Product Details
ALEXR. HENRY
A 20-BORE CONVERTED ROTARY-UNDERLEVER DOUBLE-BARRELLED HAMMER GUN, serial no. 1465,
converted from a muzzle loading rifle, 32in. nitro reproved replacement nitro barrels, 2 1/2in. chambers, bored approx. 1/4 choke in both, Jones patent rotary-underlever, carved percussion fences (standing breech built up and re-engraved), non-rebounding sidelocks with front bolted dolphin hammers, fine beaded border and acanthus scroll engraving, the makers name in scrolling banners, retaining very slight traces of colour-hardening, 14 5/8in. boldly-figured stock including partially chequered steel buttplate, triggerguard tang forming a skeletal pistolgrip, the right side fitted with a finely engraved circular patch box, fore-end with Deeley & Edge patent release catch, weight 6lb. 15oz.
Provenance: The makers have kindly confirmed that the gun dates to the mid 1860's and was originally made as:
"Best Dble M.L. Rifle, 70 Gauge, 30 Inch Barrells, Patent No. 895, Scroll Guard, 4 1/2 Dra. No. 6 Bullet with M. Tube, Papered & Wadded, Standard and leaf for 50 to 250 Yards".
The name 'Capt. H. Ross' is crossed out on the book and written above 'Lord Cochrane'.
Captain Horatio Ross, (1801-1886) holds virtually legendary status in the world of both sporting and competitive shooting.
Born at Rossie Castle, near Montrose Angus and named after his Godfather, Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, Ross spent a brief time in the military with a commission in the 14th Light Dragoons and then a few years as an MP. Sporting events were his true vocation though and he is recorded as being a fine yachtsman, cricketer, steeplechaser and sculling champion.
Shooting provided his finest accomplishments. In the world of target shooting, he was the first Captain of the Scottish VIII in the Elcho match and he and his sons were regular winners at Wimbledon (before the competitions were moved to the current location at Bisley, Surrey). Tales of his shooting prowess are carried in anecdotes such as challenging the Hon. George Vernon to a shooting match at 100 yards - and winning, with Vernon using a rifle and he a pistol. In 1867 he won the Cambridge Long Range Rifle Club cup against the best shots in the country, at ranges up to and including eleven hundred yards (with open sights) at the age of 66.
Game shooting and stalking was also a passion. In 1883, his 'Glorious 12th' saw him take 83 grouse for 83 shots (with a muzzle loader). In 1899 the English Illustrated Magazine referred to him as 'undoubtedly the deer stalker of the expiring century'
He was also a keen amateur photographer, his work exhibited at numerous occasions in Aberdeen, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London and he become Vice President of the Photographic Society of Scotland in 1856.
A testament to his reputation can be seen in his obituary in the London Daily Telegraph, December 8th 1886 began as follows:
"On Monday last, Captain Horatio Ross - perhaps the grandest, manliest and most high-minded all round sportsman that any country ever produced - breathed his last at Rossie Lodge, Inverness".
Lord Cochrane is likely to refer to Thomas Cochrane, 11th Earl of Dundonald, son of the famed Rear Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, a controversial figure in the political world, but best known for his exploits as a Royal Naval Captain during the Napoleonic wars - dubbed 'The Wolf of the Seas' by Napoleon himself.
Please click HERE to view Terms & Conditions.
Estimate £1,000-1,500
S2