How many times have you heard "If this gun could only talk"? That is what provenance provides to me, some interesting history on my guns, who the men that ordered them were and occasionally you might stumble on some of the adventures these men lived. I own guns built for several Maharajas, the Earl of Cranbrook(who took my rifle to Burma in 1931), an heir to the DuPont oil fortune, a famed British surgeon(who used my rifle and the then new .303 British cartridge extensively in Africa), etc.

Sure more interesting than the provenance the Sharps rifle guys pursue if you ask me.

The Earl of Cranbrook's .30 Super, the only single shot Holland chambered in that caliber.

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I own the third Holland/Woodward falling block that was built for surgeon David Bruce, he wrote a short article about his impressions of the .303 shortly after taking delivery of the rifle.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bruce_(microbiologist)

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Last years buck with the Good Doctor's rifle

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I don't have a clue who my Holland shotgun was made for but I do know that he had the same dimensions as I do. Love, love, love this gun, it will be the very last gun I part with and it has been my go to gun for over 15 years.

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The provenance is just a bonus, the guns interest me.

Last edited by SKB; 06/19/26 06:57 PM.

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