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These were carried by all manner of civil and military people throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. This is a civilian example, with Birmingham proofs and the private proof of William Dupe of Oxford, who worked from 1810-30. So, it would have been made by Dupe, proved in Birmingham and retailed by the London trade, in this case Dobson. The lock is engraved Dobson, for Thomas Dobson, who worked at 1 Finsbury Street, London between 1815-18. The engraving is of reasonable quality, with a charming vignette of a pheasant on the base of the butt and a pineapple finial in front of the trigger guard, both of which are copiously engraved. It is priced to reflect various deficiencies in condition, viz: 1) a modern ramrod; 2) a chunk of wood missing from the forend, together with other damage in this area; 3) one of the brass washers opposite the lock plate is missing; 4) an old 3-inch age crack in the butt; 5) replacement spring at the bayonet swivel; 6) slightly ill-fitting safety catch, suggesting a period replacement cock, which is certainly not a modern one; 7) heavy varnish over the barrel and throughout the stock, which could be stripped off and cleaned without too much trouble, showing a high quality walnut stock underneath, with a nice tight fit to the barrel; 8) a slight bruise at the muzzle (see photo). Because this gun belongs to a client, I have not been able to clean off the varnish. However, I have stripped the lock out, cleaned and oiled the inside, and it functions very nicely at half and full cock, with only a tiny break on the tooth of the sear where it engages the bents in the cock. All in all, not a bad gun for the money. |