Hello all,
Well this is a great morning indeed. I set my alarm and called John Dixon & Son, in Edinburgh, Scotland, at 4:30 am. I talked with Gary MacPherson and he was extremely polite and eagerly helpful. I waited patiently while he "fetched" the Ledger. In less than 4 minutes I had the following information about my gun as hand recorded in the original Alex Henry Ledgers.
John Dixon & Son, no longer sends you a photo copy of the ledger, but instead they send a photograph of the ledger pages via email.
I have blocked out the name of the buyer at their request, because they do not want people contacting the descendants. Apparently this has caused problems in the past, and I respect their wishes.
A few questions have been answered regarding my rifle. The biggest being; "was the scope original to the gun?" Well yes it was, and it is so recorded in "pen & ink" in the original workbook of Alex Henry.
Most interest is that the buyer was not a Wealthy Maharajah from India, rather, he was British, and he was listed with the title "Esq" identifying him as a "Lawyer." Apparently he was not a very successful Lawyer because he couldn't afford a "First Quality" gun. As a matter of fact, based on the remarkable "un-used" condition of this rifle, he must have been a pretty bad Lawyer because he didn't earn enough money to take this rifle Hunting. Its been protected in its leather trunk and kept safe from harm for nearly 128 years. Good for me!
Here is how the information was described to me over the phone.
Alexander Henry
Serial Number 5828
Single Barrel Express Rifle.
Second Quality
450 Gauge
28" Detachable Barrel
Rib 10" long at Breech
Block Action - Safety Right Front Bolt
P.H. 1 5/8, 2 3/32, 14 3/8 taken from rib at breast
Lever Forend
Patent number 2216
Standing 2-leaf sight to 300 yds
Telescope with screw elevation to 300 ydsCompleted Jan 31, 1885
7 pounds 15 ounces
Solid Taper Case.
British Customer - E. xxxxxxx, Esq.