GUN FALL 2017
The live portion of this session begins on Tuesday, October 31, 2017.
EXTRAORDINARILY RARE FOX GRADE B DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUN WITH SINGLE DIGIT SERIAL NUMBER THE EARLIEST FOX GRADE B KNOWN TODAY WITH DIRECT HISTORY TO ANSLEY FOX. A. H. FOX GRADE B 8 12 GA MODERN; C&R Cal. 12 GA. Fine early Fox shotgun, Grade B with 30" Krupp fluid steel bbls that have concave matted rib with double beads, double triggers & extractors. The water table is marked "8B" with the bbl flats & forend iron, along with the trigger guard tang are also marked "8". Bottom of the bbls, under the forearm are each marked "FLUID-STEEL-KRUPP-ESSEN / -HEAVY WEIGHT BARRELS-". Mounted with very nicely figured American walnut with checkered splinter forearm & Prince of Wales grip buttstock that has a serrated hard rubber buttplate. Buttstock side panels are checkered to match. Receiver, trigger guard & forend iron are lightly engraved in early style foliate arabesque patterns with a rosette around each end of the hinge pin and a smaller matching rosette on each fence. These engraving patterns are consistent with photographs of early B Grade guns pictured in the book A.H. Fox The Finest Gun in the World, McIntosh. Consignor states that he purchased this shotgun from the son of a Philadelphia resident whose family history details a reasonably close relationship with Mr. Ansley H. Fox. Not only were they friends, but also hunting partners. This individual purchased this shotgun directly from Mr. Fox and it remained in the family until about 30 years ago when purchased by consignor along with 2 other items. Consignor states that all of his research has disclosed that this is the only known single digit serial number Grade B Fox shotgun. Bbl dimensions are as follows: Bore dia. Left - .737" & Right - .733". Chokes: Left - .030" - full, Right - .007" - improved cylinder. Wall thickness: Left - .028" & Right - .033". Stock drop is 1-11/16" at the comb and 2-7/8" at the heel with about 1/2" cast on. Accompanied by an after-market black plush lined canvas covered case with brass latches and carrying handle. CONDITION: Very good, all matching (stock not checked for numbers). Bbls retain about 85% strong rust blue with fine surface etching and some dulling over the forearm area. Receiver retains traces of case colors being mostly a silver/brown patina with matching patina on the trigger guard & forend iron. Orig case colors on these early Fox shotguns was originally rather light. Wood is sound showing an old restored oil finish with freshened checkering on the buttstock. Forearm shows heavier wear on the checkering and retains about 65-70% orig finish, dull around the carry point. Mechanics are fine, bright shiny bores. Case is fine. 52721-1 JRL (6,000-15,000) W/ HARD CASE