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But, the barrels with lumps in the time period 1856-60? That had to be a London only innovation. Or did this all come from Belgium? And the actions which were filed in 1856-57? London? Hard to countenance that Birmingham in 1857-58 was paying attention to this foreign stuff - in spite of the dust raised by the press.

This period may open new questions about the relationship between London gunmakers and Birmingham. I'm sort of thinking that in the 1855's London was the crucible - not Birmingham.


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Continuing on the reasons why a gun might carry a name that is not to be found in the usual published lists of gunmakers is if it was built by a Birmingham workshop for a retailer of goods, and that retailer's name is engraved on the gun. Here's an example.

Fidele Primavesi was not a gunmaker, and nowhere in any reference lists of gunmakers and gun trade workers will you find his name or those of his sons. He's not in Nigel Brown's books, or in Geoffrey Boothroyd's. This is because he was a general china, hardware and leatherware merchant, and not a guild member of any sort. He was also a wealthy landowner, and an active member of Welsh society. An immigrant born in Italy in 1839, he settled in Cardiff, Wales, around 1850, and built up his business in Cardiff, and eventually to Swansea, Newport (140 Commercial St.), and London. The business was initially named Primavesi & Son, changing to Primavesi & Sons, and it was active until 1915. His wife, Sarah, was the sister of Alfred Thomas, 1st Baron Pontypridd, Mayor of Cardiff and MP for East Glamorgan -- good family connections to have if you're in business! Primavesi's main business was located in at 6 James St., Docks, Cardiff, and he sold anything a person might need, from nautical instruments, to Welsh and Staffordshire pottery, to carriages, to serviceable arms, and much more. Try a Google Images search on the name, and it brings up myriad items marked with the Primavesi name, including china dishes of every description, telescopes and sextants, the Royal Carriage made for the Princesses of Surakarta, Java, and a 12-shot pinfire revolver sold at auction some years ago. As a well-to-do merchant, he did not live in a tiny gunmaker's shop, but rather in a grand house, Pen-y-lan House, in the fashionable Pen-y-lan district of the city (the house cost £5000 to built, a very large sum in those days). The coal trade was the main source of commercial prosperity for Cardiff (with Newcastle second -- which begs the question why the British idiom for futility, "carrying coals to Newcastle," didn't mention that city instead), and in 1881 the 250-ft cargo steamship named the SS Fidele Primavesi was launched to carry coal -- a pretty good indication of the influence and regard the man held in the business community.

As befitting a hardware-store gun built to order from a Birmingham workshop, today's example is very plain. The original quality would have been serviceable, but it was not the status object that so many pinfire game guns were in high British society. This was the kind of gun that you added to your order of household goods before you boarded a ship in the Cardiff docks for distant horizons. As this particular gun was unearthed in the USA, it may well have been carried over by a new immigrant, where having an English-made gun had a certain appeal. I have no idea how many guns Fidele Primavesi might have sold, as no records have survived, and in my research only a handful of Primavesi-marked arms have surfaced to date -- none of them shotguns. Ironically, a low-grade British pinfire is more uncommon than the higher-grade pieces, as they were built from lesser materials and more likely to be shot out and discarded at some point during the last 150 years, rather than kept, treasured and preserved.

The gun is a 16-bore double-bite screw grip rotary under-lever pinfire sporting gun, serial number 3335 (which may be Primavesi's numbering system, or that of the actual Birmingham maker). The 28 7/8" damascus barrels have London proofs, and the barrels are stamped "Roses Patent No. 20". The Rose Brothers of the Hales-Owen Mills & Forge were barrel makers located in Halesowen, Worcestershire, operating between 1860 and 1892. They developed, and were known for, a patented method for machine-production of damascus barrels. These barrels were undoubtedly cheaper than hand-forged barrels, even at the low wages paid to the craftsmen of the day. The top rib is signed "F. Primavisi & Sons Cardiff" (note the different spelling of the family name), and the back-action locks are signed "F. Primavisi & Sons." While some trade goods marked "Primavisi" are known, what is unclear is whether this is an alternate spelling, or an engraver's misprint. The wholesale cost of the gun would have been low, and certainly not worth sending it back to the engraver to be corrected! I did consider whether it was a counterfeit, but all other marks are genuine, and if you're going to cheat you are hardly going to use an ironmonger's name to sneak your goods! I'm guessing it was an engraving error.

The gun has plain line border engraving, plain but well-proportioned rounded hammers, and the fore-end has a simple horn inlay. However, the under-lever lacks the graceful fitting to the curve of the trigger guard bow that is found on better guns. With the passing of time wavy lines from the forging process have become apparent on the action body, perhaps as a result of insufficient hardening or inferior steel. It would have been an inexpensive gun, and yet it is not without a certain degree of charm, and the machine-forged barrels are quite attractive. Victorian guns were made for all tastes and all purses. The bores are pitted, and the gun weighs a light 6 lb 2 oz.

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As an aside, general merchants have had a long history of putting their name on guns made by others. In Canada, Hudson's Bay Company-marked guns are collector items now, as are guns marked and sold by the T. Eaton company. In the USA, merchants such as Sears & Roebuck had their own brand (JC Higgins), and I'm sure there were many others.

Last edited by Steve Nash; 02/04/21 06:06 PM.
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Originally Posted By: Argo44
I'm sort of thinking that in the 1855's London was the crucible - not Birmingham.

I agree. In breech-loading sporting guns in the 1850s, London was the leader, and Birmingham later followed.

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This is not a game gun - it's a 15 gauge rifle with 30 Damascus barrels SN 10054 - sent out to India. but it is a pin-fire, now the earliest Reilly pin-fire known, dated per the Reilly chart to Fally 1856, about the tine the first advertisement for a Reilly "Fusils a Bascule" appeared. More info in the Reilly line. For sale at auction tomorrow!!
https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/aucti...66-ac1700a8e2ff
An amazing find!!





Last edited by Argo44; 09/10/20 08:51 PM.

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An amazing find indeed, Argo44. The first Joseph Lang breech-loader might have been produced in 1853 or early 1854; John Blanch stated that he built his first pinfire in 1856, and from your research Reilly began in 1856 as well (unless future research pushes it back even earlier).

What a delight to see such an early British pinfire, cased no less. The long underlever is very interesting. A rare, rare gun.

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Moving away momentarily from big-name guns, here is another merchant's gun with a name that is not found in the usual lists of gunmakers, but which has nevertheless interesting links to the gunmaking world.

When one thinks of an ironmongers or hardware-store gun, it is easy to picture one of those rattle-jointed machine-churned "W. Richards" Belgian doubles that can be found on most gun-show tables. But in the mid-Victorian period, a Birmingham gun-making workshop could in one moment be building a gun destined for a respected London firm, and in the next be building a similar gun that would carry a hardware-store name. All guns were built to a pre-determined level of quality, and then it was a matter of engraving whatever name and address the contract specified. This meant that finished guns with a general merchant's name might be just as good as those with, say, a town or city gun maker's name. The difference would be that a gun maker would have a reputation to uphold and would be available to fix and maintain their guns, while a merchant was just in the business of selling. How does a hardware or general-goods merchant get into the gun-selling business? Family connections seems to be one way, and we're sometimes talking about family businesses that can have long and intertwined histories.

Clement Cotterill was a merchant at No. 1, Old Square, Birmingham. He started in business as a leather seller in Edgbaston St., and was established as a hardware merchant and manufacturer by 1780. He founded the firm of Cotterill & Francis, for which the partnership was dissolved in 1790. In 1795 he entering into partnership with Thomas Ketland of Philadelphia, USA, "for the collection of hardwares, buttons, buckles, and all other articles manufactured in this and the neighbouring towns, and exported to the United States of North America and elsewhere." His sons William and Thomas successively joined the partnership, first trading as Ketland, Cotterill, & Son (until 1802), then as Clement Cotterill & Sons (until 1806), and in 1825, following his daughter Mary's marriage to Joshua Scholefield (the Member of Parliament for Birmingham), the firm traded as Scholefield & Sons.

At an unknown date John Dent Goodman became a partner in the business, and in 1861-1862 there was a Scholefield Sons & Goodman operating from Liverpool. In Birmingham the business of Scholefield, Goodman and Son, merchants, operated from 5 Minories, and in 1877-1878 the business moved to 135 Edmund street. At some point the business expanded to 31, Great St. Helens, London. The original Scholefield business may have traded in guns as part of their hardware business, but the involvement of J D Goodman was to link the company to the gun trade. Goodman was the Chairman of the Birmingham Small-Arms Trade Association (formed in 1854 by Goodman, John Field Swinburn, Isaac Hollis, Thomas Turner, Joseph Bourne, Thomas Wilson, John Rock Cooper, William Tranter, Charles Playfair, Benjamin and Henry Woodward, and others).

In 1861 the members of the association decided to establish the Birmingham Small Arms and Metal Company Ltd. (B.S.A.), in order to produce arms by machinery and thereby compete with the government operations at Enfield. Goodman was elected Chairman of the Board of BSA in 1863, a position he held until 1900. Goodman was personally involved in all the trade contracts with the US government over provisions of arms in the period of the Civil War, and Scholefield, Goodman and Son was one of the companies involved in the shipping of Enfield-pattern guns to the US. It was also Goodman that secured for BSA the contract to convert 100,000 Pattern 1853 Enfields using the Snider action. Goodman was also in partnership with Joseph Rock Cooper & Co. of pepperbox pistol fame.

In 1856 Goodman became chairman of the Birmingham Proof House, then in 1867 Abingdon Works was formed, a manufacturing partnership located in Shadwell Street to supply the trade with ready-made guns and gun parts. The partners were Goodman, Thomas Bentley, William Bourne, Charles Cooper, Charles Pryse, Richard Redman, Joseph Smith, Charles Playfair, Joseph Wilson, John Field Swinburn and Fred and Henry Woodward. But, despite Goodman's widespread involvement in the gun trade and being a partner in several companies that made and/or sold guns, his name never appeared on any of them.

Today's gun is a 12-bore double-bite screw grip rotary under-lever pinfire sporting gun of typical form, retailed by Scholefield, Goodman & Sons of Birmingham. It has no serial number, and I estimate it was made around 1867. The 29 13/16" damascus barrels have Birmingham proofs, and the top rib is signed "Scholefield London" (the "London" reference might be false advertising, but at some point the company did have a London address). There is a gun/barrel maker's mark "J.W" on the barrels and between the barrel lugs, and I believe this gun was built by Joseph Wilson of 67 1/2 Great Charles Street, Birmingham, one of the Abington Works partner gun makers, who either supplied sporting guns to Scholefield, Goodman & Sons directly, or through the Abington Works firm. The gun has an elongated top strap, thin percussion fences, back-action locks signed "Scholefield," and about 30% coverage of foliate scroll engraving. This was a medium-quality gun that was produced by the Birmingham gun trade, but it was nevertheless built by craftsmen. What is unusual about this piece is its condition -- there is still blueing visible on the trigger guard bow, case-colour on the fore-end iron, crisp engraving and chequering, and original browned barrels. Though this gun did not see much use, the bores were neglected and are now pitted. The gun weighs 7 lb 2 oz.

Again through a direct interest by John Dent Goodman, Scholefield, Goodman & Sons supplied Scholefield-marked rifles to the Newfoundland sealing trade (many of which were single-shot Field's Patent side-lever in .450 caliber). Apparently Goodman visited Newfoundland several times, perhaps seeking out new business opportunities. A few Scholefield-marked shotguns are known, but to my knowledge this is the only pinfire game gun so marked. The Newfoundland trade connection might help explain how a Scholefield-marked gun ended up in Canada, but it certainly doesn't explain how it remained in such good condition.

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John Dent Goodman

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William Scholefield

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Last edited by Steve Nash; 02/04/21 06:08 PM.
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I am late to this pinfire party, and I must say, the guns posted here are just mind blowing. If the availability of pinfire ammo weren't such a concern, I wouldn't hestitate to jump in at some point and give one a whirl. I would like to hear more discussion of ammo availability.

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There's no ammunition available.
This is an advanced "do it yourself" kind of thing.
It's a really fun and rewarding one for sure.

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Steve and company, looking at that early Reilly pin-fire rifle (in excellent condition), makes me wonder - what is the earliest existing UK made pin-fire center-break gun that you know of?

Is there a serial-number database for Joseph Lang? I've got conflicting reports on this.
-- One website identifies SN 2085, a break action Lefaucheux styleSxS pin-fire, as 1858.
-- Another (Holts) identifies SN 2332, a break action Lefaucheux SxS pin-fire, as 1860. So some data has to be out there.

And as for the cartridges, sounds like an RST-like business opportunity.

Last edited by Argo44; 09/09/20 08:24 PM.

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A previous post indicated that the issue of "markings" would at some point be considered. I have been studying the firm of William Powell & Son for some years and can offer some observations on their practices.

In 1886, the editor of Shooting (a periodical of the gun trade) sent a letter to gunmakers asking how their ribs and locks were marked. The results were published in the 9 March 1887 issue. The response of William Powell dated 5 October 1886 was published and it read "Sir,- In reply to your enquiry, we have to inform you that the barrels of our guns are named "William Powell and Son, 13, Carr's-lane, Birmingham," and on the locks William Powell and Son." His response raises a number of issues. First (excuse me if I seem a bit pedantic) Powell's signature uses an ampersand (&) not an "and." I have never seen a dash between Carr's and lane and "Lane is always capitalized. Now to more substantive concerns.

During the period of 1870 to 1890, the highest grade of Powell's patent action guns seemed to have been made for clients such as W. Richards, Williams & Powell and Barrett.
The ribs and locks on those guns were marked with the client firm's name.

Lower grade guns destined for America and South Africa were marked in a wide variety of ways. Those markings were frequently detailed in the day books.

Finally, in my collection is No.8476, a lever-over-guard 12-bore that was sold on 17 October 1887. The rib and locks are marked only "Powell."

This information isn't meant to denigrate Powell as I am as passionate about that company as Argo44 is about Reilly. Rather, it is a caution that likely applies more broadly to the entire Birmingham gun trade.

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