doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Darlow Norwich

Darlows may be gone, but at least the stag still remains on the building, peering at us through the branches. Courtesy of Google Street view.

Thanks for the photos Longknife. looking at them, I would have dated this gun earlier than 1936, although the British gun trade was still making similar hammer guns at that date.

I wonder if Darlows had it re-barrelled by Asbury in Birmingham. There may be a clue on the action flats if there are signs of an earlier set of proof marks, as well as the marks applied when it was proved in Birmingham in 1936.

This wholesale catalogue, believed to date to about 1926, indicates that Darlows considered themselves as being in quite a substantial way of business and not just a local retailer.

Having said that, it seems likely that the bulk of the guns made, bearing their name, were produced by the trade in Birmingham, with possibly finishing and fitting being carried out on their own premises.

Do any forum members know if they had their own factory at any stage?

Thanks for all the info. I'm taking it to Tulsa in a couple of weeks, what would be a fair price to ask? It does have pitting in the barrels.

By a happy coincidence Holts current sealed bids sale is offering (Lot 2623) a copy of the Darrow's Wholesale catalogue I pictured earlier together with a copy of a G. S. Holloway catalogue.

Holloways were gunmakers for the trade (certainly including Edwinson Green), guns of their make usually being distinguishable by a H prefix serial number under the barrels.

The Darlow catalogue (orange edges) shows guns listed as 717 and 719.




Holloways catalogue (grey edges) shows seemingly identical guns with the same reference numbers.
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It seems fairly clear that Darlow were offering to the trade guns that they were sourcing from Holloways (as well as foreign makers).