Greg, Wilkes was a London maker. Seems odd to me that a Wilkes gun would have original Birmingham proofs, assuming the proofs to which you refer are the original ones and not for the gun post-sleeving. If the original proofs are Birmingham, then I'd suggest the gun was not made by Wilkes, but rather FOR Wilkes by workers in "the trade" in Birmingham. That's not necessarily bad, but it does mean you would not be buying a REAL Wilkes. Don't know enough about Wilkes to know how often they put their name to guns made for them.
