A name inscribed 1894 Winchester rifle from the Gold Rush era is the star lot in Cordier Auctions' Summer Firearms and Militaria auction on July 28 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
 Mytinger was born in Pennsylvania but soon moved out west to capitalise on the Gold Rush |
The gun, a fantastic example built in 1894 during the first year of production, is estimated to sell for between $4,000 and $6,000. It is inscribed with the name "L J Mytinger/Los Angeles, Cal."
Lewis J Mytinger, born in 1861 at the start of the US civil war in Pennsylvania, headed west to Ohio as a young man. By 1883, he had moved to San Francisco where he is known to have worked as a machinist for the Union Iron Works.
In 1896, he filed a patent for an ore washing machine - two months after gold was found in the Klondike in Alaska. It is believed that he then travelled to Alaska in the hope of selling his invention to gold miners.
 The system of displaying a veteran's service record as a work of art [as in Brown's chevron above] was first patented by John P Reynolds in 1868. The general design is based on a shield, with portions designated to the rank, position, units and battles in which they participated. |
Starring among civil war era memorabilia will be a hand painted chevron and a printed and calligraphic record from the same soldier, George W Brown from Pennsylvania. The chevron holds an estimate of $2,000-4,000, while the civil war record is valued at $800-1,200.
Among a selection of edged weapons from a private collector are several very rare naval training cutlasses, with an 1845 pattern example offered at $750-1,000.
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