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I have a Holland & Holland .577 BPE under lever hammer double rifle that left the factory in 1890 that is fully engraved. I am curios to know how long it typically took the factory to build a rifle like that in the mid to late 1800s.

Thanks for your replies.

Certainly less than a year.Six months give or take depending on the individual gun. At the turn of the century engravers were required to finish a Royal sidelock in a week with the standard engraving pattern. Although the pattern is the same some engraving is simply better than others. Also the work week was 6 days 12 hours or more per day.

You have to consider that your gun was made by several men working on part of its making instead of one person doing everything from start to finish. I doubt the elapsed time to be less than three months or more than six. It went out for proof one or more to times, went out to be engraved. Stock finish takes time to cure. It all adds up. And even good labor did not cost that much. Some guns were made in advance and left in the white to make rapid delivery possible for special orders