WINCHESTER'S HISTORY
priming mixture was placed in the head and
would ignite when any part of the rim was struck.
He also introduced the powder charge into the
case. The case was operated so that when the
cartridge was exploded the metal sides flattened
against the rifle chamber in such a way as to seal
in the gas charge, preventing it from escaping
rearwaxd and so giving its full power to the pro
pulsion of the bullet. This revolutionized the
manufacture of rifle ammunition and immediate
ly the Henry rifle in .44 rim fire caliber became
a practical success. In recognition of Mr. Henry’s
contribution every Winchester rim fire cartridge
ever since, including all present day production,
bears on its head the initial H—a tribue to the
inventor of this successful modern type cartridge.
Further developments and improvements quick
ly followed so that in 1866 a new model, the first
Winchester rifle, was placed on the market. The
name of the company had been changed to Win
chester Repeating Arms Company and the com
pany was incorporated under this name in 1866.
From this time on Winchester development
was comparatively rapid. The new Henry rifle
was used in the Civil War with success, on the
western frontier and in South America. The im
provements incorporated in the new model 1866,
the first Winchester, advanced its popularity rap
idly and the introduction in 1873 of the famous
MOEL 73, known in song and story as the gun of
Buffalo Bill and other great heroes of the plains,
established the fame and name of the Winchester
lever action repeating rifle. In 1876, Winchester
placed on the market its Centennial Model, so
called because it came in the centennial year of
the birth of the United States. Of the same de
sign as the Model 73, this Model 76 was larger
in size and designed for use of heavier cartridges
for larger game. It was the official arms of the
Canadian Northwest Mounted Police up to 1914.
Meanwhile new models were constantly being de
veloped and meeting with the high favor of hunt
ers and sportsmen throughout the world. In the
eighties the first of the Winchester single shot
rifles was developed with the famous Single Shot
Model 87 that proved so successful that it did not
become obsolete until several years after World
War I.
In the nineties came a number of famous de
velopments of the Winchester-pioneered lever ac
tion, notably the Models 92 and 94. The popu
larity of these is best shown by the fact that over
1,000,000 of the 92's had been placed on the
market at the time it was discontinued in 1936.
The millionth Model 94 was presented to Calvin
Coolidge when he was in the White House.
During the nineties came the development of
the Winchester repeating shotguns which reached
a climax shortly before World War I with the
production of the Model 12, the so-called "Perfect
Repeater,” which was achieved and is still achiev
ing fame for its mechanical perfection, its shoot
ing qualities and its unique safety devices.
World War I, of course, saw the notable physi
cal development of the Winchester plant of to
day—that vast group of buildings so familiar to
New Haven residents and visitors. Winchester
devoted its entire facilities to the establishment
and maintenance of an uninterrupted flow of war
supplies for the government during the period
of this country’s participation in World War I,
and at the peak of its war work had a total of over
22,000 employees engaged in this patriotic service.
At the conclusion of World War I, the devel
opment of various new products was undertaken
in an endeavor to put the plant into fullest serv
ice. Originally these new products consisted of
washing machines, gas refrigerators, tools, cutlery,
fishing tackle, ice and roller skates, flashlights
and batteries. Subsequently, as indicated by our
present lines, these were reduced as sound manu
facturing and merchandising principles dictated.
However, Winchester development engineers
CONTINUED . . .