March 1-2, 2018 Firearms, Militaria & Sporting
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/1/2018
One of the most famous and recognizable English gun manufacturing firms of the 19th century built this fabulous double barrel side by side rifled .577 Howdah pistol that features right side barrel release, blued barrels with scooped rib, engraved breech, rare factory installed sash hook on left side, double hammers, double triggers, fully checkered forearm with ebony tip, checkered saw-handle type stock with nickel shield escutcheon on wrist and a metal grip cap. Right side of frame is stamped "W.W. GREENER / ST. MARYS WORKS BIRMINGHAM" (W.W. Greener manufactured guns at St. Marys Works from 1863 until 1894). Barrels are equipped with an extractor. Functions and locks up like new. Barrels are basically a soft mix of blue and patina. The side locks exhibit sparse engraving and are basically grey patina as is balance of metal. Stocks are excellent with fairly sharp checkering and just a few minor bruises. Action is tight as new. Near mint rifling. This incredibly rare pistol comes housed in a period leather case lined in blue velvet whose contents includes a box of ten Kynoch Solid Snyder black powder cartridges with 480 grain bullet. The built in cartridge block holds an additional five cartridges. There are three ebony handled tools, a nickel oil bottle, an ebony grease jar, a large brass jag and some extra parts. For those unfamiliar with the Howdah pistols, they were designed for the specific purpose of hunting tigers in India while riding in a howdah atop an elephant. This was a favorite pastime for the British officers as well as the social elite and foreign dignitaries during the 1870's and 1880's. Original examples of these pistols are extremely difficult to find due to their original cost and hard use. This is one of the finest examples we have encountered and the only we have seen that is cased and equipped with the rare sash hook. A wonderful piece of early British history, highly coveted yet rarely found.