Establishment Britte,EB, supplied actions to the trade in the same widespread manner that Weblet Scott supplied to the British trade. Purdey wanted to sell a boxlock, they bought the action from Webley Scott. A Belgian maker wanted to make a gun, he bought the action from Britte.
The article in Shooting Sportsman November/ December 2009 contains erroneous information. Specifically P. 59 lower left, 4th line from the bottom: "There also were 17 finished Holland & Holland-style sidelock ejector side-by-sides ...", and the top right columns: "All of the finished guns...were 12 bore".
Also the Luc Vanderbordt offering contains the following erroneous information:
"To make a long story short, Britte Corp was managed since 1946 by Mr Louis Dessart (Theophile Britte Grand Son) in 1997 he sold his Corp to Vincent Pissart his son in law and sold to GRIFFIN & HOWE, the family collection of SIDELOCK and SUPERBRITTE shotguns adn also all the inventory of parts remaining in the basement since 1936.
Specifically, " Sold to Griffin & Howe, the family collection of SIDELOCK ".
In fact, there were not 17, but 20 finished Holland & Holland-style finished sidelocks.
Also, they were not all 12 bore.
At least three of these were and are 16 gauge!
The 17 finished 12 gauge Sidelocks from the Britte/Dessart/ Pissart collection are the 17 which were left of the 20 finished Sidelocks, after the three 16 gauge were purchased through Luc Vanderbordt by private parties.
One of those 16 gauge guns, arguably the nicest of them all, is signed by the engraver in not one, not two, but three places! How many other guns can boast of that?
Shooting Sportsman acknowledged the author got the fodder for their article from Guy @ Griffin & Howe.
But, the article is erroneous. There are three lovely 16 gauge Holland & Holland-style finished sidelocks out there as testimony. Two were purchased through Luc Vanderbordt by an upstate NY gentleman at a Vintage Cup event, one had later been for sale on consignment with Niles of Safari Outfitters, another one of the 16's was purchased used by a Texas Lawyer and gentleman, from Charles at British Sporting Arms, and the other, the game scene and scroll, signed in three places by the engraver, pick of them all, was purchased through Luc Vanderbordt and imported by Jack Dudley/ LaBecasse.
Shooting Sportsman magazine has been made aware of this. They remain staunch in their position that their readership is not interested enough in the full story, or "Rest of the Story" as Paul Harvey used to say, to themselves publish any follow-up or clarification for purpose of reporting the full factual information to its readership, nor to give validity to the other three finished Holland & Holland-style finished sidelocks from the Britte, Dessart, Pissart collection of 20 which was kept in the family posession since approximately 1936, then Offered for Sale by Luc Vanderbordt at The Vintage Cup where he initiated sale of three of the collection of 20, the three all three being in the revered 16 gauge, to private parties.
They did however offer to make an attempt to get the information in the letters column if submitted.
