doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Charles Smith & Sons...(Pics added)

Smith of Newark has not long since gone out of business. The owner of the name for these guns is a fellow called Roy Martin; Check the link and scroll down: http://www.gundealer.net/midlands/nottinghamshire.htm Sadly the records all went awray but he can supply a trade lable for Smith guns. This is my Smith gun: Number one of a pair but lacking a serial number. Living not too far from Newark-on-Trent (next county along) I see quite a few of his guns. Contact Roy and he may be able to help. Lagopus.....

Beautiful gun Lagopus! Here are some pics of the Charles Smith I am going to buy. I am thinking about having the gun cased, so your information regarding case label might come in handy.

Daryl has provided excellent information on the history of Charles Smith & Sons of Newark. For almost 20 years I enjoyed the friendship of the late Walter Smith.
It all started with my aquisition of a superb, mint condition,Charles Smith, Newark, 12G bar action hammer gun,with H.Jones under lever action.Serial #1856,engraved 37 Market St; on the rib.I mailed details on the gun to Smith,s and received a prompt response from Mr Walter Smith advising:
The gun was made in between 1869 & 1872, after which date they relocated to 40/41 market place. The price for the gun was 10 pounds with 1 pound extra for the case.
Walter provided me with prints from copper plates of their shop at 40/41 Market Place. From these prints we can see that the shop was double fronted and that the upper floors were the family residence.A second print shows their works in the Clinton Arms Yard. Most unusual is that the building was three stories high.Under the eaves of the gabled roof, set in the masonry was a large plaque featuring a "stand of arms". In 1976 due to demolition of the old works and construction of the Clinton House on the site, this same plaque was salvaged and set in the brickwork adjacent to Smiths relocated shop.Sadly today, following the sale of the Smith name to Mr Roy Martin this is all that remains of the Smith business in Newark.
At my urging, the late Geoffrey Boothroyd visited Smiths. Following this visit, he published an interesting article on the business, in the British magazine," Shooting Times,"September 6-12 1984. Boothroyd also reviews the gunmaker Nixon of Newark in his book"Sidelocks and Boxlocks" page 184. This is the maker to whom Charles Smith[1] was apprenticed.

Any connection to J. C. Smith, I have a 12 gau., SxS, back lock, side lever, some fine scroll engraving, British proofs with "Laminated Steel" barrels? Just curious.--- John Can.

Beautiful guns, friends!
Thank you for the pictures.

LeFusil, beautiful gun too. I like the rounded bar to the action. Most of the Smith guns that I have seen have been good looking specimens. I have quite a few of their old cartridges in my collection including the 'Clinton' cartridge. I may be taking a trip over to Roy Martin's in the not too distant future and will look into the trade lable question. I did contact him over my gun to try to find out more but he was unable to furnish much information due to the loss of the records. Mine has no serial number but is a quality made gun with Stanton locks. I have never visited his shop even though it is not too far away.

Roy, any chance of posting picures of the old shop photos? Lagopus.....

I do not believe there is any connection between J.C.Smith and Charles Smith of Newark.
For the record, I cannot find any record of a gunmaker; J.C.Smith in published lists.There where several Birmingham gunmakers listed as J.Smith. If your gun has an address on the rib it would help in identifying the maker.

Roy; It does say London on the top rib but no street address. I've done a bit of looking also to no avail. Starting to suspect it's a retailer's not the maker's name. Thank you for your efforts --- John Can.

I agree,the word "London" is a clear indication that your gun was made for resale by a Hardware store or or low volume gun dealer.The proof marks will identify the source; which in all probability will be Birmingham or Belgium.

Thanks Roy. I will be in touch. Lagopus.....