POTD: Marlin Model 1888 “Santa Claus” Rifle – Delivered Just in Time
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a lever gun with the best name on a receiver I’ve seen in a while. This is a factory engraved, special order Marlin Model 1888 in 38-40 with “Santa Claus” inscribed on the left side of the receiver. Factory records show it left Marlin on December 18th, 1888, which is cutting it close for a Christmas delivery.
The Model 1888 is a rare bird on its own. Marlin built it around the short pistol cartridges of the day, the 32-20, 38-40, and 44-40, using a shorter action developed mostly by Lewis Hepburn. It was also the last Marlin lever action to throw its empties out the top. Only about 4,814 were made before Marlin moved to the Model 1889, which brought Hepburn’s side ejection and a flat, solid-top receiver. That layout became the Marlin signature from then on, and you can still see the 1888’s top-ejecting roots in the gutter-shaped top of its breechblock.
Hepburn is the thread tying it together. Before Marlin he had been at Remington, where his name went on the Remington-Hepburn falling block, and he carried his side ejection work over to Marlin.
Special order deluxe 1888s are thin on the ground, and collectors think as few as two were factory engraved. This one has scroll on the left, likely by Conrad F. Ulrich, and a buck standing in a wintry forest on the right. Somebody had a very good Christmas in 1888, and that’s good enough for me.
Most of our POTDs utilize images from our friends at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms auction in the United States. Take some time to browse their current auctions – who knows, maybe you’ll find a piece of history to take home!
“Santa Claus Inscribed Factory Engraved Marlin Deluxe Model 1888.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4097/3031/santa-claus-inscribed-factory-engraved-marlin-deluxe-model-1888. Accessed 29 Sept. 2026.
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