large quantity made at Enfield they are actually quite rare the majority having been scrapped. For further information on these British service Monkey Tails, see the Capping Breech Loader in British & Colonial Service Vol 2, by Brian C. Knapp
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Estimate £1,200-1,600