[quote=HomelessjOeWould you say this was a rarity....If so how rare ? Once in an English Gunmakers lifetime...
As far as "Jeffery Best guns" I can only comment on the few low grades I saw...seeing those would not make me want to purchase a Jeffery's Best.
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The smaller, shorter lived, more obscure, and more provencial a shop the less likely to have made/sold any/many best work guns. Boss is reputed to have made and sold only best guns under the Boss name; I believe they experimented with boxlocks under the Robertson brand. Purdey's, as above, and Woodward's made/sold some graded sidelocks and some fairly pedestrian boxlocks, but, still, a high % of their work was devoted to best work guns. Midland is normally associated with so-so boxlocks; there best sle, though, was truly as good as anyones.
You need to look at more Jeffery guns. A best SLE pops up every now and again - they are definitely "as good as" guns.
Using the brand name as a surrigate for original quality grade is a crutch that will fail you. You must consider brand name in the price of a Brit/Continental gun. You must consider original quality grade as a separate item; whence cometh "Buy the gun, not the name!" And, last, but not least, you must consider the current condition.
