While outside of my usual comfort zone, I do enjoy a mystery involving the British gun trade. This is what I found, from The History of Winchester Firearms 1866-1992, by Thomas Henshaw (Winchester Press, 1966):
“In 1878 an agent of Winchester, P. G. Sanford, was sent on a business trip to Birmingham, England. While there, he received instructions from the company to purchase a quantity of the cheaper grades of English double barrel, breech loading shotguns, for shipment to Winchester’s New York City office because there was a shortage of shotguns in the New York area. At that time Winchester had no facilities for manufacture of such guns. It was believed that considerable additional business could be obtained by the importation and sale of English shotguns.”
“The arms were purchased from Messrs. W. C. McEntree & Company, Richard Rodman, C. G. Bonehill, and some of better grade from Messrs. W. C. Scott & Sons. After the arrival of the English guns in New York, they sold so rapidly that Winchester decided to purchase additional quantities of the better grades of English manufacture, to be marked with the Winchester name.”
“This new line, first announced on a losse-leaf insert of the Winchester catalogue of 1879, consisted of Winchester Double Barrel Breach Loading Shotgun in 5 grades:
Winchester Match Gun ($85)
Class A ($70)
Class B ($60)
Class C ($50)
Class D ($40)”
“This business continued on a very profitable basis for several years and Mr. Sanford made trips to England to purchase additional quantities of the Winchester-branded shotguns which were offered for sale only through the Winchester New York office. About 10,000 were imported.”
“In 1884, Winchester decided that as an American manufacturer interested in producing and selling its own products, it should discontinue the importation of and purchase of other manufacturers’ items. The balance of the stock of shotguns of English manufacture were sold to John P. Morre & Sons on May 12, 1884.”
