doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com J. Manton Shotgun

I have seen them with the Belgian proof marks and I had one with the Birmingham proof marks. Either way they do not hold a high value. Now if it was an original Joseph Manton that might be a different story but he was long dead when these guns were made.

That was the company of Joe's elder brother John and his son or sons, marked, accordingly, "J. Manton and Son", rather than "Co". There was also "Manton and Co, Calcutta", started by Joe Manton and his son Frederick in 1820, which also had a London office around the late XIX century, but they (no relation to either Joe's or John's heirs by 1870s) never had a J and always signed "Calcutta" or "London and Calcutta". Lots of confusing stuff, that Manton business

Two to three hundred bucks tops as an ornamental wall hanger to the trained eYe...

To the untrained eYe the value is only limited by the shallowness of his pocket book.

Spurious guns of this type bearing the names or near names of Reputable English gun makers was a serious problem for the trade during the era that this gun was made. Many were of Belgian origin but some where made in Birmingham. See W.W. Greener,s comments on page 415 &416 of his book,"The Gun and its development," re; spurious guns and guns with false names.

Thanks everyone for your help.