What I think to be an interesting side to Thomas Turner. Several years ago I acquired a small collection of his wares. These included: a hammer double rifle in .577 caliber, an 8 bore single hammer sporting gun with a 40 inch barrel, an Enfield style percussion musket in .577 caliber, a 12 bore hammer sporting gun (also with a Jones underlever) and a camp (picnic) chest with knives forks plates & thermos in a leather case. All had his name and trademark. All were purported to come from the North Carolina Estate of R.J. Reynolds, the tobacco tycoon, and were said to have been ordered from Turner for his African Safari in the late 19th Century. The camp chest has the initials "R.J.R." in gold on the lid. I am still looking for written documentation about the safari. The musket was said to have been ordered for his gun bearer as the natives were only allowed to own muzzle loading weapons.
Best Regards, George
