Let's see some pic's of your SxS's & O/U's
- Thread starter Win/64
- Start date
DRA, the Dougall records were lost many years ago. There is some information on the man, the business and the guns in British Gunmakers Vol I by Nigel Brown, this includes a few serial numbers that have been dated by the known provenance of these guns. There is also a paragraph here and there concerning the man and his business in other publications but very little on the guns other than a picture or two. Apparently there is someone in Britain that has been collecting information on the Dougall history for some years now in preparation for authoring a book on the subject but I have no idea how or if this project is progressing. If you PM me the serial number of your gun I will see where it fits into the dated serial number list that I have.
Thank-you all for sharing your knowledge. Using my limited google-fu I was able to find some info on Dougall as well. At one point I was corresponding with an American who had done some research and even written an article or two. Will look to see if I can find that and share. Unfortunately I think it may be on an old laptop that died.
Ashcroft - will PM you with ser. no. Pinfire has already been most helpful. He believes my Dougall is circa 1882.
Ashcroft - will PM you with ser. no. Pinfire has already been most helpful. He believes my Dougall is circa 1882.
I've almost made it to 200 posts on CGN... So here's another one.
From front-stuffers to pinfire, remarkable conversions
After looking at a few Continental pinfires, it’s back to Britain and again at the beginning of British breech-loaders. If one fancied switching to this new invention but already had a treasured gun, one option was a conversion. Later conversions from pinfire to centrefire were relatively straightforward and common, requiring little in the way of modification, and I suspect a great many pinfires were so converted, judging from the number that have survived. But changing from muzzle-loading gun to breech-loading, that is an altogether more serious affair. Some makers specialized in such work, and in the Singles thread I showed one such conversion by such a specialist, Thomas George Sylven of London. That example appeared to re-use the barrel, while everything else was built new around it. A much more complicated approach was to retain as much of the original gun as possible, using the barrels, locks, stock, and furniture. A new action and fore-end would be fitted to the existing parts, and a ‘new’ breech-loader would be taken to the field.
Spotting a pinfire-to-centrefire conversion is somewhat easy most of the time, with tell-tale signs such as plugged pin holes, pinfire fences with drilled strikers, awkward extractors, and hammers not quite in perfect balance with the gun’s looks, either by their shape or mis-matched engraving styles. However, I also suspect there are shooters of vintage doubles that don’t realize their gun started out as a pinfire – they can be that well done. Spotting a muzzle-loader-to-pinfire is, in my experience, trickier. It is also rarely encountered, perhaps an indication that it was not so common a practice to start with. It would take a very good gun, and a very good craftsman. If you could afford a very good gun in the first place, you could probably afford a new gun without so much of a blink. So, it probably involved a gun that had a special significance to the owner, or it might involve a gunmaker who had old stock that might never sell, and it probably made sense to break it down and rebuild it. The following two examples might fall in these two categories, and both demonstrate the kinds of clues one might look for in looking for such a conversion.
The first, a 16-bore, carries no maker’s name and address, and at a casual glance it could be a no-name gun built ‘for the trade’ by one of the hundreds of Birmingham back-alley craftsmen, being a post-1862 unmarked Jones-type double-bite screw-grip under-lever. Upon closer inspection, much of this gun doesn’t add up. The serial number marked on the trigger guard tang is 11226, a high number usually found on established makers’s guns, not small makers. It also has a mechanical trigger guard safety, common on percussion guns but an uncommon hold-over into pinfires. Furthermore the safety is signed “Patent Safety”, though again with no name. Such a feature would not be found on a low-cost gun. The barrels are 28 1/16” in length, which may have been cut back from a longer original. The Birmingham proofs partly obliterate earlier proofs, which shows the barrels were sent back to the proof house. The locks are unsigned bar-locks, but the cross-pin, the screw that binds the locks to the gun, has been re-located and the old hole re-filled and re-engraved to hide it. On one side the plug has fallen out, revealing the secret.
Generally speaking, the 7-lb pinfire game gun is a pheasant, partridge, pigeon and snipe gun, and heavier builds might be used for waterfowl. When guns are engraved with game scenes, they almost invariably picture one of these, along with dogs. Engraving carries a cost, so no more than what is requested or necessary is usually carried out. In the case of underlever guns, the trigger guard bow is not engraved where the lever sits over it, as there would be no purpose to hidden decoration. On this gun, the trigger guard is indeed engraved, with what appears to be a lion no less – hardly what one would encounter on a local shoot. All of these clues together lead me to speculate the original gun was a large-bore muzzle-loading double rifle, which was subsequently converted to being a pinfire smoothbore game gun. To fit the locks to a new action the lock plates had to be reshaped and the cross pin had to be relocated, the re-bored barrels had to be re-proofed, and the original furniture retained. Quite the job!
The second gun is a hefty one, an 8 lb 3 oz 10-bore by James Woodward of London, converted from a Charles Moore percussion pellet-lock gun. The 30 11/16” twist barrels (not damascus) suggest a very early date. The wide top rib is signed "James Woodward 64 St. James Street London”, and the duck's head-style bar-action locks are signed "C. Moore Patent". Charles Moore and James Woodward were at 64 St. James Street between 1843 and 1872. In 1827 Charles Moore invented the "isolated" or "bar-in-wood" lock (‘island’ locks are usually back-action locks, so an isolated bar lock is quite special). Suck locks were on Charles Moore pellet-lock guns, which pre-date the copper percussion cap, and the words might actually refer to patent No. 4611 granted to William Westley Richards for the pellet-lock in 1821, as Moore was building his guns to this patent. It would appear the gun was re-built by James Woodward using C. Moore isolated locks fitted and adapted to a breech-loading action, perhaps taken from existing stock or from a gun returned to the makers. Another clue is the style of engraving on the locks is different with a more open foliate design, rather than the tighter scroll elsewhere on the gun.
Charles Moore was appointed furbisher to St. James Palace and Hampton Court in 1829, and as gunmaker to William IV in 1836. In 1827 James Woodward joined the firm as an apprentice. He later became head finisher, and in 1843 Woodward was made a partner and the firm started to trade as Moore & Woodward, at 64 St James's Street. Charles Moore died in 1848, and in 1851 the name was changed to James Woodward, becoming James Woodward & Sons in 1872. The firm was sold to James Purdey & Sons in 1949.
From front-stuffers to pinfire, remarkable conversions
After looking at a few Continental pinfires, it’s back to Britain and again at the beginning of British breech-loaders. If one fancied switching to this new invention but already had a treasured gun, one option was a conversion. Later conversions from pinfire to centrefire were relatively straightforward and common, requiring little in the way of modification, and I suspect a great many pinfires were so converted, judging from the number that have survived. But changing from muzzle-loading gun to breech-loading, that is an altogether more serious affair. Some makers specialized in such work, and in the Singles thread I showed one such conversion by such a specialist, Thomas George Sylven of London. That example appeared to re-use the barrel, while everything else was built new around it. A much more complicated approach was to retain as much of the original gun as possible, using the barrels, locks, stock, and furniture. A new action and fore-end would be fitted to the existing parts, and a ‘new’ breech-loader would be taken to the field.
Spotting a pinfire-to-centrefire conversion is somewhat easy most of the time, with tell-tale signs such as plugged pin holes, pinfire fences with drilled strikers, awkward extractors, and hammers not quite in perfect balance with the gun’s looks, either by their shape or mis-matched engraving styles. However, I also suspect there are shooters of vintage doubles that don’t realize their gun started out as a pinfire – they can be that well done. Spotting a muzzle-loader-to-pinfire is, in my experience, trickier. It is also rarely encountered, perhaps an indication that it was not so common a practice to start with. It would take a very good gun, and a very good craftsman. If you could afford a very good gun in the first place, you could probably afford a new gun without so much of a blink. So, it probably involved a gun that had a special significance to the owner, or it might involve a gunmaker who had old stock that might never sell, and it probably made sense to break it down and rebuild it. The following two examples might fall in these two categories, and both demonstrate the kinds of clues one might look for in looking for such a conversion.
The first, a 16-bore, carries no maker’s name and address, and at a casual glance it could be a no-name gun built ‘for the trade’ by one of the hundreds of Birmingham back-alley craftsmen, being a post-1862 unmarked Jones-type double-bite screw-grip under-lever. Upon closer inspection, much of this gun doesn’t add up. The serial number marked on the trigger guard tang is 11226, a high number usually found on established makers’s guns, not small makers. It also has a mechanical trigger guard safety, common on percussion guns but an uncommon hold-over into pinfires. Furthermore the safety is signed “Patent Safety”, though again with no name. Such a feature would not be found on a low-cost gun. The barrels are 28 1/16” in length, which may have been cut back from a longer original. The Birmingham proofs partly obliterate earlier proofs, which shows the barrels were sent back to the proof house. The locks are unsigned bar-locks, but the cross-pin, the screw that binds the locks to the gun, has been re-located and the old hole re-filled and re-engraved to hide it. On one side the plug has fallen out, revealing the secret.
Generally speaking, the 7-lb pinfire game gun is a pheasant, partridge, pigeon and snipe gun, and heavier builds might be used for waterfowl. When guns are engraved with game scenes, they almost invariably picture one of these, along with dogs. Engraving carries a cost, so no more than what is requested or necessary is usually carried out. In the case of underlever guns, the trigger guard bow is not engraved where the lever sits over it, as there would be no purpose to hidden decoration. On this gun, the trigger guard is indeed engraved, with what appears to be a lion no less – hardly what one would encounter on a local shoot. All of these clues together lead me to speculate the original gun was a large-bore muzzle-loading double rifle, which was subsequently converted to being a pinfire smoothbore game gun. To fit the locks to a new action the lock plates had to be reshaped and the cross pin had to be relocated, the re-bored barrels had to be re-proofed, and the original furniture retained. Quite the job!
The second gun is a hefty one, an 8 lb 3 oz 10-bore by James Woodward of London, converted from a Charles Moore percussion pellet-lock gun. The 30 11/16” twist barrels (not damascus) suggest a very early date. The wide top rib is signed "James Woodward 64 St. James Street London”, and the duck's head-style bar-action locks are signed "C. Moore Patent". Charles Moore and James Woodward were at 64 St. James Street between 1843 and 1872. In 1827 Charles Moore invented the "isolated" or "bar-in-wood" lock (‘island’ locks are usually back-action locks, so an isolated bar lock is quite special). Suck locks were on Charles Moore pellet-lock guns, which pre-date the copper percussion cap, and the words might actually refer to patent No. 4611 granted to William Westley Richards for the pellet-lock in 1821, as Moore was building his guns to this patent. It would appear the gun was re-built by James Woodward using C. Moore isolated locks fitted and adapted to a breech-loading action, perhaps taken from existing stock or from a gun returned to the makers. Another clue is the style of engraving on the locks is different with a more open foliate design, rather than the tighter scroll elsewhere on the gun.
Charles Moore was appointed furbisher to St. James Palace and Hampton Court in 1829, and as gunmaker to William IV in 1836. In 1827 James Woodward joined the firm as an apprentice. He later became head finisher, and in 1843 Woodward was made a partner and the firm started to trade as Moore & Woodward, at 64 St James's Street. Charles Moore died in 1848, and in 1851 the name was changed to James Woodward, becoming James Woodward & Sons in 1872. The firm was sold to James Purdey & Sons in 1949.
Bedford has been a market town since the Middle Ages, located 74 km north of London, 105 km south of Birmingham, and 40 km west of Cambridge (where I worked for a number of years). The 19th Century saw Bedford transform into an important engineering hub and in 1832 gas lighting was introduced, the railway arrived in 1846, the first drains and sewers were dug in 1864, and piped water was provided in 1866, near around the time the gun below was made. In the 1860s Bedford had only one gunmaker, Henry Adkin at 11 High Street. He had two daughters and three sons, two of which eventually followed him into the business. In 1861 Henry Adkin employed one man and two apprentices, so he was a fairly typical provincial gunmaker.
While his was a small operation, Henry could put up fine work. This gun, a double-bite screw grip under-lever 12-bore, has no serial number (Adkin probably made less than 10 a year), the 29 3/4” damascus barrels have London proofs and only slight pitting, and the gun weighs 7 lb 2 oz.. However, it is thoroughly well-made, and with a number of artistic flourishes: the dolphin-headed hammers with flanged noses, a fitted under-lever, the sculpted horn tip to the fore-end, unusually fine chequering, and well-executed acanthus-leaf engraving (it would be decades before the full-coverage tiny rose-and-scroll motifs would appear on guns).
Acanthus is a group of flowering plants common in the Mediterranean basin. The Romans and the Greeks greatly used the acanthus leaf motif in architectural decoration. This was continued in Byzantine architecture, Medieval sculpture and wood carving, decorations in illuminated manuscripts, in Renaissance works, and on through to the Victorian era where acanthus leaf patterns can be seen almost everywhere. So, it is not surprising that the starting point for decorative gun engraving in Britain was the acanthus leaf. Often disguised as repetitive scrolls, the more open designs show the leaves very well.
In 1872 Adkin moved to 54 High Street, having the old building torn down and the new building purpose-made as a gun shop and workshop – one of only three purpose-built gun shops in Britain. The design was in the Venetian Gothic style, topped with two guns dogs holding pheasants, and Adkin’s initials ‘HA’ carved in stone on the front of the building. Adkin’s original shop now houses a MacDonald’s, and the 1872 building still stands, now a Subway’s. Henry Adkin died in 1914, aged 93, and the business he started in 1844 closed for good in 1996 – a pretty good run.
While his was a small operation, Henry could put up fine work. This gun, a double-bite screw grip under-lever 12-bore, has no serial number (Adkin probably made less than 10 a year), the 29 3/4” damascus barrels have London proofs and only slight pitting, and the gun weighs 7 lb 2 oz.. However, it is thoroughly well-made, and with a number of artistic flourishes: the dolphin-headed hammers with flanged noses, a fitted under-lever, the sculpted horn tip to the fore-end, unusually fine chequering, and well-executed acanthus-leaf engraving (it would be decades before the full-coverage tiny rose-and-scroll motifs would appear on guns).
Acanthus is a group of flowering plants common in the Mediterranean basin. The Romans and the Greeks greatly used the acanthus leaf motif in architectural decoration. This was continued in Byzantine architecture, Medieval sculpture and wood carving, decorations in illuminated manuscripts, in Renaissance works, and on through to the Victorian era where acanthus leaf patterns can be seen almost everywhere. So, it is not surprising that the starting point for decorative gun engraving in Britain was the acanthus leaf. Often disguised as repetitive scrolls, the more open designs show the leaves very well.
In 1872 Adkin moved to 54 High Street, having the old building torn down and the new building purpose-made as a gun shop and workshop – one of only three purpose-built gun shops in Britain. The design was in the Venetian Gothic style, topped with two guns dogs holding pheasants, and Adkin’s initials ‘HA’ carved in stone on the front of the building. Adkin’s original shop now houses a MacDonald’s, and the 1872 building still stands, now a Subway’s. Henry Adkin died in 1914, aged 93, and the business he started in 1844 closed for good in 1996 – a pretty good run.
Pinfire, your store of knowledge and your ability to communicate this just continue to boggle my mind. I'm not surprised by the quality of your H Adkin gun, once had one, a 1880 vintage 16 gauge boxlock made on the original single bite Anson and Deeley action and it was as fine a hammerless gun as you could buy at this time, even normally hidden areas of the gun like the forend iron were engraved. And I really like the engraving and small extra touches on your gun.
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gunsaholic
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
Pinfire--I can't really give any compliments on your guns or knowledge because I am speechless and to do so would be a disservice to you and your fine guns.
The volume and quality of the information and images from Pinfire is inspirational. Thanks for all your work in collecting and documenting these fine pieces, Pinfire.
Many of you are familair with the firm E. J. Churchill, founded in 1891 by Edwin John Churchill, who set up a workshop in London at 8 Agar Street, the Strand. Both E.J. and his nephew Robert Churchill were well respected and considered ballistics experts at the time. The company is one (among a few, I suspect), who lay claim to being the oldest British gunmaker in continuous business.
Robert Churchill was also an expert pigeon shooter. Whether it was simply design to purpose, or whether it was one of the more romantic tales* that have been told, round about 1914 he developed the Churchill XXV. The gun was named the XXV because of one of it’s distinctive characteristics – 25” barrels. The consensus of that era was that 30” barrels were ideal. This, then, represented a radical departure from the norm. Other features of his design included more open chokes (IC/M rather than the more common M/F) and an inverted rib – inverted in the sense that the bottom part of the v-shaped rib is on top as the sight plane, and the wide edge of the rib (normally the sight plane) is the part of the rib soldered to the barrels.
All aspects of this configuration were designed to support Robert Churchill’s snap shooting technique. He established shooting schools that taught his instinctive shooting method and was very successful as a writer, a shooter, a shooting coach, and a gunmaker.
There is much more information available regarding EJ Churchill, Robert Churchill and his shooting method, the XXV, and the E.J. Churchill company. What has been provided here is a brief overview to set the stage for this post. In other threads, there are folks who expressed their disappointment in the recent Edmonton Gun Show. But, not everyone that attended the show went away unhappy. I was very pleased to find, in excellent condition, AYA’s (Aguirre y Aranzabal) copy of The Churchill XXV, appropriately called the AYA XXV/SL.
The example I found was built in 1973. It has 25” barrels, with the inverted rib, choked in IC/M. It’s equipped with colour case-hardened hand-detachable side locks. Special XXV engraving – fine floral, ribbon and scroll. It has double triggers with an articulated front trigger and gold-lined cocking indicators. The stocks are straight hand and splinter, finely chequered oil finished walnut.
Unexpectedly, this exact model and configuration is still available to order on AYA’s web site today.
Here’s some pics. I apologise for the link.
http://img.gg/iJcNnw4
* One such story has it that he bulged the barrels of his gun before a competition at Monte Carlo and simply sawed the last 5” off the barrels and shot the competition anyway. The ring at Monte Carlo being smaller, the shorter barrels and open chokes became an advantage.
Another story has it that a workshop accident damaged a customer’s gun just before hunting season. In desperation, the gun was re-choked and the customer was promised a new set of barrels. The customer experienced such an improvement in his shooting that season that he declined the new set of barrels and instead ordered a second gun made the same way.
Many of you are familair with the firm E. J. Churchill, founded in 1891 by Edwin John Churchill, who set up a workshop in London at 8 Agar Street, the Strand. Both E.J. and his nephew Robert Churchill were well respected and considered ballistics experts at the time. The company is one (among a few, I suspect), who lay claim to being the oldest British gunmaker in continuous business.
Robert Churchill was also an expert pigeon shooter. Whether it was simply design to purpose, or whether it was one of the more romantic tales* that have been told, round about 1914 he developed the Churchill XXV. The gun was named the XXV because of one of it’s distinctive characteristics – 25” barrels. The consensus of that era was that 30” barrels were ideal. This, then, represented a radical departure from the norm. Other features of his design included more open chokes (IC/M rather than the more common M/F) and an inverted rib – inverted in the sense that the bottom part of the v-shaped rib is on top as the sight plane, and the wide edge of the rib (normally the sight plane) is the part of the rib soldered to the barrels.
All aspects of this configuration were designed to support Robert Churchill’s snap shooting technique. He established shooting schools that taught his instinctive shooting method and was very successful as a writer, a shooter, a shooting coach, and a gunmaker.
There is much more information available regarding EJ Churchill, Robert Churchill and his shooting method, the XXV, and the E.J. Churchill company. What has been provided here is a brief overview to set the stage for this post. In other threads, there are folks who expressed their disappointment in the recent Edmonton Gun Show. But, not everyone that attended the show went away unhappy. I was very pleased to find, in excellent condition, AYA’s (Aguirre y Aranzabal) copy of The Churchill XXV, appropriately called the AYA XXV/SL.
The example I found was built in 1973. It has 25” barrels, with the inverted rib, choked in IC/M. It’s equipped with colour case-hardened hand-detachable side locks. Special XXV engraving – fine floral, ribbon and scroll. It has double triggers with an articulated front trigger and gold-lined cocking indicators. The stocks are straight hand and splinter, finely chequered oil finished walnut.
Unexpectedly, this exact model and configuration is still available to order on AYA’s web site today.
Here’s some pics. I apologise for the link.
http://img.gg/iJcNnw4
* One such story has it that he bulged the barrels of his gun before a competition at Monte Carlo and simply sawed the last 5” off the barrels and shot the competition anyway. The ring at Monte Carlo being smaller, the shorter barrels and open chokes became an advantage.
Another story has it that a workshop accident damaged a customer’s gun just before hunting season. In desperation, the gun was re-choked and the customer was promised a new set of barrels. The customer experienced such an improvement in his shooting that season that he declined the new set of barrels and instead ordered a second gun made the same way.
Londonshooter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- SW Ontario
The AyA XXV action is a copy of the Holland and Holland Royal sidelock. The engraving on this grade (2) in 12 gauge is roll pressed then hand chased. I asked in 2017 for a new order quote from Cdn distributor and price then was $11500. But an example used in excellent condition and upgraded with sole checkering is a hard sell at $2K. The short barrels are great for reactive game shooting but on clays, decent scores are tough to achieve. Its like the gun is too fast handling when you know the path of the target.
Beautiful gun, Straightshooter, and great background on Churchill’s design. One of the great attractions of classic doubles is the story behind each one.
AYA is a fine maker, and they did very well in copying Holland’s detachable sidelocks! Many years ago I sold off a AYA boxlock .410. Stupid me.
AYA is a fine maker, and they did very well in copying Holland’s detachable sidelocks! Many years ago I sold off a AYA boxlock .410. Stupid me.
Between the Arizaga sidelock w/30" barrels choked M/F and this AyA, I figure I'll have both early season and late season conditions covered. It's a shame people don't see the value in these guns. All the more for us to snap up, I guess.
I agree about clay targets. For those, I prefer single trigger U/Os. Single trigger doubles superposed for targets, double trigger doubles juxtaposed for the field.
Finally, I’ve reached 200 posts! Not much by the general standards of CGN, but it’s a start (I guess I was late to this party). I had intended to continue looking at provincial makers, but for this special occasion I think ‘London Best’ is more appropriate. In that pinnacle of perfection, where every part has to be the best possible, Boss & Co. is a natural choice.
But, should I call them Boss’s, or Stephen Grants?
Boss & Co., “Makers of Best Guns Only”, is always placed in the list of top three or four British gunmakers. Famously only producing one quality of gun (“Boss gun, a Boss gun, bloody beautiful, but too bloody expensive!” said King George VI), Boss & Co. has had an interesting history, and the firm continues to this day.
In 1780 or shortly afterwards William Boss moved to London to work for Joseph Manton (alongside James Purdey). In 1804 his son Thomas was apprenticed to him at Manton’s, but when he died in 1809 Joseph Manton took Thomas on for the remainder of his apprenticeship. Thomas Boss finished his apprenticeship in 1811 and continued to work for Manton, after which he set up his own business in 1812 as an outworker for the London trade, doing work for James Purdey, Charles Moore, and Charles Lancaster amongst others. In 1837 he moved his business to very fashionable 76 St James's Street. In 1851 Thomas Boss employed 10 men, and his nephew, Edward Fields Paddison, as a journeyman gun maker, the firm making about 70 guns annually. Thomas hired on a number of close family relatives into the business, with one exception: Stephen Grant, his workshop foreman.
Stephen Grant had served his apprenticeship with William Kavanagh & Sons of Dublin, from 1835 to 1842. In 1843 he moved to London to work for Charles Lancaster, and in 1850 he started to work for Thomas Boss. Thomas Boss died on 17 August 1857, aged 67, and his widow, Emma, then aged 62, inherited almost everything. She made Stephen Grant the managing partner of the business, and during this time the quality of Boss guns was in particularly high regard, though its designs were very conservative. In 1866 Grant left and established his own business at 67a St James's Street, almost next door to Boss & Co. which, it was reported, was a great source of friction with his old partner! Stephen Grant went on to become one of the best London gunmakers and his guns, notably his sleek side-levers, are much sought after. Whether Grant still built a few pinfires from his new address, or started making centre-fire guns exclusively, is not known to me.
Here are two 1863-dated 12-bore pinfire guns carrying the Boss & Co. name and St. James street address, built a few months apart by the same outworkers’ hands, and whose quality was overseen by Grant. In fact, most Boss & Co. guns made during the period Stephen Grant was managing director were pinfires, as Boss & Co. started making them in 1858 (alongside percussion guns), and did not start making centre-fire guns before 1866. The actioning on these guns was by Edwin Charles Hodges, barrels by John Portlock, stocks by Daniel Holliman, screwed and finished by William Byrne, completed with locks by Joseph Brazier, and engraved by John Sumner. They were sold by Boss & Co. from 76 St James's Street, but like most British guns of the period, many skilled hands were involved in their making. And they made these guns with hand tools, not machines.
12-bore number 2024 was built for Charles-Cecil Martyn, ordered on 22 December 1862 and completed on 3 April 1863. It has a double-bite screw grip action, 29 7/8” damascus barrels, and weighs 6 lb 6 oz.. Martyn would have been 53 when the gun was purchased. He was a very wealthy man, having inherited £150,000 from his father, who died in India in 1830. Charles-Cecil Martyn was elected to the British parliament in 1841 for the seat of Southampton, but Martyn’s election was declared void the following year on accusations of bribery by his agents. Sadly he did not have long to enjoy his gun, as Martyn died in 1866.
Near-identical 12-bore number 2068 was also made in 1863, built for Sir Sandford Graham (3rd Baronet Graham, Kirkstall, Yorkshire and Edmund Castle, and Captain, Grenadier Guards). Also a double-bite screw grip action with 29 7/8” damascus barrels, weighing an even 7 lbs.. Sir Sandford Graham was 42 years of age when he picked up his gun, and had more time to enjoy his, passing away in 1875. Of note, his father, the 2nd Baronet, was a close friend and travelling companion of Lord Byron, the English poet, peer and politician. What a circle these people moved in!
But, should I call them Boss’s, or Stephen Grants?
Boss & Co., “Makers of Best Guns Only”, is always placed in the list of top three or four British gunmakers. Famously only producing one quality of gun (“Boss gun, a Boss gun, bloody beautiful, but too bloody expensive!” said King George VI), Boss & Co. has had an interesting history, and the firm continues to this day.
In 1780 or shortly afterwards William Boss moved to London to work for Joseph Manton (alongside James Purdey). In 1804 his son Thomas was apprenticed to him at Manton’s, but when he died in 1809 Joseph Manton took Thomas on for the remainder of his apprenticeship. Thomas Boss finished his apprenticeship in 1811 and continued to work for Manton, after which he set up his own business in 1812 as an outworker for the London trade, doing work for James Purdey, Charles Moore, and Charles Lancaster amongst others. In 1837 he moved his business to very fashionable 76 St James's Street. In 1851 Thomas Boss employed 10 men, and his nephew, Edward Fields Paddison, as a journeyman gun maker, the firm making about 70 guns annually. Thomas hired on a number of close family relatives into the business, with one exception: Stephen Grant, his workshop foreman.
Stephen Grant had served his apprenticeship with William Kavanagh & Sons of Dublin, from 1835 to 1842. In 1843 he moved to London to work for Charles Lancaster, and in 1850 he started to work for Thomas Boss. Thomas Boss died on 17 August 1857, aged 67, and his widow, Emma, then aged 62, inherited almost everything. She made Stephen Grant the managing partner of the business, and during this time the quality of Boss guns was in particularly high regard, though its designs were very conservative. In 1866 Grant left and established his own business at 67a St James's Street, almost next door to Boss & Co. which, it was reported, was a great source of friction with his old partner! Stephen Grant went on to become one of the best London gunmakers and his guns, notably his sleek side-levers, are much sought after. Whether Grant still built a few pinfires from his new address, or started making centre-fire guns exclusively, is not known to me.
Here are two 1863-dated 12-bore pinfire guns carrying the Boss & Co. name and St. James street address, built a few months apart by the same outworkers’ hands, and whose quality was overseen by Grant. In fact, most Boss & Co. guns made during the period Stephen Grant was managing director were pinfires, as Boss & Co. started making them in 1858 (alongside percussion guns), and did not start making centre-fire guns before 1866. The actioning on these guns was by Edwin Charles Hodges, barrels by John Portlock, stocks by Daniel Holliman, screwed and finished by William Byrne, completed with locks by Joseph Brazier, and engraved by John Sumner. They were sold by Boss & Co. from 76 St James's Street, but like most British guns of the period, many skilled hands were involved in their making. And they made these guns with hand tools, not machines.
12-bore number 2024 was built for Charles-Cecil Martyn, ordered on 22 December 1862 and completed on 3 April 1863. It has a double-bite screw grip action, 29 7/8” damascus barrels, and weighs 6 lb 6 oz.. Martyn would have been 53 when the gun was purchased. He was a very wealthy man, having inherited £150,000 from his father, who died in India in 1830. Charles-Cecil Martyn was elected to the British parliament in 1841 for the seat of Southampton, but Martyn’s election was declared void the following year on accusations of bribery by his agents. Sadly he did not have long to enjoy his gun, as Martyn died in 1866.
Near-identical 12-bore number 2068 was also made in 1863, built for Sir Sandford Graham (3rd Baronet Graham, Kirkstall, Yorkshire and Edmund Castle, and Captain, Grenadier Guards). Also a double-bite screw grip action with 29 7/8” damascus barrels, weighing an even 7 lbs.. Sir Sandford Graham was 42 years of age when he picked up his gun, and had more time to enjoy his, passing away in 1875. Of note, his father, the 2nd Baronet, was a close friend and travelling companion of Lord Byron, the English poet, peer and politician. What a circle these people moved in!
Londonshooter
CGN frequent flyer
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One would be spectacular. Two? Incredible.
Congratulations on 200 posts of the highest quality!
Congratulations on 200 posts of the highest quality!
Steve, more real information in 200 of your posts than 4000 of mine. Thank you for joining us.
Thanks for your kind comments. It is good to know that in this day and age of short attention spans, fellow SxS fanciers are still willing to take the time to read a few paragraphs and gaze at well-made guns. And now, with recent events unfolding, many of us have even more time on our hands, so here’s to giving myself, and yourselves, something to do.
The early hand-made breech-loaders drip history like their later cousins exude elegance and finesse. The pinfires are the beginning of the learning curve for the makers that went on to build the guns in the purported ‘golden age’ of shotguns. Pinfires carry their own style, but like the high collars and top hats worn for shooting, they are from a bygone age we have difficulty imagining and understanding.
Outside of fashionable London there was land to shoot over, and local gunmakers tried to get as much of the business as they could. Provincial gunmakers ran the gamut from being mere retailers of Birmingham-made guns, to bespoke makers rivalling their London brethren. They could also be both, moving trade-made guns to middle levels of society, while being able to produce Best-quality guns on special commission - it all depended on the size of the client’s purse. Makers outside of London and Birmingham might have been capable of producing exquisite guns, but such commissions would be few, and surviving examples correspondingly rare.
Royals set the trends and fashions in Victorian society, and gunmakers vied for royal appointments. Having a non-London maker obtain a royal patronage is unusual enough, and one doing so would make full use of this in their advertising – even after their patron’s death. Today we can look at such an instance, from a provincial gunmaker who was the favourite of Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband.
Edward Paton was born in 1819 in Dublin, Ireland, where his father was stationed at the time. In the 1840s he was an armourer with the 42 Royal Highlanders, and in 1854 he went into partnership with Charles Frederick Walsh, buying the gunmaking business of Ancell & Salmond at 44 George Street, Perth, Scotland, and together Paton and Walsh obtained several patents. Walsh left the partnership in 1858 and the firm continued trading under the name of Edward Paton. In 1861 Paton employed 7 men and 2 boys, and the business was known for their conversions of muzzle-loaders to breech-loaders. At some point Paton was appointed Gunmaker to His Royal Highness The Prince Consort (no small accomplishment), and after Albert’s death in December 1861, Paton’s label and rib inscriptions were changed to reflect the change. By 1870 the firm had been re-named Edward Paton & Son. Around this time Edward Paton moved to London to open a new shop at 108 Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, and the firm finished guns for Boss & Co.. In 1890 the Perth business was sold.
Here is a 14-bore rotary-underlever double-bite screw-grip pinfire sporting gun, number 2397, made in the mid 1860s. The 29 15/16” damascus barrels have London proofs and the wide top rib is signed "Edward Paton maker to His late RH the Prince Consort. Perth". The back-action locks are signed “Edward Paton”. Interestingly it has a perforated trigger guard bow with a corresponding raised button on the under-lever, a feature I had not encountered before. The hammers are nicely done, and the tip of the under-lever is particularly well shaped and finished. This gun is near-identical in build quality and decoration to the Boss & Co. pinfires covered earlier, so it is not surprising Edward Paton finished guns for them! The bores are moderately pitted, and the gun weighs 6 lb 13 oz, befitting the smaller gauge.
The early hand-made breech-loaders drip history like their later cousins exude elegance and finesse. The pinfires are the beginning of the learning curve for the makers that went on to build the guns in the purported ‘golden age’ of shotguns. Pinfires carry their own style, but like the high collars and top hats worn for shooting, they are from a bygone age we have difficulty imagining and understanding.
Outside of fashionable London there was land to shoot over, and local gunmakers tried to get as much of the business as they could. Provincial gunmakers ran the gamut from being mere retailers of Birmingham-made guns, to bespoke makers rivalling their London brethren. They could also be both, moving trade-made guns to middle levels of society, while being able to produce Best-quality guns on special commission - it all depended on the size of the client’s purse. Makers outside of London and Birmingham might have been capable of producing exquisite guns, but such commissions would be few, and surviving examples correspondingly rare.
Royals set the trends and fashions in Victorian society, and gunmakers vied for royal appointments. Having a non-London maker obtain a royal patronage is unusual enough, and one doing so would make full use of this in their advertising – even after their patron’s death. Today we can look at such an instance, from a provincial gunmaker who was the favourite of Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband.
Edward Paton was born in 1819 in Dublin, Ireland, where his father was stationed at the time. In the 1840s he was an armourer with the 42 Royal Highlanders, and in 1854 he went into partnership with Charles Frederick Walsh, buying the gunmaking business of Ancell & Salmond at 44 George Street, Perth, Scotland, and together Paton and Walsh obtained several patents. Walsh left the partnership in 1858 and the firm continued trading under the name of Edward Paton. In 1861 Paton employed 7 men and 2 boys, and the business was known for their conversions of muzzle-loaders to breech-loaders. At some point Paton was appointed Gunmaker to His Royal Highness The Prince Consort (no small accomplishment), and after Albert’s death in December 1861, Paton’s label and rib inscriptions were changed to reflect the change. By 1870 the firm had been re-named Edward Paton & Son. Around this time Edward Paton moved to London to open a new shop at 108 Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, and the firm finished guns for Boss & Co.. In 1890 the Perth business was sold.
Here is a 14-bore rotary-underlever double-bite screw-grip pinfire sporting gun, number 2397, made in the mid 1860s. The 29 15/16” damascus barrels have London proofs and the wide top rib is signed "Edward Paton maker to His late RH the Prince Consort. Perth". The back-action locks are signed “Edward Paton”. Interestingly it has a perforated trigger guard bow with a corresponding raised button on the under-lever, a feature I had not encountered before. The hammers are nicely done, and the tip of the under-lever is particularly well shaped and finished. This gun is near-identical in build quality and decoration to the Boss & Co. pinfires covered earlier, so it is not surprising Edward Paton finished guns for them! The bores are moderately pitted, and the gun weighs 6 lb 13 oz, befitting the smaller gauge.
