doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Information on a maker named William Horton.

I am looking at a BLE in Scotland by Scottish maker named William Horton. I can find very little about him and the quality of his work. It does look to be in very good shape it has a polygraph lever systems and adjustable trigger system.
Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

You see I am stuck between 2 guns as there is a Cogswell & Harrison Sidelock from 1905 that I a looking at also.

Came up with this on Google:

http://books.google.com/books?id=nLq3yaVGcT8C&pg=PA265&lpg=PA265&dq=gunmakers:+William+Horton&source=bl&ots=pWATIi0-N0&sig=51uNuMu8PC9fBD_mKNnZ3Nn_pGE&hl=en&ei=LLY_TL-CA8P78AaxpNWJCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=gunmakers%3A%20William%20Horton&f=false

Yep that is the exact same reference I could find in my library. But nothing else.

William Horton was born in 1826 and established his business as a stocker in 1855 at 13 Moat Row, Smithfield, Birmingham.

In 1857 he started to trade as a gun maker and took on additional premises, which became his principal offices, at 8 Steelhouse Lane but in 1858 these moved back to 13 Moat Row.

In 1859 he moved to 16 Roper Street, Whitehaven, Cumbria where he stayed until 1863 when he moved to 29 Union Street, Glasgow.

In 1865 the firm were trading as gun and fishing tackle makers, but fishing tackle making ceased in about 1870 although they continued to sell it.

At some time after 1875 the firm opened an additional shop at 11 Royal Exchange Square, they then moved entirely to Exchange Square.

In 1889 Horton patented a box-lock action (No. 2790), and in 1891 a top lever (No. 20940).

In about 1894 the firm opened a branch at 31 Port Street, Stirling.

In 1895 William Horton died and Oliver Horton (born about 1846) took over the running of the business. The Stirling address changed to 35 Murray Place in about 1897, and by 1900 the firm had moved to 98 Buchanan Street in Glasgow, with separate workshops first at 11 Princes Square and then at 64 Osborne Street. They had a shooting ground at Letham Hill when the factory was at 64 Osborne Street. The shop and workshops moved to 199 Buchanan Street in about 1913.

In 1901 the firm patented an adjustable trigger (No. 3634).

The firm closed in 1924, the stock being sold to Arthur Allen.

The firm sold shotgun cartridges under the names "The Horton Cartridge", "Extra", "Weatherproof" and "Ejector".

So, if your gun has the adjustable trigger, then it has to have been made after the 1901 patent.

Pete

The late Geoffrey Boothroyd, researched,along with most other Scottish gun makers,the firm of; W.Horton.Geoffrey,s findings appeared in various articles published in the "Shooting Times" during the 1980,s. These articles are summarised in his book,"Shotguns and Gunsmiths," pages,141-144.This review includes a copy of an ad; by Horton,published in the"Badmington Magazine" of November 1903.
The ad; states that Horton Guns were priced between 15 and 60 Guineas.I also have a picture of a Horton gun supplied by Geoffrey, that is engraved ,"Horton,Patent Polygrip" on the top lever. This gun Geoffrey christened the ,"whimsical girl" because of the unusual engraving, featuring the face of a "person, maybe a girl" on the top lever.I would be interested to know if the gun that is the subject of this post has any unusual features?

Not a William Horton gun but a William Horton mug!

sigmax, as stated above (The ad; states that Horton Guns were priced between 15 and 60 Guineas.), Horton's made/sold guns of widely varying Original Quality (OQ). All makers, with the possible exception of the Boss name, did this to some extent. It is a mistake to try to associate "quality" with a maker's name. The maker's name has Brand Value (BV). If we combine Brand Value level, Original Quality grade, and Current Condition level, we can make a fair estimate of the gun's value; any gun's value may or may not be reflected in the price asked or an offer to buy.

Actually, yes it does some unusual engraving. I just got more hi res pictures and I was thinking to myself isn't that a face of some type on the top lever.

It also has trailing foliage, bordered by foliate scroll work, there are also a few thistles. Afraid I must take it or pass real soon. It will be gone by the CLA.