Good day gentlmen! I was reading Mr. Hadoke's books (an excellent place to start a foundation in Brit Gun Trade understanding), and in them he mentioned That English guns are graded, such as Best, second, and third. He also said that Holland and Holland made (or had made for them) all three grades. What separates the grades, and how would a person tell what grade he is looking? Not specifically Holland but in all older English guns?
There is an answer to your question, but I promise it is not one simple sentence. My system, as referred to above, is intended to provide a jump-start in understanding of the Brit Gun Trade and the products they produced. The focus is on valuation, but with enough additional information to broaden understanding.
The first step is to understand that value can be estimated from Brand Value level (maker's/vendor's name value), Original Quality grade (nothing to do with the name), and Current Condition level. All makers/vendors could make/order a "best work" gun from within the trade. All master makers well understood the term "best work" and knew which workers were capable of the craftsmanship required for each phase of the gun's making. Grade was built to price point. "London best" denotes a "best work" gun within a certain fashion. There are plenty of "best work" guns that do not fit the "London Best" pattern.
Step two. I define nine levels of Original Quality grade as follows:
OQ1 - Best work SLE
OQ2 - "A" Grade SLE, Greener G-125, Best work SLNE, Extra finish WR Drop-Lock
OQ3 - "B" Grade SLE, Greener G-70, "A" Grade SLNE, Full engraved
WR Drop-Lock
OQ4 - "C" Grade SLE, Greener G-60, "B" Grade SLNE, WR Drop-Lock
min engraving
OQ5 - Border engraved SLE, 1/3 engraved SLNE, 1st quality BLE
OQ6 - Plain SLNE, 2nd quality BLE
OQ7 - Border engraved BLE/1/3 engraved BLNE
OQ8 - Plain BLNE
OQ9 - Farmer's/colonist gun
This is all I have time for tonight. I'll continue with the system tomorrow night and with key points in estimating OQ grade.
DDA
