I recently acquired this rifle from a relative, who bought it from a co-worker. It was in pretty bad shape when I got it, but I've managed to clear the bug parts and rust scale from the bore and disassembled and cleaned the action. Students of the Zulu Wars might recognize the design.



But it's not a Martini Henry, it's a Peabody Martini. A Turkish M1874 Type A. Built in Providence, Rhode Island, USA, shipped to Turkey, lost to the Russians in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, then sold to the Japenese for use in military schools. It has markings in English, Arabic and Japanese. I'd guess it returned to the U.S. sometime after WWII.

the marks on the receiver:



and the other side, with the action open:



A pretty neat wall-hanger, I think.

Nice looking piece. Has the finish been redone. I hope not. This one seems to have a history. Good find.

NIce one here Bob.

I noticed it the other night when I was snooping in the gallery and immediately thought of the Zulu wars. You've got a good little summary of the piece's history here, and its always fun to imagine where a weapon like this has been, and the tales it could tell (if it could talk). Great thread, and thanks for sharing.

Steve

I think it has its original finish, Dave. The barrel has a real nice "brown-bluing" patina. I just cleaned it with oil, cotton rags and a soft toothbrush. I didn't want to get rid of all the rust -- just get the big stuff off and keep the rust from growing and spreading. The action was full of OLD hardened gun grease and years of dust. A nice coat of WD-40 softened it up a bit and allowed me to get her pretty clean without scratching. I even fixed the safety.

I found a nice Martini Henry website that helped me figure out how to disassemble and reassemble it. It was really pretty easy, once I figured out how not to baby it.

I think it would be safe to fire properly loaded blackpowder cartridges, but because it's chambered in the extinct ".45 Turkish" I doubt that will ever happen. This baby probably fired its last shot more than 100 years ago.

Very nice weapon you have there and good shape considering the age. Too bad you won't likely shoot it. I've got an old .30-40 Krag my uncle gave me and it's blast to shoot.

Paul