Hello Felix,
Fake and "rechristened" guns abound...
I have a "Francotte" DR that never saw the Liege sun, being obviously German.
I also have a Purdey DR which had been rebarelled by Fraser, whose name was erased from the rib and replaced by a sort of fake "Purdey".
The "A." vs "&" sure raises the question.
Proof marks can usually tell the difference between a gross fake and a real gem.
Also my 2 Woodwards have the JWS touchmark on the bottom of the barrels.
The best in this case would be to double checked JW&S records vs the gun in question.
Fortunately, this is easy, just call Purdey.
The presence of a Woodward in Central Europe is very unusual. It seems like Woodward did not export much at all.
Unlike other vendors, such as Westley, Holland, Lancaster and Purdey, I have very rarely seen a JW gun that had not been sold in the UK to a British man.
The only exception I know of are US sold Over & Unders.
However, the War has been a great meddler of guns as the Germans took everything in sight, and those guns were later "liberated" by allied troops in 45. That one could certainly have been picked by an Eastern block soldier.
So I guess everything is possible...
Good luck in your research.
WC-
