September 15, 16, & 17, 2026 Firearms & Militaria
The live portion of this session begins on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
Lot #2065:
(A) FINE RARE IDENTIFIED BRASS BARRELED 1752 DATED ENGLISH FOWLER INSCRIBED TO WILLIAM PALLING'S AND MADE BY T. RICHARDS OF LONDON.
This rare brass-barreled fowler is inscribed to William Palling of Brownshill, an 18th century arms collector whose collection is discussed in "Great British Gunmakers 1740-1790" by Neal and Back. This cataloguer has never seen another brass barred English fowler. The barrel features a swamped muzzle with silver front sight. There are private London view and proof marks on the left side of the hooked breech. Top flat engraved with a cartouche and engraved with detailed floral and heraldic designs. Foliate scrolls surround the breech. The convex lock features a sliding safety and is engraved "T. / RICHARDS" in the center. The steel furniture includes an inscribed buttplate marked "WILLIAM PALLING ESQr/BROWNS HILL 1752" on the back. William Palling was a country squire from Gloucestershire who acquired his family's Brownshill Court country home, which had been built by his father. Palling was well known for having assembled an impressive collection of around eighty guns, pistols, and blunderbusses at the home before his death in 1753. Information on his collection is discussed on pages 118-120 of "Great British Gunmakers 1740-1790" by Keith Neal and Back. The other steel furniture includes a vacant symmetrical wrist escutcheon, engraved trigger guard with a trifed front finial and a full sideplate engraved with a dragon. Arms with steel furniture were the most expensive at the time, exceeding the price of a silver mounted arm due to the amount of labor it took to shape and engrave the harder metal. The barrel can be easily removed as out has a hooked breech and is retained by sliding barrel keys. The walnut stock is carved with a relief clamshell around the barrel tang, relief teardrops behind the lock and sideplate and has silver inlaid scrolls on both sides of the wrist. CONDITION: Barrel retains a pleasing soft mustard patina. Lock is in its original flintlock configuration and has a grey patina with some light freckling, spring is strong but cock does not hold in cock or half cock. The refinished wood has some scatted marks from use, age cracks and minor professionally repaired cracks on both sides of forend. PROVENANCE: The William Palling of Brownshill Collection